‘Critical Algorithmic Pedagogy Near Me’: Searching for meaning in search engines
Biographical Sketch
Jen Malson is a Ph.D. candidate under the Entertainment and Media Studies department at Grady College. Her research interests center around critical digital media literacy, more specifically, a better understanding of algorithms as a driving force behind our daily interactions with digital information and resources.
She attended the School of Journalism and Mass Communications as an undergraduate at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Jen found a predilection for advertising and media, which guided her decision to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Advertising. After gaining ten years of hands-on experience within this industry and following a career path focused on digital media and marketing strategy, Jen decided to earn a master’s degree in Marketing to complement her career.
Type of Presentation
Individual presentation
Brief Description of Presentation
This presentation suggests aspects of a pedagogy for a more critical approach to digital media, in this case algorithms. It itemizes and describes activities that critically explore algorithms within a classroom setting, putting critical media literacy into practice. These classroom activities move beyond simple understandings of how algorithms work, into unveiling their hand in socially constructing meaning.
Abstract of Proposal
This paper argues for the need to focus on computer algorithms as part of a critical media literacy pedagogy. To substantiate this case, this paper first defines what is meant by critical media literacy pedagogy, then conceptually locates computer algorithms as a subject within it. It then itemizes and describes concrete classroom tasks that illustrate a more practical approach to algorithms through critical media literacy.
Including a focus on computer algorithms in critical media literacy would sensitize students to the pitfalls of normative ways of thinking in order to highlight dominate assumptions and actions in search behavior. A critical media literacy pedagogy of this kind allows students to engage with something familiar, while illustrating the structured production of their search history. Furthermore, it would allow them to compare this behavior to other students in the classroom, and gain insight into how our interactions with technology work in ways deeper and more fundamental than the interpretation of individual messages.
By building relevance for students through their personal connection they have with their own everyday activities, such an approach depends as well on critical approaches to popular culture. In Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Popular Culture, Ernest Morrell argues for the need to use a critical lens on popular culture in curriculum to help develop critical literacy skills. If we define popular culture as something we are familiar with, we can extend this definition to include algorithms, such as search engines, and explore them critically within a classroom setting.
Location
Session 3C ( Tellfair, Hilton Garden Inn)
Start Date
2-22-2019 3:00 PM
End Date
2-22-2019 4:30 PM
Recommended Citation
Malson, Jennifer, "‘Critical Algorithmic Pedagogy Near Me’: Searching for meaning in search engines" (2019). International Critical Media Literacy Conference. 20.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/criticalmedialiteracy/2019/2019/20
‘Critical Algorithmic Pedagogy Near Me’: Searching for meaning in search engines
Session 3C ( Tellfair, Hilton Garden Inn)
This paper argues for the need to focus on computer algorithms as part of a critical media literacy pedagogy. To substantiate this case, this paper first defines what is meant by critical media literacy pedagogy, then conceptually locates computer algorithms as a subject within it. It then itemizes and describes concrete classroom tasks that illustrate a more practical approach to algorithms through critical media literacy.
Including a focus on computer algorithms in critical media literacy would sensitize students to the pitfalls of normative ways of thinking in order to highlight dominate assumptions and actions in search behavior. A critical media literacy pedagogy of this kind allows students to engage with something familiar, while illustrating the structured production of their search history. Furthermore, it would allow them to compare this behavior to other students in the classroom, and gain insight into how our interactions with technology work in ways deeper and more fundamental than the interpretation of individual messages.
By building relevance for students through their personal connection they have with their own everyday activities, such an approach depends as well on critical approaches to popular culture. In Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Popular Culture, Ernest Morrell argues for the need to use a critical lens on popular culture in curriculum to help develop critical literacy skills. If we define popular culture as something we are familiar with, we can extend this definition to include algorithms, such as search engines, and explore them critically within a classroom setting.
