The impacts of film and television in our lives and that of our parents and children cannot be denied (Gauntlett & Hill, 1999). This form of media has been an integral part of mainstream popular culture since the mid twentieth century, when affordability and the advent of free to air television placed this entertainment within reach of most of the western world. For much of it’s existence however, this media has been designated as a one way entertainment vehicle, its audiences passively absorbing content created for them by studios and advertising companies, referred to by Katz (2009) as Collectivist viewing. Now, the reality of Jenkins’ (2006) Convergence media is exploding onto our screens like the next Hollywood blockbuster. IPTV and its sister, Web TV (TV content on web browsers and PCs), user created content, YouTube, smart phones, tablets and ipads, all have enabled interconnectivity and accessibility for users of these media, and is set to transform the way we view and participate in television and cinema like never before (Ross, 2008; Easdown, 2011).
With this in mind, I must question my own preparation for a future which is user led. My past employment has been working in Information Technology with some of the most innovative travel industry leaders. Despite years of participation in research and development, and exposure to some cutting edge ideas and implementations, I still have difficulty keeping up with the advances in media and technology as they become available. Some of this difficulty for me is due to time constraints; some of it is due to lack of access or funds to gain access to applications, bandwidth or hardware. How is this any different for many of my students? It is not, of course.
One of the more recent realisations I have had is to sign up for Google Reader. This functionality enables easy classification and tracking of various blogs – both professional and personal- and a one stop shop for daily scanning of updates in each category. I now utilise this to keep track of a variety of educational content, including:
· Industry updates and feeds
· Pedagogical blogs
· Government updates
· Teaching technology feeds
· General media technology
I have incorporated Google Reader into examples for students in Business Communications classes, and will be used in 2012 to track progress on student blogs in one place for assessment of Tourism competencies.
Further on the use of blogging for assessment, an overhaul this year on assessment items for students within the Tourism program has resulted in redesign of more streamlined, technology rich, holistic assessments using blogger as the medium for delivery. Bolstered by the Participation and Convergence concepts of Gauntlett (2008) and Jenkins (2006), I am the main instigator within my teaching team to develop the Team Blog as a vehicle for measuring teamwork, use of business technologies, written and visual communication , peer reflection and feedback. The two hurdles our team must face in this instance is bandwidth /speed within the educational facility, and audit requirements which have proven to be somewhat antiquated in relation to e-learning to date (Callan & Clayton, 2010).
I have also used film and television programs frequently in the classroom to date to reinforce workplace scenarios or develop understanding of location specific criteria. This works extremely well and feedback from student groups indicates the combination of theory and visual/auditory learning helps to reinforce learning objectives (BNIT, 2010). One of the more frustrating problems in the classroom however, is the inability to use YouTube videos successfully. These resources are free, user created (so can potentially provide realism ), and searchable for students, however bandwidth issues means that frequently the viewing is interrupted for long periods while buffering occurs in the download. I am investigating a conversion tool suggested by my blog colleague , www.keepvid.com to convert the files I want to use in class to a format that is not reliant on the internet to play. This is to be done in my own time, with my own resources, as my current employer does not permit access to this download – another issue to tackle in the future.
The added bonus, I am discovering, is that once I have converted the YouTube video, I can use video editing applications (even the most basic Microsoft Moviemaker) to fine tune and edit the content to be and exact fit to my requirements. Potentially this could lead to re-uploading my own user created mashup content to online learning platforms for e-learning opportunities – provided copy write does not inhibit the process too greatly.
The potential of Web2.0 tools which are freely available to integrate technology into my classroom and the learning experience is extensive. The insights to some of the possible uses of various applications which are unearthed through interaction with colleagues and co-students, are invaluable when attempting to navigate a starting point.
References
Brisbane North Institute of TAFE . (2010). Student Survey Results Semester 1, 2010. BNIT, DET.Brisbane: Queensland Government Department of Education and Training.
Callan, V. and Clayton, B. (2010). E-assessment and the AQTF: Bridging the divide between practitioners and auditors. Australian Flexible Learning Framework, Adelaide.
Easdown, R. (2011). TV’s the new PC. Sydney Morning Herald, August 23, 2011.Retrieved October 12 from: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/tvs-the-new-pc-20110819-1j0p8.html
Gauntlett,D. (2008). Participation culture, creativity and social change: Inaugural lecture, University of Westminster. Video file. Retrieved August 2011 from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I1ccF2UXVw
Gauntlett, D. and Hill, A. (1999). TV Living: Television, Culture and Everyday Life. London, Routledge.
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press.
Ross, S.M. (2008). Beyond the Box: Television and the Internet. Oxford :Blackwell.
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