There has been much hyperbole in recent years espousing the needs of 21st century learners. It is commonly reported that these students, often referred to as the ‘Net Generation’ or ‘Digital natives,’ need to be taught so-called ‘21st century skills’ is order to equip them to participate in the global economy of the digital world (ACARA, 2016; MCEETYA, 2008; O’Connell & Groom, 2010; O’Sullivan, 2012). According to the strong consensus across academic research and policy documents, these skills include: creativity, communication, collaboration and digital literacy (OECD, 2016; ACARA, 2016; Keane, T., Keane W.F. & Blicbau, 2014; MCEETYA, 2008).
Also highlighted, is the increasing role of digital literacy in the shift from passive information reception to active audience and participatory content creation. (Bower et al., 2014; Davies & Merchant, 2014; NMC, 2016). At the same time, the importance of using students’ knowledge and interest in popular culture is a key theme in education research, with a growing number of studies addressing the rise of popular digital culture (Davies & Merchant, 2014). Augmented Reality (AR) technology provides a valuable intersection between popular culture and the development of 21st century skills, including digital literacy.
It is argued that augmented Reality, as a technology of popular culture, provides unlimited potential for students to create participatory content, whilst addressing the demands of the Australian Curriculum. Augmented Reality should be embraced by educators and teacher librarians, not only as a tool for engagement, but as a powerful tool to help develop 21st century skills.
Tension between popular culture and curriculum?
Much academic research reports ‘tensions’ between teachers and students and policy-makers with respect to including popular culture in the curriculum (Davies & Merchant, 2014). It is reported that the goal of raising literacy standards is often seen as incongruous with the inclusion of popular culture content (Dowdall, Vasudevan & Mackey, 2014; Lo, 2014). This is despite research indicating that educators who make connections between children’s ‘lived worlds’ and the curriculum see positive impacts on children’s literacy skills (Marsh & Millard, 2000).
On viewing the current Australian Curriculum, it seems that, in an Australian theoretical context at least, Dowdall et al.’s (2014, p.1) view that this tension still exists today, is not necessarily the case. The Australian Curriculum includes many opportunities for the use of popular culture at all year levels and across various Learning Areas (ACARA, 2016). It is included using two different approaches; as a curriculum topic to be studied critically (e.g. history of popular culture, stereotypes in the media, etc.) and in a more immersive approach, where students have free choice of topics to show specific curriculum skills (e.g. persuasive writing, creating advertisements, information reports, designing a solution, science projects, data analysis, etc.) (ACARA, 2016).
If such ‘tensions’ exist, it is not due to curriculum writers, as suggested by Dowdall et al. (2014, p.1), but the way in which teachers choose (or are able) to enact the curriculum. Popular culture texts may not always be specifically mentioned for inclusion in the Australian Curriculum, but they are certainly not excluded. By its very nature, as a fluid and dynamic entity, it would not make sense for popular culture texts to be referenced explicitly, as this may be irrelevant for students in varying contexts and result in the curriculum content becoming outdated with the birth of each new craze.
To read more about the topic, go to Embracing an Augmented Reality Part 2
