Media and Collaboration Fluency

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Posted by Charles | Posted in walden | Posted on August 3, 2016

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Today, in the age of digital learners, there is a stronger need for a more visual approach to presenting material. The digital generation has been exposed to several different forms of information including television, videos, computer games, and multi-sensory experiences (book sources). While there is data to support the need for this rich media content there is still some reluctance among many in the field to support this need. The primary source of information, for many students, is still text and images. Although these two sources of information are still beneficial, they lack some of the benefits that other types of media have to offer. In order to reap the benefits of each of the media sources, it is would be wise to take a close look at Media Fluency. One might assume that Media Fluency is related to the how well one can operate technology tools.
There is much more to Media Fluency, it requires choosing the appropriate and effective medium that is best suited for the particular message that is intended (source). There are two components associated with Media Fluency which include listening and leverage. The listening component in tales the ability to decode the real message with a range of media. The leverage component revolves around matching the medium to the message. In some cases, it may be beneficial to use a podcast to relay information while other time a video may be more suitable.
Along with Media Fluency, Collaboration Fluency can aid the growth of student learning. There are 5 E’s associated with Collaboration Fluency which are Establish, Envision, Engineer, Execute, and Examine. Establishing key components such as groups, roles, norms, and leadership, to name a few, are essential to beginning the collaboration fluency process. The envision stage requires one to define the problem, specify information that is needed, and developing a plan of action. The most critical element that one must consider in the engineering stage is having a plan that can be evaluated as work progresses. The execute stage is putting the plan into action. The final stage, examine, involves the team or group to reevaluate the process for its effectiveness.

One strategy that I have used in the past to address media fluency and collaboration fluency is the use of social media. Students have, in the past, used various social media platforms to various polygons that were being discussed. Students were to create profiles of at least three polygons which were to include photos and profile information regarding their polygons. Once the profiles were complete, students were encouraged to communicate with other profiles that had been created in the classroom. I have found the use of social media platforms and other platforms that resemble social media, such as Edmodo, to be very engaging and popular with high school students. It has been shown that up to ninety-one percent of the parent have noticed a gain in learning when education media is used in the classroom (Devaney, 2014).

The production of music or a short movie trailer have also been used to encourage media and collaboration fluency. Students would either create a short movie trailer or compose a song to the topic of discussion, such as trig ratios. The creation of either of the media required students to address the 5 E’s associated with the collaboration process. Students began by establishing roles and responsibilities along with defining the scope of the project. Students would then envision the outcome of the project. Once they have envisioned the solution they begin to engineer a workable plan. Students will then execute their plan and create a product that utilizes their various strengths. Finally, the students can examine the process to determine if the goal was achieved.
Crockett, L., Jukes, I., & Churches, A. (2011). Literacy is not enough: 21st-century fluencies for the digital age. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Devaney, L. (2014). How does educational media impact children? Retrieved from http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/01/27/educational-media-use-864/?

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