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Produsage & Generation C


Generation C is a term that I have only recently learned about after reading the articles for this week. At first, I thought this would have referred to a certain population of people, but that was not the case. It is interesting to learn how many of us identify as consumers and producers in this content-heavy generation that participates in the web environment. At the same time, there has been a trend to share and consume information online without seeking proper validity or credit from the sources they come from. This point was one that was brought up, and I share those same concerns as someone who is very active in online settings. The influence that Generation C has overall is something that should be alarming because with influence comes some power. This generation has the ability to have global impact depending on how 

Now, I am a big fan of the produsage culture that we currently live in, but there does need to be some sort of regulation. Social media and network platforms have found ways to filter inappropriate or sensitive content (some things still slip through). However, people still have the ability to post content that is not accurate, and others might believe them if the information seems sound. This is why I understand the concern for educational uses of all the content available through web 2.0 as education is shifting to incorporate the technological affordances that exist. The "Beyond Difference: Reconfiguring Education for the User-Led Age" article made some good points about noting the implications of generation C and its characteristics. Some of which include understanding the consequences of all this content, trends, influence, control, and various levels of impact. 

My take from all this is that all this content coming from Generation C is threatening the traditional ways of sharing and producing information, especially for educational purposes. It can be difficult to learn how to filter the information and know what to actually trust given all the access that we have. To successfully navigate this age of the web, we have to have some basic skills. 

I am curious to know, what skills would be the most useful when it comes to managing and using the web for education purposes? 
I hope to expand on that maybe in the next post. However, if you stopped by, please share your thoughts.



References

Dr Axel Bruns. (n.d.). Beyond Difference: Reconfiguring Education for the User-Led Age.

Introducing generation C. (n.d.). Rich Media. https://www.richmedia.com/richideas/articles/introducing-generation-c 


Comments

  1. Kenia, to answer your final question, I think it's particularly important for educators to have strategies that create structure that helps guide students through educational experiences on the web. The web is such a vast & rich resource for learning that students are likely to be overwhelmed without some clear structure/constraints. At the same time, however, we probably don't want to make things so rigidly structured that they don't get to enjoy the freedom & creativity that online environments can provide--so I suppose, as is often the case, balance is key.

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  2. Hi William,
    You brought up a great point that I should have considered when making this post. It would certainly be for the best if we were to have some structure but not to the point where learners get overwhelmed. I am all for freedom when it comes to exploring online resources but do think structure matters depending on the age group of the people involved.

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