"New Literacies and Social Practices of Digital Remixing"
New Literacies, Colin Lankshear and Michele Knobel
1. "Cultures have to be made - created - and they are made by mixing 'new' elements with 'pre-existing' elements in the manner of 'conversations'."
The above quote was for me the thesis of this chapter and an incredibly poetic interpretation of culture. While I actively consider myself to be a part of my surrounding culture, aware of it, and living amongst it, I had never considered the level of agency I could have in its formation, as implied above. I also had not thought about the logical concept that in a given moment, culture is composed of the culture of yesterday--the histories it is steeped in--and in order to become the culture of tomorrow, we as people must determine what parts of the past are valuable, what new ideas we want to bring, and how these new ideas can interact with the past as it constantly changes shape. Thinking that cultural change is driven by these 'conversations' between the past and the current moment is such a clear analogy, for the past never stays identical as it moves into the future, and new ideas are rarely coming out of a vacuum. The two influence each other and through the action of these mutual influences, as well as the constant metronome of time, something new will inevitably develop. Culture rearranges itself and adds on to become a new form again and again, never to repeat the identical shape it has been before. In a lot of ways this definition gives me a great sense of hope, believing that each new generation has the ability to transform the shape of culture with time, and knowing that it will always be evolving forward, meaning no past mistakes will be identically replicated.
2. "Young people are picking [digital remixing] up on a massive scale and it is becoming increasingly central to their practices of making meaning and expressing ideas."
While an obvious point, it is worth repeating that we are in an age of unprecedented exposure to content - music, images, videos, advertisements, entertainment, text, journals, podcasts - we are swimming in it all everyday. One of the only times I am not confronting some form of content is when I am getting ready in the morning, which leaves a lot of the day to be exposed to the "things" (relating to content) all around me, often with multiple "things" being put in front me of at one time. And I am probably exposed to less content than an average teen or preteen. Thinking of the remix as a fluid way to synthesize and make sense of the world around us, and for teens, around them, seems almost too logical! Why not process and better understand what is always around us, then bring it through our own filter, enhance it with our own meanings, and combine and conglomerate some of these many separate chaoses into something we can make sense of and call our own? I completely understand why remixing and finding new ways in which to remix are not only popular with teens who live their lives steeped in content, but also necessary to help them make sense of it all and understand their place within it.
"The New Digital Arts: Forms, Tools, and Practices"
New Opportunities for Interest-Based Arts Learning in a Digital Age", Kylie Peppler
3. Both of the above readings mention that new technologies allow individuals with no specific experience in a given field to still access it in a way that is creative (such as being able to play instruments or read music does not determine if you can access music production, creation and remixing through applications). I can follow the argument that accessible exposure can get kids, or anyone for that matter, interested and excited about a topic that they might not otherwise be able to explore, and completely agree with it. Where my opinion differs however, is that neither of these pieces seemed to address the fact that bypassing the need to have experience or talent in a subject also allows many people to skip foundations that might play a significant part in their development and success. I am not arguing that everyone needs to follow some kind of esoteric core curriculum, focusing only on established white male perspectives, but instead I am questioning the ease that technology can create in our lives, and how that can be detrimental as well as useful. Skipping skills that help us become better thinkers, ask better questions, make more well-developed decisions, and be more well-versed and knowledgeable in our crafts is ultimately a mistake. To me, the red flag lies at the concept of teaching the formula for solving a problem before creating a base from which students can solve without the formula, and know how that formula is derived. I agree that a lot of things are great to take a whack at, whatever your proficiency of the topic, but if we are hoping to use these platforms to build the future developers, creatives, CEOs, etc. we have to understand that the shortcut misses many opportunities for expanding the individual's potential.
New Literacies, Colin Lankshear and Michele Knobel
1. "Cultures have to be made - created - and they are made by mixing 'new' elements with 'pre-existing' elements in the manner of 'conversations'."
The above quote was for me the thesis of this chapter and an incredibly poetic interpretation of culture. While I actively consider myself to be a part of my surrounding culture, aware of it, and living amongst it, I had never considered the level of agency I could have in its formation, as implied above. I also had not thought about the logical concept that in a given moment, culture is composed of the culture of yesterday--the histories it is steeped in--and in order to become the culture of tomorrow, we as people must determine what parts of the past are valuable, what new ideas we want to bring, and how these new ideas can interact with the past as it constantly changes shape. Thinking that cultural change is driven by these 'conversations' between the past and the current moment is such a clear analogy, for the past never stays identical as it moves into the future, and new ideas are rarely coming out of a vacuum. The two influence each other and through the action of these mutual influences, as well as the constant metronome of time, something new will inevitably develop. Culture rearranges itself and adds on to become a new form again and again, never to repeat the identical shape it has been before. In a lot of ways this definition gives me a great sense of hope, believing that each new generation has the ability to transform the shape of culture with time, and knowing that it will always be evolving forward, meaning no past mistakes will be identically replicated.
2. "Young people are picking [digital remixing] up on a massive scale and it is becoming increasingly central to their practices of making meaning and expressing ideas."
While an obvious point, it is worth repeating that we are in an age of unprecedented exposure to content - music, images, videos, advertisements, entertainment, text, journals, podcasts - we are swimming in it all everyday. One of the only times I am not confronting some form of content is when I am getting ready in the morning, which leaves a lot of the day to be exposed to the "things" (relating to content) all around me, often with multiple "things" being put in front me of at one time. And I am probably exposed to less content than an average teen or preteen. Thinking of the remix as a fluid way to synthesize and make sense of the world around us, and for teens, around them, seems almost too logical! Why not process and better understand what is always around us, then bring it through our own filter, enhance it with our own meanings, and combine and conglomerate some of these many separate chaoses into something we can make sense of and call our own? I completely understand why remixing and finding new ways in which to remix are not only popular with teens who live their lives steeped in content, but also necessary to help them make sense of it all and understand their place within it.
"The New Digital Arts: Forms, Tools, and Practices"
New Opportunities for Interest-Based Arts Learning in a Digital Age", Kylie Peppler
3. Both of the above readings mention that new technologies allow individuals with no specific experience in a given field to still access it in a way that is creative (such as being able to play instruments or read music does not determine if you can access music production, creation and remixing through applications). I can follow the argument that accessible exposure can get kids, or anyone for that matter, interested and excited about a topic that they might not otherwise be able to explore, and completely agree with it. Where my opinion differs however, is that neither of these pieces seemed to address the fact that bypassing the need to have experience or talent in a subject also allows many people to skip foundations that might play a significant part in their development and success. I am not arguing that everyone needs to follow some kind of esoteric core curriculum, focusing only on established white male perspectives, but instead I am questioning the ease that technology can create in our lives, and how that can be detrimental as well as useful. Skipping skills that help us become better thinkers, ask better questions, make more well-developed decisions, and be more well-versed and knowledgeable in our crafts is ultimately a mistake. To me, the red flag lies at the concept of teaching the formula for solving a problem before creating a base from which students can solve without the formula, and know how that formula is derived. I agree that a lot of things are great to take a whack at, whatever your proficiency of the topic, but if we are hoping to use these platforms to build the future developers, creatives, CEOs, etc. we have to understand that the shortcut misses many opportunities for expanding the individual's potential.
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