Do We Really Need Media Education 2.0? Teaching Media in the Age of Participatory Culture

This chapter explores some of the implications of digital social media for media education. It seeks to challenge some of the euphoric celebration of the democratic and creative possibilities of these new media and to provide a more considered, critical basis for classroom practice. The chapter begins by considering some of the claims of those who have called for a radical shift in media education practice – so-called Media Studies 2.0. It argues that these claims are overstated and ignore some of the limitations of new media as well as their more problematic aspects. It particularly points to some of the pedagogical problems that are raised by this approach and its rather superficial celebration of participation and creativity. The chapter then moves on to consider some alternative approaches, building on the long tradition of media education in the UK: these approaches are especially premised on the need to combine, and create a dialogue between, critical theory and creative practice.

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