The document discusses how communication and information can be used to enact social change. It explains that metacognition and critical reflection allow people to transform ideas into actions that improve society. Various competencies are outlined that involve understanding different perspectives, applying ethical judgment, and using communication to address important issues. The document also discusses how both "thin" and "thick" engagement are important for social and political change. It provides examples of how internet memes and parody can be used to comment on and challenge social norms. Risks of online civic participation, such as harassment, are also addressed. Throughout, the document emphasizes how the power of communication can be harnessed to imagine new possibilities and promote positive change.

1. CREATE to
LEARN
Renee
Hobbs@reneehobbs
Introduction to Digital Literacy
Chapter 6
Reflecting and Taking Action
Pages 89 -104

2. Using the Power
of
Communication
to Make
Difference in
the World
Throughout history,
people have used the
power of communication
and information to make
a difference in the world
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

3. Metacognition and
Critical Reflection
Metacognition and critical reflection
are two types of reflective thinking
that have the potential to transform
people’s ideas into actions that
improve society.
Metacognition: thinking about
thinking
Critical reflection: considering the
intended and unintended
consequences of potential action or
ideas Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

4. Some REFLECT Competencies
Recognize how entertainment media communicate values
and ideology
Understand how differences in values and life experience
shape people’s media use and message interpretation
Appreciate risks and potential harms of digital media.
Apply ethical judgment and social responsibility to
communication situations
Understand how concepts of “private” and “public” are
reshaped by digital media
Appreciate and respect legal rights and responsibilities
(copyright, intellectual freedom, etc)
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

5. Communication
for Social
ChangeUsing the power of communication to tackle
important social issues like climate change,
poverty, racism, drug abuse, crime or other
issues
 a process of public and private dialogue
 people define their identity and state
intentions and goals
 encounter voices and perspectives of
previously unheard members of the
community
 proposing and negotiating solutions
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

6. Thin Engagement
• Clicking a “like” button
• Sharing a meme
• Posting an online message
• Giving money to homeless people
• Wearing a T-shirt with a message
about poverty
• Donating to a campaign
Thick Engagement
• Creating a video
• Writing a opinion column
• Figuring out which organizations do the
best job of reducing hunger
• Designing and distributing a T-shirt
with a message about poverty
• Starting a campaign
ENGA GEMENT
For social and political change to occur, thin and thick engagement are both important.
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

7. • Participating in online discourse
comes with some risks
• Online harassment is more
likely to happen to women than
men
• Researchers have found that
when the gender of a
username appears to be
female, the user is 25 times
more likely to experience
harassment
Risks of
Civic
Participation
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

8. Reproduce the Status Quo or
Challenge It
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

9. Internet Memes for Social Change
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley
Meme (noun): a group of
digital items that share
common characteristics
Memes are shared with
others through viral
circulation
Why do people circulate
and modify memes?
• to express an opinion
• to seek attention
• from the desire to be
admired or respected

10. Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley
What background
knowledge is needed in
order to interpret this
meme?
Internet Memes for Social Change

11. Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley
What background
knowledge is needed in
order to interpret this
meme?
Internet Memes for Social Change

12. Some ACT Competencies
Acknowledge the power of communication to
maintain the status quo or change the world
 Participate in communities of shared interest to
advance an issue
 Be a change agent in the family and workplace
Participate in democratic self‐governance
Speak up when you encounter injustice
Respect the law and work to change unjust laws
Use the power of communication and information to
make a difference in the world
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: Wiley.

13. What is this meme
making fun of?
The concept of
intertextuality is central to
understanding how parody
works
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

14. Parody
(noun): a type of message that
imitates, makes fun of, or comments
on an original work
• reframes our interpretation of a
work
• opens up imaginative possibilities
• has a critical edge that captures
our attention
• invites us to see the world in a
new way.
• a powerful stimulus to social
change
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

15. Transgression
• Transgression may occur, when, in the spirit of
creativity, authors bump up against or overtly challenge
or disrupt social norms and values.
• While many positive contributions are claimed for using
digital media popular culture for learning, creativity can
go off the rails and become utterly inane, politically
incorrect, mean‐spirited, and even dangerous.
• Transgression may occur more frequently when people
work in teams, where “carried away in a spirit of
camaraderie,” people can produce parodies that may
be humorous but may also be really cruel, nasty, or
inhumane.
• Sometimes transgressive media production can happen
at school, and when it does, it can damage the shared
environment, namely, school life and their teachers.
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

16. Activity: Dream it Do it
In informal writing or in an oral performance, reflect on these questions
by imagining the future:
1. Now that you have conceptualized your project, what does it look like from the outside?
2. What problem does this project help to solve?
3. What is the most ideal way to create this project? What could be done if there were no
constraints?
4. What are the most likely circumstances you will face in creating this project?
5. What steps need to be taken to turn the project idea into reality?
6. What might be some risks involved in creating this project? In distributing it? What
could go wrong?
7. What might be some positive consequences of creating this project?
8. What might be some negative and/or unintended consequences of creating this
project?
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley

17. Key
Ideas
• Communication and information have the power to change
the world.
• By breaking down barriers and connecting people and ideas,
we become inspired to imagine new possibilities.
• Through collaboration, we can work together to promote
change.
• Communication involves the practices of metacognition,
critical reflection, and “talking back” to media.
• Through the process of creating to learn, we experience
personal growth and change.
• And as our ideas spread, they may influence the thinking and
feeling of others, helping to reshape social norms and
cultural values.
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY: WIley