EDUC 6816 Dr. Willie Smits - ISTE 2012 Video

How does the project detailed in the video support the research process that is consistent with the kind of research people encounter in the workplace? How does this project support new literacies?

Dr. Willie Smits initiative, “Protecting the Rainforest, or Deforest - Action” is a problem-based learning project that involved more than 17,000 students.  Dr. Smits actually polled students and asked what they considered problematic in the environment and deforestation was the number one issue.  This project empowered young people to take real action, and use their voices to stop deforestation through a collaborative effort and using social media. 14 people from around the world were chosen as “eco-warriors” to live in Borneo for 100 days, and were chosen based on creating a video of why they should be selected. Students from around the world, provided information, and viewed data from classrooms, and assisted the eco-warriors in their fight for deforest-action.  Christopher Gauthier, a teacher in Australia, and some of his students discussed their involvement in the project, and explained how this project fit into the curriculum. This is a study led by an initiative that is real, not a pretend “research project”.   I believe this project does mirror some processes of research in the workplace.  Generally, the workplace is structured to negotiate, solve problems, and to use creative talents to accomplish specific goals.  Problem-based learning is structured to emulate the workplace, due to tackling an existing problem, and finding or proposing a solution.  “Workplaces offer another type of social setting, where the information landscape is often described as messy, complex, and distributed through a range of practices that entwine to contribute to the collective performance of work.” (Lloyd, 2011) Dr. Smits project is an excellent example of being complex, and a collective performance of work.   His example is the type of research projects students need to be assigned.  The students in the video said it best, “this project is real to us, we find value and meaning, and are able to make a personal  connection ”.  Assigning isolated research projects with random topics can contribute to the boredom students feel in school.  Chris’s classroom is innovative, and his students are leading today, and not waiting for tomorrow.  His students actually noticed an issue through the use of software, and satellites and reported the problem to the ecowarriors, and helped save portions of land.  This is an example of real work and being globally connected.  The skills his students are developing are essential to life, work, and surviving in a knowledge based world.  This project supports new literacies through social skills and cultural competencies.  Students are interacting with communities and have the capacity to communicate, and travel through communities in a physical and virtual way.  Students are engaging with other people, participating fully in online environments, and feeling empowerment or self-confidence.   Students are not sitting back and watching, there is a personal investment.  Henry Jenkins ( Director, Comparative Media Studies Program, MIT) believes this about a participatory culture; that we must respect and value this new participatory culture that exists in our everyday lives.  Traditional literacy is fundamental, but what do we need to do to add to or expand the capabilities of creators and participants in the future? What is taking place in the online world?  He believes that a participatory culture is representative of low barriers for artistic expression, formal mentorship, contributions matter, and a strong support for creating and sharing.

Lloyd, A. (2011). Trapped between a rock and a hard place: What counts as information 

literacy in the workplace and how is it conceptualized? Library Trends, 60 (2) pp. 277-296.