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Research paper thumbnail of Producing the Critical Classroom: An Investigation of Means for Uniting Practice and Theory in Collegiate Coursework

A growing consensus agrees that the development of media literacy skills involve both the interpr... more A growing consensus agrees that the development of media literacy skills involve both the interpretation and production of media (Buckingham, 2013; Jenkins 2009). Less clear is how these dual pedagogical goals can coexist meaningfully (Ito et al., 2009; Hobbs, 1998). Media production may offer students opportunities to develop technical skills, but can it also help develop critical thinking? This study was conducted to investigate this question, focused specifically on a media-production oriented course set in a large Journalism school at a R1 University. It aimed to test the efficacy of in-class activities utilizing a peer feedback system to stimulate critical analysis of media works. ​ The results showed that media production can be used to develop critical thinking; however, connections between technical and critical process must be in implemented in classroom practice for these developments to occur.

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Research paper thumbnail of What's in a Name? Identity creation as shaped by Americanized name adoption

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Papers by J.D. Swerzenski

Research paper thumbnail of Why teaching technology must adapt to our teaching

Communication Education

Pandemic pedagogy in its initial spring 2020 iteration was a process of rapid adaptation, focused... more Pandemic pedagogy in its initial spring 2020 iteration was a process of rapid adaptation, focused on the immediate technical concerns of refashioning lectures on Zoom, reshaping assignments into online formats, and mastering new terms like synchronous and asynchronous teaching (Moore & Hodges, [12]) Critical pedagogy and critical communication pedagogy scholars - focusing their analysis on in-person classrooms - have upheld dialogue-based communication as an ideal While the default discussion board tool might reproduce a transmission approach, a deeper exploration into discussion functions can reveal variants such as Blackboard's journals tool, which offers a more self-reflexive option suited to dialogue-based goals [Extracted from the article] Copyright of Communication Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )

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Research paper thumbnail of Inspiration and motivation: The similarities and differences between critical and acritical media literacy

This article addresses the theoretical and practical differences between acritical and critical m... more This article addresses the theoretical and practical differences between acritical and critical media literacy as researched and practiced by United States'-based scholars. Drawing from the top-cited authors in the field of media literacy, the authors share their analysis of the similarities and differences in pedagogical approaches. Attention is paid to gaps in critical media literacy research and further research needed.

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Research paper thumbnail of Fact, fiction or Photoshop: Building awareness of visual manipulation through image editing software

Journal of Visual Literacy, 2021

Among the most difficult aspects of building visual literacy is creating awareness of manipulatio... more Among the most difficult aspects of building visual literacy is creating awareness of manipulation, a task made continuously harder by the prevalence of ‘Photoshopped’ or digitally altered photos through fake news or our everyday usage of photo editing apps. So how are educators to build awareness of visual literacy when manipulation has become ubiquitous? I argue that understanding the credibility of visual content must go beyond viewing the image as identifying whether a photo has or has not been manipulated. Instead, it requires a technical comprehension of the process by which images are created, allowing educators to discern between visual lies and everyday image editing. To this end, I position Photoshop as a teaching tool, one that offers educators and students a backstage view at the mechanisms of image alteration technology. In building a technical and rhetorical understanding of three key Photoshop tools—airbrush, layers, and filters—I outline a guide for using these tools...

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Research paper thumbnail of Critically Analyzing the Online Classroom: Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas, and the Pedagogy They Produce

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Working from the crossroads of critical pedagogy and software studies, this study analyzes the me... more Working from the crossroads of critical pedagogy and software studies, this study analyzes the means by which teaching technologies—in particular the popular learning management systems (LMS) Blackboard, Moodle, and Canvas—support a transmission model of education at the expense of critical learning goals. I assess the effect of LMSs on critical aims via four key critical pedagogy concepts: the banking system, student/teacher contradiction, dialogue, and problem-posing. From software studies, I employ the notion of affordances—what program functions are and are not made available to users—to observe how LMSs naturalize the transmission model. Rather than present a deterministic look at teaching technology, this study calls for closer examination of these tools in order to rework teaching technologies toward critical ends.

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Research paper thumbnail of Why teaching technology must adapt to our teaching

Communication Education, 2020

While pandemic pedagogy strategies have often focused on adapting to online tools, more important... more While pandemic pedagogy strategies have often focused on adapting to online tools, more important now is that educators and scholars adapt technology to our purposes. Learning management systems (LMS) such as Blackboard and Canvas require special attention, due to their increased role in structuring communication in online classrooms. This essay tracks the ways in which LMSs can undermine dialogue-based and collaborative pedagogy in favor of a transmission model through graded discussions, performance tracking tools, and other functions. Imaging a new role for communication in the online space must begin by acknowledging the tools that will structure that communication, and conceiving ways of working with or against these tools to achieve pedagogical aims.

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Research paper thumbnail of Producing the Critical Classroom: An Investigation of Means for Uniting Practice and Theory in Collegiate Coursework

A growing consensus agrees that the development of media literacy skills involve both the interpr... more A growing consensus agrees that the development of media literacy skills involve both the interpretation and production of media (Buckingham, 2013; Jenkins 2009). Less clear is how these dual pedagogical goals can coexist meaningfully (Ito et al., 2009; Hobbs, 1998). Media production may offer students opportunities to develop technical skills, but can it also help develop critical thinking? This study was conducted to investigate this question, focused specifically on a media-production oriented course set in a large Journalism school at a R1 University. It aimed to test the efficacy of in-class activities utilizing a peer feedback system to stimulate critical analysis of media works. ​ The results showed that media production can be used to develop critical thinking; however, connections between technical and critical process must be in implemented in classroom practice for these developments to occur.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of What's in a Name? Identity creation as shaped by Americanized name adoption

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Why teaching technology must adapt to our teaching

Communication Education

Pandemic pedagogy in its initial spring 2020 iteration was a process of rapid adaptation, focused... more Pandemic pedagogy in its initial spring 2020 iteration was a process of rapid adaptation, focused on the immediate technical concerns of refashioning lectures on Zoom, reshaping assignments into online formats, and mastering new terms like synchronous and asynchronous teaching (Moore & Hodges, [12]) Critical pedagogy and critical communication pedagogy scholars - focusing their analysis on in-person classrooms - have upheld dialogue-based communication as an ideal While the default discussion board tool might reproduce a transmission approach, a deeper exploration into discussion functions can reveal variants such as Blackboard's journals tool, which offers a more self-reflexive option suited to dialogue-based goals [Extracted from the article] Copyright of Communication Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use This abstract may be abridged No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract (Copyright applies to all Abstracts )

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Inspiration and motivation: The similarities and differences between critical and acritical media literacy

This article addresses the theoretical and practical differences between acritical and critical m... more This article addresses the theoretical and practical differences between acritical and critical media literacy as researched and practiced by United States'-based scholars. Drawing from the top-cited authors in the field of media literacy, the authors share their analysis of the similarities and differences in pedagogical approaches. Attention is paid to gaps in critical media literacy research and further research needed.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Fact, fiction or Photoshop: Building awareness of visual manipulation through image editing software

Journal of Visual Literacy, 2021

Among the most difficult aspects of building visual literacy is creating awareness of manipulatio... more Among the most difficult aspects of building visual literacy is creating awareness of manipulation, a task made continuously harder by the prevalence of ‘Photoshopped’ or digitally altered photos through fake news or our everyday usage of photo editing apps. So how are educators to build awareness of visual literacy when manipulation has become ubiquitous? I argue that understanding the credibility of visual content must go beyond viewing the image as identifying whether a photo has or has not been manipulated. Instead, it requires a technical comprehension of the process by which images are created, allowing educators to discern between visual lies and everyday image editing. To this end, I position Photoshop as a teaching tool, one that offers educators and students a backstage view at the mechanisms of image alteration technology. In building a technical and rhetorical understanding of three key Photoshop tools—airbrush, layers, and filters—I outline a guide for using these tools...

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Critically Analyzing the Online Classroom: Blackboard, Moodle, Canvas, and the Pedagogy They Produce

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Working from the crossroads of critical pedagogy and software studies, this study analyzes the me... more Working from the crossroads of critical pedagogy and software studies, this study analyzes the means by which teaching technologies—in particular the popular learning management systems (LMS) Blackboard, Moodle, and Canvas—support a transmission model of education at the expense of critical learning goals. I assess the effect of LMSs on critical aims via four key critical pedagogy concepts: the banking system, student/teacher contradiction, dialogue, and problem-posing. From software studies, I employ the notion of affordances—what program functions are and are not made available to users—to observe how LMSs naturalize the transmission model. Rather than present a deterministic look at teaching technology, this study calls for closer examination of these tools in order to rework teaching technologies toward critical ends.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Why teaching technology must adapt to our teaching

Communication Education, 2020

While pandemic pedagogy strategies have often focused on adapting to online tools, more important... more While pandemic pedagogy strategies have often focused on adapting to online tools, more important now is that educators and scholars adapt technology to our purposes. Learning management systems (LMS) such as Blackboard and Canvas require special attention, due to their increased role in structuring communication in online classrooms. This essay tracks the ways in which LMSs can undermine dialogue-based and collaborative pedagogy in favor of a transmission model through graded discussions, performance tracking tools, and other functions. Imaging a new role for communication in the online space must begin by acknowledging the tools that will structure that communication, and conceiving ways of working with or against these tools to achieve pedagogical aims.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact