IP 4: Media Convergence
Economic Convergence
Cultural Convergence
Social/Organic Convergence
Technological Convergence
Global Convergence
When a company controls interests/products/services across different aspects of an industry (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016)
Media Convergence Definition
The process of different technologies linking up to function within the same space (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016)
transformative process in the production and consumption of media (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016)
The adaptation and 'natural;' process (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016) of existing in an environment where media overlap
multi-tasking taking place parallel to convergence
Narratives existing and connecting across different platforms of media (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016)
Participatory culture - average consumer engagement with media that can unexpectedly or expectantly influence culture (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016; Jenkins, 2001) #
💡EXAMPLE: Condescending Wonka Meme remixing #
Media saturation
Different cultures influencing one another regardless of physical distance (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016)
✅Positive influence = an abundance of influential culture (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016)
❌Negative influence = cultural imperialism as per Herbert Schiller (White, 2001)
Technologies merging (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016) #
Increase possible connections or relationships between technologies and enable their existence on multiple platforms (Jenkins, 2001)
Key Educational Implications
Participation instead of passivity
inviting engagement, cognitive stimulation and challenge, problem solving, avoiding isolation and stagnation (Steven Johnson, 2005)
easier to do multiple things on the same on the device (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016)
participatory culture (production and consumption) (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016)
reduction of users' attention, creating distraction, unable to think deeply or engage with complexity (Nicholas Carr, 2010)
💡EXAMPLE: Request from adult learners or faculty being trained that they want shorter videos, shorter modules, shorter resources - as I like to say, solving world peace with the dreaded one-pager! 📄
💡EXAMPLE: Learning Management System (LMS) 💻
Transformation #
Who uses media, and for what purpose (Understanding Media and Culture, 2016)
Different or multiple delivery technologies
💡EXAMPLE: Scholarly text and evidence in physical text, PDF, epub, audiobook 📖 🔊 📰 #
Continous process, lots of intersectionality with users, content, technologies, industries (Jenkins, 2001)
New skills
for managing information
transmitting information, overlapping
New ways to create educational content
digitization and transformation of all media content (Jenkins, 2001)
Flow - a steady, continuous stream
Less completion, more potential of continuation
💡EXAMPLE: Assignments on blogs or websites > continuous educational journey > potential for perpetual existence until the host disables the space
Flow from one task to another due to technological, cultural, and social/organic convergence
counter to digital detox and technological engagement with self-regulation > there is a loss of time (Syvertsen, 2020)
"horizontal integration of industries" (Jenkins, 2001)
"transmedia exploitation" of intellectual properties (Jenkins, 2001)
Takes place within the individual user/consumer/learner (Jenkins, 2001)
💡While a student is on their desktop PC, they are reading PDFs of readings, looking up definitions on wikipedia and websters dictionary website, while listening to a studying playlist on spotify #
💡EXAMPLE: YouTube short of how a student stays focused # #
emerging avenues of creativity within spaces of intersectionality (Jenkins, 2001)
Companies use this to build loyal communities where content is cheaply generated
💡EXAMPLE: Content generation > A large audience of medical residents following Dr. Glaucomflecken, who provides satirical humour short on tiktok, twitter, and youtube #
new genres
Cultural diversity (Jenkins, 2001) #
Homogenization (Jenkins, 2001)
Simultaneous commercial and grassroots production (Jenkins, 2001), with purposeful or accidental blending of those lines #
New understands of what we define as knowledge, how it exists, its value, and validating legitimate forms of learning (Jenkins, 2006)
sustainability > the environmental, social, and ethical impacts of using media and educational technologies
Epistemic ethics (Jenkins, 2006)
A choice? Or inevitability? Is it pedagogically sound? Questioning of the teacher's role. #
💡EXAMPLE: Google accounts used as a login on multiple platforms to create and engage with content (as a learner, teacher, or educational technologist) #
💡EXAMPLE: Reddit, message boards, forums, social nextworking
Power of the user to engage or not engage with the material, thus justifying the need for economic convergence to gain more ways to access the user
Power of the device producer
💡EXAMPLE: Microsoft makes PCs, an operating system, browser, videoconference software, video games, analytics, video production #
💡EXAMPLE: Android or Apple phones contain in-house functions and features, and also host applications and software from other developers
💡EXAMPLE: YouTube content creators and consumers - they engage with the content, but also each other. Trends might include apology videos, micro-learning segments, animated educational science videos
This means updating the educational process structure and design (Arzhanovskaya, 2020)
Convergent Learning/Education
interdisciplinary, holistic, aimed at developing competencies needed in work and life in this time of convergent media (along with convergent science and technology) (Arzhanovskaya, 2020)
Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (Mayer, 2005)
dual-channel
limited capacity
learning is an active process
integrating media via educational technology/tools (Arzhanovskaya, 2020)
key tasks: blending personal and professional training, results-oriented (because there are many paths to take there), skills training, intellectual and creative development, harmonizing the education process (Arzhanovskaya, 2020)
💡EXAMPLE: Access to international tv shows in different languages to aid linguistic education
⚡Legend
💡Examples