THE EPIC WIN

   Before starting this course, I never really thought much about new literacies and the impact to society.  I used the technology that was of benefit to me and basically discarded the rest. This course revealed from misconceptions that I had about literacies.  Literacy is not just reading and writing in the traditional manner.  Literacies encompasses learning through books, electronic courses, discussions and dialogues with others and even games.  Learning through playing games was my “ah-ha” moment. There is a whole another alternative culture that thrives in the gaming world.  Gamers challenge themselves, gather feedback, collaborate, build relationships, and help others learn.  There is a sharing of knowledge.  Everyone is invited regardless of race, color, beliefs or location. There was so much to learn from participating in the “affinity space”.  Affinity spaces do not have boundaries, they are “sustained by common endeavors that bridge differences in age, class, race, gender and educational level” (Gee, p. 9).  ). In affinity space I was free to interact with others who may or may not share all of my beliefs. I learned from them and them from me.  

     I realized that there was more to literacy, the ability to read and write, than just books.  Donna Alvermann, Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Georgia made the statement that summed up my thoughts.  She said that “books aren’t out of the picture, but they’re only one way of experiencing information in the world today” (Rich, 2008).  I have lost myself so many times in books.  It’s an alternate world.  Students of the 21st century have that same opinion about games, the intranet, texting and social media.  It changes their lives.  The tools take them to places beyond their boundaries; across space and time.  We can cultivate relationships with people across the country or right next door without leaving our living room.

          After readings and discussions on Jane McGonigal, Jenkins and Gee, I gained a deeper understanding of how vast literacy is and how much it impacts our lives.  Having my eyes opened to a world of knowledge through gaming was a complete shock to me.  I have been taught that games are for small children, adults can’t learn from them.  I have learned how to accept the truth and change my thinking.  There are so many 21st century skills that can be learned from games:  play, performance, simulation, appropriation, multitasking, distributed cognition, collective intelligence, judgement, transmedia navigation, networking, and negotiation (Jenkins, p. 4).  We cannot throw that baby out with the bath water (as my mother used to say).  We cannot discard the good along with the bad.  We have to sort the ideas, use the good, identify the bad and teach others the difference.

     Since starting the course, I have become more willing to experiment with new literacies.  I have broadened my horizons.  I have created a video and uploaded to YouTube.  I merged a video and a power point presentation syncing the two so that there was a logical flow to the information.  The presentation may not have been flawless, but I was extremely proud of myself for accomplishing the task.  While I never blogged before, this class helped me to form opinions based upon readings and communicate those ideas clearly in a blog that is read by others.  I have created a participatory culture; a “culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices”(Jenkin, p. 3).

     As I was assembling my final project, I thought to myself how much more effective I will be in my church.  I will be able to use these skills to present information to the congregation that will capture and hold their attention.  One of the concerns of my church is that we are losing our young members.  If I can bring these skills into the church, maybe we can reach the youth.  I envision using Zentation to merge the pastors’ message and my presentations and posting them on YouTube for others to view.  With the ability to produce and distribute amateur productions, I would be able to help propel my church into the next stage of broadcasting.  I would be able to distribute our church services to the masses with the use of the internet without any added cost to the church.

     I am completing the Research Methods course this week.  I have thought of ways to incorporate the new literacies that I have learned in this course into my final research project. There may be restrictions placed on the project criteria.  Before making any changes, I plan to discuss with my first reader.  I would like a more exciting and interactive presentation than the research papers I have spent my entire summer reading.  I believe that we will reach our children through new literacies. We, the adults, must learn to incorporate these literacies in our lives .

     Some are still waiting for the EPIC WIN (McGonigal, 2010).  I found mine in this course.  An epic win is defined as shock to discover what an individual is capable of; an outcome so extraordinary positive that the individual has no idea it was possible until it was achieved (McGonigal, 2010).  As I leave this class, I feel that I have accomplished something that was completely impossible.  I never thought that I could create blogs, create an YouTube account, create a video, merge the video and the power point presentation, use a program to create a voice over or add music to a presentation.  The final products may not have been perfect, but they were my best.  I have achieved an EPIC WIN.

References

Gee, J. P. (2005, November). What Games have to Teach US: an Interview with James Paul Gee. (B. Sheffield, Interviewer)

Gee, J. P. (2012). Digital Games and Libraries. Knowledge Quest, 60-64.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the Challenge of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Jenkins, H. (2006, June 23). Fun vs Engagement: The Case of the Great Zoombinis. Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org: http://henryjenkins.org/2006/06/fun_vs_engagement_the_case_of.html

McGonigal, J. (2010, May 17). Jane McGonigal: Gaming can Make a Better World. (T. Talks, Interviewer)

Rich, M. (2008, July 27). http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes