Quiet, The Power of Introverts Third Text for Assignment 2

Quiet: The Power of Introverts

Cain, S. (2012). Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking.

According to her book jacket, Susan Cain’s work on introversion and shyness has appeared in the New York Times and on PsychologyToday.com.  She is an honors graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School.  The studies she cites in her book are backed by 271 notes of researched material.

This book addresses, in perhaps a round-about way, some of the concerns about smart mobs.  Cook at the Winnipeg Free Press certainly questions the wisdom of the crowd -  is a group of people really going to reach better conclusions or more creative solutions than an individual? (my second text posting on Kony2012)

The focus of much of what we have read in this course and certainly throughout the program, has been that groups are good.  Clay Shirky in Here Comes Everybody quotes James Surowiecki concerning the “wisdom of crowds…distributed groups whose members aren’t connected can often generate better answers, by pooling their knowledge or intuition without having to come to an agreement” (Shirky, 2009, p 269).

We can see this idea that groups are good in how our elementary schools promote seating children in pods or groups of 4 tables where students can engage with each other.   Our corporate offices support open concept office areas; “over 70 per cent of today’s employees work in an open space” (Cain, 2012, p 18) where office mates can easily meet each other and exchange ideas. 

As a college professor I am encouraged to create group activities so students can learn from each other and also be prepared for the workplace where they will be expected to work on a team.

It is all based on the concept that we will get better results – a better education or improved workplace productivity - when we bring people together.  The philosophy “insists that creativity and intellectual achievement come from a gregarious place” (Cain, 2012, p. 15).

But Cain quotes a 5^th grade teacher who cautions “respect for others is based on their verbal abilities, not their originality or insight” (2012, p. 22).  Cain also reports on studies that clearly showed participants “produced more ideas when they worked on their own than when they worked as a group. They also produced ideas of equal or higher quality when working individually” (2012, p. 88).

Why this seeming difference of groups versus individuals?  The idea that group work was superior, according to Cain, was a result of the world wide web which allowed “ridiculously easy group forming” (Shirky, 2009, p. 54).  She notes the irony that the web was created by computer engineers who were working independent of each other.

Cain says we have ”failed to realize that what makes sense of the asynchronous, relatively anonymous interactions of the Internet, might not work as well inside the face-to-face, politically charged, acoustically noisy confines of an open plan office” (Cain, 2012, p. 26).

This book suggests we should reconsider that approach and the author provides some compelling studies behind her argument. 

Cain cites studies that have ”shown that performance gets worse as group size increases” (p. 88) but then notes “The one exception to this is online brainstorming. Groups brainstorming electronically, when properly managed, not only do better than individuals, research shows; the larger the group, the better it performs” (Cain, p 89).

This perhaps supports the hope that the smart mobs may in fact produce better results than what might be achieved by face to face group interactions. But note she includes the phrase "when properly managed" which is something the Concerned Citizen report, (my first posting) addresses with the term "handrails." 

Again, if we are to parent or teach a successfully transliterate population, the term takes on even more significance considering Cain’s research; we need to be transliterate across multiple technical platforms and in a variety of ways – but we can't forget offline. That includes being literate or aware of human nature, being media savvy, and being able to work effectively in both the online and offline worlds which are different.

Cain, S. (2012). Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking. Crown Publishers, United States, New York.

Shirky, C. (2009). Here comes everybody, the power of organizing without organizations.  Penguin Group, New York

Kony 2012 Second Text for Assignment 2

KONY 2012 on Vimeo

The video highlights how quickly people can be called to action using technology.  We have been asked what is old about new media – this video is a good illustration. A marketing teacher in my college posted it for our students and noted,

“I want you to see how he's presented it. Break it down: A well thought out storyboard containing the 5 'Why's' and the 'How', compelling images, quality writing and use of graphics. Stats are researched and presented in many ways to keep you glued to the set … Crude images such as a simple printed email with highlighted components, can become a bold message. His message is loud and clear in the way it is presented, and is a compelling call to action…When working with layouts for your marketing, advertising and social media material, take a look at all the great visual techniques he's incorporated to tell the story” (McLeod, 2012).

These techniques to tell a story have been around for ages but now almost anyone is able to put them to use and reach larger audiences than ever before.

This level of attention could not have been achieved by previous generations.  A television commercial might reach as many viewers but the cost would likely be out of the reach of an organization like Invisible Children.  I can choose to go back and view that video as often as I like, strengthening the message, and I can forward it to as many people as are in my network – and so can others. Neither of these are possible with television commercials.

Invisible Children accomplished its goal to make people aware of the situation.  That awareness is a part of its mission which states, 

“1) Make the world aware of the LRA. This includes making documentary films and touring them around the world so that they are seen for free by millions of people” (Invisible Children website, para. 4).

But some of the controversy that has followed the posting highlights another phenomena that is also not new.  Despite the fact I think as a public we are less naïve than perhaps a couple generations ago, we can still be swayed by a well-designed and communicated message.  The mainstream media has picked up the story and they provide a credible source of commentary on Kony 2012.

A columnist in the Winnipeg Free Press writes, “Congratulations Invisible Children, Joseph Kony is now famous. Mission accomplished. But now we are all aware, it's time to get informed.

The only thing more dangerous than not knowing anything is thinking you know everything” (Cook, 2012 para. 13-14).

Cook disputes the number of children that Invisible Children claims have been taken by Kony’s army; “Experts agree the involvement of children in the LRA has been vastly exaggerated. Studies show the prevalence of child soldiers in the LRA has been consistently over-reported” (2012, para. 7).

I don’t think the number of children is an issue here – the facts are known about this army and the world does not dispute the atrocities Kony has perpetrated.  For instance, Washington Post writer  Michael Gerson notes, “Even a diminished Kony is dangerous. And the evil of the man himself can scarcely be exaggerated. In Uganda, I’ve met former LRA child soldiers who were forced to kill their own parents and neighbors in order to sever their ties to community and sympathy” (2012, para. 7).

But Cook’s point is well taken – how many people investigated the validity behind the message before clicking “like” or replying. Today’s tools make it easy for anyone to develop and distribute a compelling message that is a complete falsehood.  In the wrong hands, this access seems scary to say the least.  How many people have sent money to hucksters due to Internet pleas?

Consider the radio message on Sunday, October 30, 1938 when “news alerts announced the arrival of Martians…Many ran out of their homes screaming while others packed up their cars and fled.  Though what the radio listeners heard was a portion of Orson Welles' adaptation of the well-known book, War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, many of the listeners believed what they heard on the radio was real” (Rosenburg, 2012, para 1).

The need for media literacy has only grown and is a part of the transliteracy we need to develop – to be literate, we need to develop a sense of how to judge and assess the messages that come our way. We need to be even more media savvy.

An article in Canadian Living features an interview with Debbie Gordon, managing editor at Mediacs.ca, a website that features media literacy workshops.  Referring to the so-called wardrobe malfunction of Janet Jackson’s at the Superbowl which created a furor among parents who were upset that their children saw it, she said,  "Media savvy kids were able to see the media toolbox hard at work during that halftime show - they weren't buying that message"(Desjardine, 2012, para 4).

Such media savvy training is essential so that the ‘smart’ mobs that are created with such messages on the Internet are indeed smart.

Cook, P. (2012).  Maybe invisible children aren’t there, Winnipeg Free Press, March 10, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012 from http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/%20opinion/westview/maybe-invisible-children-arent-there-142188783.html

Desjardine, E. (2012) Making kids media savvy. Canadian Living, retrieved March 10, 2012 from http://www.canadianliving.com/moms/parenting/making_kids_media_ savvy.php

Gerson, M. (2012). The controversy over Kony 2012. Washington Post, March 3, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/the-controversy-over-kony-2012/2012/03/10/%20gIQAzc6M3%20R_%20blog.html

Invisible Children (2012). From Critiques Page,  http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.%20invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html Retrieved March 10, 2012.

McLeod, C. (2012).  Video gone viral: Kony 2012. Linked-In IMC Group. Retrieved March 10, 2012.

Rosenberg, J. (2012).  War of the worlds radio broadcast causes panic. About.com 20^th Century History. Retrieved March 10, 2012 http://history1900s.about.com/od/ 1930s/a/warofworlds.htm

Connected Citizens, First Text for Assignment 2

Knight Foundation | Connected Citizens [report]

Connected Citizens -  The power, peril and potential of networks by Diana Scearce highlights a study by the Knight Foundation about networks, “groups that are creatively connecting citizens” (Scearce, 2012, forward).  Rheingold uses the term smart mob to describe networks: “Smart mobs emerge when communication and computing technologies amplify human talents for cooperation” (http://www.smartmobs.com/, para 1).

The Knight Foundation is a funding organization that states on its website that it “supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts” (para 1 About the Foundation). 

The report echoes the caution that Rheingold states in his MIT presentation in 2002, that the smart mobs will “not always necessarily be peaceful and democratic.. (the) future won’t be all progress and light” (2002, MIT video).  Connected Citizens reports, “What’s less clear at this point is whether this interconnectedness, decentralization and transparency is—and will be—good or bad for the health of communities” (Scearce, 2011, pg 1).

The Knight Foundation, with its partner the Monitor Institute studied more than 70 projects, to determine whether the “potential of networks (is to) create stronger bonds or to split us apart” (Scearce, 2011, Forward). 

It cautions, “there are downsides to this interdependence as well. Network con­nections can be used to hoard power rather than distribute it. Living in dense and information-rich webs presents real dangers of narrowing rather than broadening our worldviews because we’re forced to filter in order to manage the overwhelming amounts of information.

“Will our public conversations be more polarized and fragmented, as people choose to connect with others who are like-minded? Or will we see more bridging of differences? With growing digital connectivity increasing the possibilities for borderless communities, will citizens have stronger or weaker ties to their neighbors? Finally, how widespread will the skills be for artfully using the tools to channel this wealth of connectivity toward social change?” (Scearce, 2011, pg. 2).  

The report noted the following patterns in successful networks:

Listening to and consulting the crowds

Designing for serendipity

Bridging differences

Catalyzing mutual support

Providing handrails for collective action(pg. 7).

The report also asks some key questions:  

How much trust and mistrust will here be?

- These are addressed through bridging differences and deliberately connecting people with different perspectives by successful networks

What will be the nature of public participation and the public conversation?  

- These are addressed by designs for serendipity and catalyzing mutual support by successful networks

What will be the impact of technology on (the quality of) civic information and engagement?

- The report makes the point that sometimes it is wise to “smart source” rather than crowdsource.  “since the input you get from the crowds is shaped by who’s participating, a diversity of perspectives may not be reflected and there’s always a risk that the loudest or most shocking messages will grab attention” (pg. 9).

What will be the nature of leadership in a network-centric world?

- These are the “handrails” of successful networks.

The report quotes Harold Rheingold:  “The critical uncertainty about collective action and the question, ‘Is the Internet and mobile device era good for us or bad for us?’ depends on the percentage of the population who know what to do with the tools. The knowledge itself isn’t a capital intensive resource. How you get it to people depends on institutions. How will learners organize together, and how will they be facilitated?” (pg. 29).

 The report describes 3 compelling pictures of what 2015 could look like, with both positive and negative repercussions. For instance, in Digging Foxholes, people retreat to protect themselves from governments that use social media channels for their own ends.  In Know Your Neighbour,  people become myopic and don’t see new ideas from outside the network they know. In MobileMe, the hyper-connectivity results in a world where your home is not defined by geography and the local infrastructure deteriorates – children attend school online and the local system fails, for instance.   The report is not suggesting that one of these scenarios will be exactly what happens and each is an undiluted look at the pros and cons of each – but we can see elements of each in 2012.

  

I think all of this highlights the need to be transliterate, across the new technologies, but also in traditional face to face connections, in ‘reading’ and understanding human behaviour.  This means preparing current generations of learners to be fluent (transliterate) in this new reality.  Jenkins reflects the gap with his statement,  “If we were to start from scratch and design an educational system to meet the needs of the culture we have just described, it would look very little like the current school system” (2006, para. 14). 

The solution is to educate ourselves (and our children) about networks, how they work, how to make connections, how to recognize the downsides, and how to grow them.  It seems to me that not connecting is not a solution.   This rings of the lesson we learned in our first MACT institute that we can not not communicate.

Jenkins, Henry. (2006).“Eight traits of the new media landscape,” confessions of an aca-fan. Retrieved March 8, 2012 from: http://www.henryjenkins.org/2006 /11/eight_traits_of_the_new_media.html.

Knight Foundation. (2012) website Retrieved March 8, 2012 from www.knightfoundation.org

Rheingold, H. (2002).  “Smart mobs: The next social revolution.”  MIT World. [Video file]. Retrieved March 8, 2012 from: http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/22

Scearce, D. (2011). Connected citizens, The power, peril and potential of networks. John S and James L Knight Foundations. Retrieved March 8, 2012  http://www.connectedcitizens.net/.

Does Posting Text Qualify as Transliteracy?

Posted on behalf of Jonathan:

After reading Sue Thomas’ post (Thomas, 2012) and watching her video

lecture (Thomas, 2008), I found myself contemplating the concept of

transliteracy amongst young people and giving consideration to the

question she posed at the end of the blog post: “Imagine that you have

been asked to measure the transliteracy levels of students and

teachers at your school. How would you do this?” (Thomas, 2012).

Immediately, I thought about the young people that I taught when I was

an active classroom teacher, just over four years ago. I felt that so

many of those young people were quite adept at using a number of

tools, but yet the default mode for expressing ideas seemed to be

text. Whether it was using email, posting to facebook or sending an

SMS message – the dominant mode for expression was text regardless of

the medium used.

Brian Hulsey’s video (Hulsey, 2010) also raises the question of mode

versus medium (if I may use those terms to describe these ideas). In

all but one of the instances being described by Hulsey, the dominant

mode for expression is text (or at best hypertext). He demonstrates

his concept of transliteracy by discussing the sharing of a blueberry

smoothie recipe and shows how it can be sent by email, posted to

Twitter, shared on Facebook and written on a sticky note. The only

time he illustrates the use of another mode besides text, is when he

discusses using the telephone to tell his grandparents about the

recipe.

So the question for discussion is this: is transliteracy accurately

described by using multiple tools to express oneself using a single

modality or does transliteracy also indicate a use of multiple modes –

text, speech, music, film, dance, drama, etc. Based on Thomas’

definition it would. She says, “transliteracy is the ability to read,

write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from

signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to

digital social networks” (Thomas etal, 2007).

An important measure for determining the transliteracy level of

students in a school setting then must include their amount of

exposure to arts education. Students would need to be able to express

themselves using pictures, film, theatre and music as well as text in

order to be truly transliterate, otherwise they are simply using text

with different tools. As a math teacher, I would also say that

students should be well versed in communicating using numbers,

symbolic logic, charts and graphs. All of this speaks to a public

education system that emphasizes a variety of literacies and includes

a strong emphasis on not just English language arts and mathematics,

but also art, music, dance and drama.

Am I transliterate?

Sue - thank you for a very engaging lecture; you really made me stop and think several times. 7,000 years of no writing? Aboriginals sending YouTube videos to communicate. Tribes that exist without writing and reading - really forced me to reconsider my definition of transliteracy.

If we include signing, then that is an area where I am not literate. I taught a student whose parents were both deaf. This student's first language was signing. When she wrote, she would often neglect to include connecting words like 'the' because they don't exist in signing.

I would consider myself only marginally transliterate. I can read and write in English; I speak only English (some very limited highschool French and enough Spanish to say hello and order a beer at the resort!).  I recently learned to include audio and images in my writing through the use of i-movie and felt I had significantly grown in my literacy skills. It has actually opened a whole new door leading to numerous ideas for 'literary' projects (after I get through this masters!)

We do tend to think of transliteracy as our ability to read, write and to use new media (computers, cell phones) but perhaps it has made us smug and to forget the value of previous literacies.

Maybe this is silly, but I was wondering if you would include intuition as a form of literacy?

I have often felt that I need to sharpen my skills in listening to my intuition.  As an example, I can think of many instances when I forgot to bring something with me to work; when I arrived at work I would discover I forgot the item and then I would realize that the nagging 'something' that I ignored on my way out the door was trying to remind me but I ignored it.

Some people would argue this was a default of my brain at that moment, in that it was not bringing a memory forward.  Others would argue about the source of the "intuition."

Either way, is it possible that 'intuition' is a literacy we have lost touch with because we have become so dependent on language and writing? 

Kony 2012, 597, Lippmann, etc

One of the exhibits I am going to look at for Assignment 2 is the smart mob at work in the movement, called Kony 2012,  that is blazing through the younger set.  (One of the side benefits of this course is how much more I have to talk to my teenaged sons about!) And I wanted to share it myself and start to think out loud about it.

For those who don't know, Joseph Kony is, as a leader of a guerrilla army in Uganda, infamous and notorious for alleged crimes against humanity. But he is not yet famous. And that's what Kony 2012 aims to change. 

Using some of social media best practices, the group has styled its tactics after of a U.S. political campaign's, as it marches toward an April 20th day of international action. If you've got 30 minutes, watch the video! 

Writing in 1921 in Public Opinion, journalist and scholar Walter Lippmann could see the changing contours of the world of communication, even though smart mobs and collective intelligence were phenomena of the future. He tells us world wide press services, photography and moving pictures are "key inventions...for bringing the unseen world into the field of judgment" (177).

I am out of my depth on this  (and haven't finished the book, and am not convinced Lippmann would have been among the utopians of our age)  but this is a crucial development because it attacks an ancient assumption that Lippmann calls "of the utmost consequence." 

And that is that men could give little attention to public questions, and that the attention available would have to be confined to matters close at hand. 

"For the possibility of bringing any aspect of human affairs within the range of judgment breaks the spell which has lain upon political ideas," he writes. 

I sense that there are some tentative conclusions to reach looking at Kony 2012 with the help of Walter Lippmann. 

It took about a day to get the video 1.8 million views on YouTube, so something is happening. And about to happen.

Sources:

Lippmann, W. (2010). Public opinion. BN Publishing.

Guest Lecture from Professor Sue Thomas

Transliteracy: what is it and how can we measure it?

Hello everyone, it’s a pleasure to work with you this week. I’m writing from the heart of England, where I live in a small cottage about 15 miles from the city of Leicester. Spring is about to start here, so the first flowers are starting to appear and the days are getting longer. It’s great that the internet allows us to communicate so easily across the world and I’m very much looking forward to talking about transliteracy with you this week!

Transliteracy is the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks. To put it another way, being transliterate involves being open to difference and prioritising what unites us rather than what divides us.

From your point of view, transliteracy is especially important in terms of your learning experiences. A 2010 article said this about my research at De Montfort University:

The media's teenage stereotype is that of a girl watching Hollyoaks on television while simultaneously discussing its plot lines on the social networking site Facebook, listening to music on MySpace and texting her friend to discuss home study. Sue Thomas is exploring the impact that transliteracy is having on higher education and pedagogy. In transliterate terms, many academics are in essence illiterate, which matters if their teaching relationship with hyper-transliterate students is breaking down because of an inability to communicate fully with each other. If academics cannot show themselves to be transliterate, will they lose the respect of their students?

It continues:

Meanwhile, a committee looking at the impact of the "Google generation" on HE (Higher Education) has found that 95% of students are members of an online social network and that more than 50% have a blog or website. These transliterate students arrive at university with a set of assumptions about how they will use these skills in their education, and have difficulty if such assumptions are questioned.Should tutors be expecting, even demanding, that students communicate with each other electronically? Communication tools such as Second Life, the web-based virtual world, involve creating alternative identities. Should students be expected or required to generate these for themselves? Professor Thomas believes that as transliteracy travels up the HE agenda, academics will be obliged to add new forms of communication to their portfolio of teaching methods. There is a debate to be had with applicants. The evidence is that students still want face-to-face contact, and value that. Some do not see new technology as the core of learning, even though they may spend two or three hours a day on the web. What do they expect? What do they want? What are they prepared for? A transliterate study style incorporates a range of learning modes, combining traditional face-to-face lectures, seminars and tutorials with online classes via the web and mobile media. [ from ‘Getting In Getting On! A Guide to getting into Higher Education’ by Rob Brown & Mike Chant 2010)

Do you agree with their conclusion that young people of today are transliterate?

Do you consider yourself to be transliterate?

This week I’d like to look at various different approaches to transliteracy and invite you think about how you might measure transliteracy in yourself and others.

I have some reading for you, some videos, and a task. I advise you do them in the following order but feel free to pick and mix if that suits you better.

Reading and Watching

1.     First, think about the article extract above in terms of some of the references. Social media has changed since it was written in 2010. Which of the platforms listed there do you use? If you were revising it to publish now, what changes would you make?

2.     Watch my Transliteracy lecture  http://vimeo.com/2831405

3.     Dip into the Transliteracy Research Group blog http://www.transliteracy.com

4.     Librarians are very excited about transliteracy. Find out why from Bobbi Newman’s slideshow Libraries and Transliteracy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk4Cw8vrDuM

5.     Bobbi’s work inspired librarian Brian Hulsey to make an amusing video about making a blueberry smoothie the transliterate way http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h06FZryyQM4

6.     Transliteracy also inspired one of my former students, Mary King, an English journalist living in Japan, to make this very meditative film: Transliteracy - The Spirit of Kanji  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7srRPi5R2Gw

7.     This journal article sums up much of what I say in the video lecture: Transliteracy: Crossing Divides by Sue Thomas, Chris Joseph, Jess Laccetti, Bruce Mason, Simon Mills, Simon Perril, and Kate Pullinger, First Monday, Volume 12 Number 12 - 3 December 2007 http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/2060/1908

8.     Check out the #transliteracy tag on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/saved-search/transliteracy

9.     Tweet your thoughts and questions on transliteracy to me @suethomas using the tag #transliteracy

Task

Imagine that you have been asked to measure the transliteracy levels of students and teachers at your school. How would you do this? Post your suggestions and we’ll discuss them. I look forward to seeing your ideas.

Doug Gibson & e-books

Yesterday evening, I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by Douglas Gibson, who has been the editor and/or publisher for a many famous Canadian authors, most recently at the head of McLelland & Stewart.  He was presenting his new book, Stories about Storytellers, and it was entertaining, indeed. At the end, there was a Q&A, and someone else beat me to the question of the future of  the publishing industry with the advent of e-books. However, I did tape his response on my flipcam.

Immigrant vs. Native

With my experience as a “digital immigrant” and parent of “digital natives”, Henry Jenkins’s “Combating the Participation Gap” really resonated with me, as did Howard Rheingold’s interview of 12-year-old Adora Svitak.

My daughters (19 and 16 years) have on occasion over the last two years of my studies concluded that I was learning about things they already knew about and in some cases they were right. And when I had question about how to do something, I’d ask them, and sometimes they’d share something cool/ new that they had learned of. As Jenkins notes, relationships are different now and the roles may be reversed with a younger person advising an older one. Certainly as immigrant and natives we have a “difference in experience” as Jenkins says.

Jenkins advises that adults have a responsibility to get online with their kids, to direct and share their experiences, just like they go to their children’s soccer games.  The solution is not to cut off their access to the net and benefits of online participation.

I agree. I supported my children’s online experience through the provision of computers, high speed internet, cell phones, iPods and then smartphones.  At some point early on, their knowledge of how and what they could do online overtook my knowledge.

About five years ago, my eldest daughter took to a social media site called Nexopia. Fortunately she shared it with me and we were able to talk a bit about the reality of the internet and what was appropriate. However one of her friends was not so wary - flaunting seductive poses in her profile pic, and then bragging online about her prank at school that then got her in trouble. This same friend had more than 1000 friends on Nexopia, the privacy setting of sharing with “friends and their friends” probably left it pretty open to predators. (Note the recent story about Nexopia and privacy.)

Kids do try roles on, online, and do make mistakes there. And they need to know appropriate `netiquette‘ (as Adora Svitak counselled Howard Rheingold).

Jenkins discusses “cosplay” as a skill of networking. Chloe is a girl who likes sewing and dressing up in anime character costumes and through this cosplay she develops her networking skill. Coincidentally, this also describes my 18-year-old niece, Chloe.

Multi-tasking is also a skill to participate in the online world according to Jenkins. This comes naturally to the girls.  The challenge is to effectively manage their attention on the right things. This is a definitely a skill or a discipline to be nurtured.

Appropriation is a skill that requires the digital native to understand the difference between cutting and pasting text into your essay, and appropriating and remixing content for the purposes of creativity. (Second daughter learned this one in grade 10!)

In spite of what little guidance and teaching we parents were able to provide, I estimate that my daughters are well equipped to participate online and receive the benefit from this resource. I did enjoy helping my daughter find a citation online for Nietzsche this afternoon. Seems there are still a few things I can show them!