Chapter 3: Origami Unicorn
The Origami Unicorn to me means taking pieces (in this instance pieces of media) and putting them together to come up with the unicorn - an imaginary creature - used as a metaphor here for a new way of seeing something.
The idea that the Wachowski brothers triggered "a search for meaning; they did not determine where the audience would go find their answers" (Jenkins, 2006, p. 127) is exactly what educators need to be doing in the classroom. Transmedia stories can provide guidance and format for educators to trigger students to search for meaning in a lesson or unit and allow them to choose where and how they will find the answers necessary to learned the required information. Teachers then become more facilitators, game masters if you please, that guide the learning. Think of all the students might learn in their journey! Neil Young's experimentation with cross-media collaboration should be a model for educators preparing their lessons/units for students. In order to be a part of a certain "culture; and to learn what you need to know, you must actively seek out new information and new products and, critically, engage with others in doing so" (Jenkins, 2006, p. 133). This is exactly what we as educators need to do to connect with our students, and isn't this what we should be expecting our students to do or continue to do since most already do this at home; why not bring it into their educational world?
Addictive comprehension could very well be a positive, engaging approach to a seemingly dying educational system! Think of how easy education would be if the students came into your classroom challenged and eager to explore in order to discover the answers that will lead them into their future willingly without all that proverbial kicking and screaming!
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture:
Where old and new media collide.
New York: New York University Press.
Webweavers Free Clipart. (2009).
Running unicorn [gif]. Retrieved
August 6, 2009, from http://www.
webweaver.nu/clipart/unicorns.shtml
education definitely needs a transmedia retrofit.
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