Media Ecology and Learning Case

Media Ecology and Learning Case

Matthew (Young Athlete)

The young person I interviewed for my case study is an eighteen year old male. His name is Matthew, he is American and Hispanic and lives in a rural town in Taylor County, West Virginia.  He has one older brother and a younger sister and is from a middle class family. Matthews’s parents are working professionals.  Matthew is an average student and is always pushing for improvement.  At home he has unlimited access to technology.  The family has a shared computer in their living room but for the most part they all have their own computers or tablets.

In our interview Matthew shared with me that he has an iPod, laptop that turns into a tablet and a smart phone (IPhone).  There are some restrictions on his computer usage; he is allowed access to the internet any time before 10:00 p.m. during a school week and on weekends he can use internet before 12:00 a.m. he must be responsible with what he searches and how he uses language online. Generally, Matthew uses his smart phone the most; to text, and interact with his peers through Facebook, Twitter, Snap Chat, YouTube, Vine, Safari, email, ITunes and Instagram.

 At school, his technology access is a little more restricted.  The school has a computer lab used only for school assignments only half the time he said the computer don’t work. Matthew, a writer for the school newspaper focuses more on using his technology for recording interviews at school as part of his assignments. This requires him to use his own devices Smart Phone.

 

Hanging Out

Matthew said, being an athlete I depends on my smartphone for communication with my parents, coaches, peers, and to check in with my social media. Sometimes when coming home from an away game I call my parents to let them know I am on my way home or to find out what’s for dinner. I also use my phone or keep up with live grades for school assignments and homework updates and remind 101. His favorite thing to do with his laptop is to watch videos and download music. I try to find a balance between doing it all so when I get to college I can manage my time wisely. Already thinking about his college career.

Messing Around

Matthew is not much of a game player on the computer but likes to plays games on his PS3, Game Cube, Gameboy and PSP. Matthew plays online with out of state friends, his new game is Destiny. Matthew explained that although he likes to play games he would rather go to the Mall shopping, movies, and out to eat with friends and family. Playing video games is more for in the evening and for when friends come over to just hangout. Matthew added that the soccer team is really into playing FIFA and that the players and the teams they create are very competitive.

I asked Matt if playing FIFA helped him play soccer. He said yes, it helps me see my position on the field from a different perspective and gives me a visual of the other players who are coming at me during the game.  James Paul Gee (2005) argues that what gamers learn is embodied empathy for a complex system. Video games players develop a feel or intuition of how systems work. (Squire, 2011, p. 5)

Geeking Out

Matthew said “my goal is achieve the highest status in Destiny”  This new game has so much animation great graphics and I like the stories. I really like creating my character and all the weapons, I especially like playing live online with other players. In the game there are three classes of characters a Warlock, Titan, and Hunter. I am a male hunter. I asked Matthew about how many hours he spent playing in a day. He said that he averages about three to four hours playing when he has nothing to do and because it’s a new game. Another game he still likes to play is Call of Duty, very popular among his friends.

Video games now include a diverse range of experiences, from music simulation to multiplayer role-playing games with new models of distributed leadership (Steinkuehler, 2006).

Schooling

Matthew uses his own laptop at school for taking notes in AP Government, newspaper class, and for uploading music at lunch time. I like using my laptop he said because it has all the updated software like Microsoft Word 2013, windows 8.1 and all the new media options which is important for me. I also have a book window for Comics which allows me to click into it and open all kinds of comic books. I asked Matthew if he was into poetry or any kind of specific type of literature and he said “not really”.

(thomas, 2011, p. 100) The different literate worlds that young people move between, online and offline relating to different ways of getting access to and interpreting information  (reading)and producing content in different modalities (writing), informs us about how we need to reorient what we mean by being literate in our culture.

Education must continue to catch up to meet Digital Literacy in the 21^st Century if educators are

to generate communication among digital natives.