Engaging Digital Media What is it good for?

I think we all engage more digital media than we think.
Sorry it took me a while to get back into this posting. After discussing the class posts about engaging or using digital media -- I realize I really haven't defined what I meant by "engage" and why I chose that particular word. I use "engage" rather than "use" because it gives a better sense to me of how interactive digital media is today -- especially the stuff on-line. But how "interactive" it is all depends on the user and the particular digital media or product. We know that social netowrking sites are fairly interactive -- you have to input information or do things -- to really make them work. Many digital (video or on-line) games are also interactive in the sense that you have to react to whatever is there, and you can react in different ways, which changes what happens in the game. Other simulation games are highly interactive where you actually help create the game or the world in which things happen. And then there is the bulk of the stuff that is low-engagement -- like surfing YouTube for videos -- usually clicking on ones that are "most popular" or related to your interests do not take much thinking or reflection.
Over the past year or so I have noticed I definitley am searching more for videos on-line - though I tend to go to YouTube as a last resort. I usuallyy look for educational material or material prepared by non-profit organizations or government or international agencies. Of course I also spend a lot of time reading articles accessed through expensive academic databases for my literary research (on 19th century Caribbean literature and culture especially regarding critical race theory, imperialism, and the African diaspora). I have also taken a few free on-line classes on the "Open University Consortium" to learn more about science and technology. I feel there is so much stuff to learn that can be useful for my life and for my work -- but cannot dedicate as much time as I would like. I probably use the internet for personal and professional education more than the average person.

I very rarely (never?) go on-line for pure entertainment -- though I feel pretty entertained by learning new things, and I suppose Face Book is somewhat entertaining (it can be time consuming though and overwhelming). I also read the NY TImes headlines everyday, and sometimes articles to keep up with what is going on in the world --though I go through periods of media black out when it gets to be too depressing.

Usually I use "google.com" or "yahoo.com" or "ask.com" to find out what students or the general public knows about a given topic. I always check out wikipedia to see what they have posted on a given topic so I know what is there -- since that is the first place many students go for information. I have never edited a wikipedia page though I have thought about it -- someday I think I will - but for now I have little time for such activities.

I also spend a lot of time now making wiki pages, blog posts, and preparing PowerPoint slides and learning how to integrate multimedia into all these formats. I feel a need to get up to speed on new apps that can be used -- but again, little time to do so. So while I feel that Digital Media is crucial for my teaching and has a huge potential to better engage and interest students -- I am also limited by the amount of time I can dedicate to truly mastering them. So I hope to intgaret it little by little with the help of students. For the past year I have been working mostly with class wikis and blogs, and now this year I want to learn the basics of video editing, maybe even flash player, and at least one animated presentation app.

As a professional writer and editor I also see that we are in a moment of transition and that presenting and accessing information through printed text will become obsolete fairly soon. I think the capabilities of using images and video will outsrip textual presentation -- though text will not disappear - just how we present and access it. I mostly worry about issues of accessibility, accuracy, and complexity in the digital information -- too much commercialization can water down or simplify what is accessible -- and the good stuff will be either too expensive or too hard to get to for the majority of people. In terms of language - with digital translation so widely available - I wonder about the accuracy of the translation -- and also how the apprent ease of translation will affect language learning. Digital media sure poses more questions than answers for me at this point in my life!