Online Fan Fiction and Critical Media

Literacy

Rebecca W. Black

Abstract
In spite of this emerging emphasis on the importance of a range of
This article explores English-language-learning (ELL) youths’ engagement literate proficiencies, as Skinner and Hagood (2008) point out, national
with popular media through composing and publicly posting stories in an policies, state standards, and local mandates related to education still
online fan fiction writing space. Fan fiction is a genre that lends itself to retain an almost exclusive focus on academic literacies, such as “decoding
critical engagement with media texts as fans repurpose popular media to and reading comprehension of print-based texts; written composition of
design their own narratives. Analyses describe how three ELL youth employ academic texts, and oral fluency with Standard English grammar and vo-
creative agency as they fashion fan fiction stories that are relevant to their cabulary” (p. 13). In short, literacy instruction in schools is often grounded
own lives. Findings reveal that contemporary participatory media, such as in a 20th-century conception of literacy as academic, linear, print-based,
fan fiction writing, involve sophisticated forms of literacy that can serve as and book-bound. This situation is exacerbated for ELLs, who often are
useful resources for promoting in-class learning. However, the study also relegated to classroom activities focused on teaching discrete elements of
suggests that students would benefit from expert guidance in the areas of print-based English language skills.
critical consumption and production of media and digital texts. (Keywords:
critical media literacy, 21st-century skills, popular culture) Critical Media Literacy
The ubiquity of on- and offline media in students’ lives also brings the
Literacy in the 21st-Century need for another 21st-century skill, critical media literacy, into sharp focus.
The rapid technological advances in recent decades have prompted institu- In an era of increased media saturation and rampant consumerism, it is
tions of formal learning to reconsider their goals and responsibilities in crucial that youth develop tools for critically engaging with the copious
the 21st century. Professional associations such as the International Read- amounts of information and ideological material they are confronted with
ing Association (2001) and the National Council of Teachers of English on a daily basis. In the following excerpt, globalization theorist Arjun
(NCTE) (2008), and consortia such as the Partnership for 21st Century Appadurai (1996) describes how global flows of media content—what
Skills (2004), have started to develop 21st-century skills frameworks and he calls mediascapes—play an increasingly central role in the lives that
curriculum maps. These materials include curricula, assessment strate- individuals envision for themselves and for others.
gies, and teaching practices aimed at the development of so-called 21st-
century and digital-literacy skills. It has been suggested that such skills
Mediascapes, whether produced by private or state interests,
are increasingly important for successful participation in modern work,
tend to be image-centered, narrative-based accounts of strips of
school, and play environments.
reality, and what they offer to those who experience and trans-
A common message across the 21st-century skills literature is that tradi- form them is a series of elements (such as characters, plots, and
tional literacy skills, such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening, are textual forms), out of which scripts can be formed of imagined
just starting points for effective participation in a society saturated with lives, their own as well as those of others living in other places.
new media and technologies. According to the NCTE (2008): These scripts can and do get disaggregated into complex sets
of metaphors by which people live. (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980,
As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because cited in Appadurai, 1996, p. 35–36)
technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate
environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate Popular media offer up a wealth of possibilities for envisioning differ-
person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many ent lifestyles, professions, political affiliations, and personal relationships.
literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers However, as Appadurai points out, these “possible” lives are much more
to participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, attainable for some than others, as geographic location, local custom,
and malleable. (n.p.) and financial resources can greatly constrain individuals’ access to the
life worlds represented in modern media. Moreover, these media repre-
As the above passage indicates, contemporary contexts require a flexible sentations often are rooted in ideologies that merit critical interrogation.
skill set that extends beyond print-based literacy to include navigating These points underscore the notion that it is increasingly important for
new technologies; using digital tools to communicate, form relationships,
youth to develop skills for critically consuming media texts, as well as for
and collaborate across contexts; designing and sharing information via
responsibly producing their own digital media for online publication.
digital texts; locating, analyzing, and synthesizing electronic information;
and recognizing the complex ethical dimensions of online environments It is also important to note that the critical consumption of media
(NCTE, 2008, n.p.). and popular culture may be a particularly important skill for immigrant

Volume 26/ Number 2 Winter 2009–10   Journal of Computing in Teacher Education   75

Copyright © 2009 ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org
students and first-generation ELLs to develop. Research has suggested that n.p.). Their framework of design is used in this article to describe the
these youth may draw heavily from mainstream culture as it is depicted process of meaning making that youth engage in as they produce online
in the media (e.g., television, movies, magazines, advertisements) in their fan fiction texts. According to the NLG, design includes three elements
efforts to assimilate and belong and as they construct their identities in that emphasize the active and dynamic nature of meaning making: avail-
a new cultural and linguistic context (Feliciano, 2006, cited in Brzoska, able designs, designing, and the redesigned.
2009). Available designs, put simply, are all the semiotic resources available
Drawing on data from a three-year ethnographic study, this article for meaning making. This includes resources such as language, film, pho-
explores critical media literacy within the context of an online fan fic- tographs, movement, and sound. Available designs also encompass orders
tion writing space. Fan fiction, or fan-authored stories based on existing of discourse (Fairclough, 1995, cited in NLG, 1996). An order of discourse
media, is a genre that lends itself to critical engagement with media texts refers to “the structured set of conventions associated with semiotic activ-
as fans repurpose these media to create their own narratives. Analyses will ity” (NLG, 1996, n.p.) in a particular context. For example, a classroom
focus on the many ways that three ELL youth employ creative agency as may have a structured set of conventions associated with using language
they create fan fiction texts that are relevant to their own lives. However, in that space, such as explicit rules about how to express politeness (e.g.
findings suggest that, in spite of the sophistication of many such partici- ,saying “please” and “thank you”), or how to present the required materi-
patory media practices, students would benefit from expert guidance in als for certain assignments, or implicit rules for how to gain the teacher’s
developing 21st-century proficiencies related to critical consumption and attention or answer questions in ways that are recognized as valuable by
production of media and digital texts. the teacher. These types of conventions may differ greatly from those of
workplaces, centers of worship, as well as community and play spaces. It
New Literacy Studies is also important to note that orders of discourse are grounded in vari-
This article is grounded in a new literacy studies (NLS) perspective that ous social, institutional, and historical relations and are associated with
challenges the aforementioned notion of print-based, book-bound literacy different genres and styles of interacting. Thus, “in designing texts and
and instead emphasizes the contextual nature of literacy as a communica- interactions, people always draw on systems of sociolinguistic practice as
tive practice that is deeply rooted in specific social, historical, and political well as grammatical systems” (NLG, 1996, n.p.).
milieus (Gee, 1996; Lankshear & Knobel, 2006; Street, 1984). For more Designing is the process of drawing from available designs to construct
than a decade, proponents of the NLS have attempted to broaden our new meanings and representations of the world. Listening, speaking,
conceptions of literacy to account for what they call multiliteracies. This reading, and writing are all examples of designing, as an individual takes
includes the cultural and linguistic diversity of our increasingly globalized in or utilizes available semiotics resources and then uses his/her own
societies as well as the variety of text forms associated with information resources (linguistic, cognitive, semiotic) and life experiences to translate
and multimedia technologies. the available designs into the redesigned. Thus, the redesigned is the new
As proponents of the NLS have pointed out (Gee, 1999; Lankshear meaning that results from combining socially, historically, and culturally
& Knobel, 2006), online leisure environments such as online fan fiction situated available designs with an individual’s own “cultural resources and
writing sites play an increasingly central role in contemporary youths’ uniquely positioned subjectivity” (NLG, 1996, n.p.). At this point, the
literacy development and informal learning experiences. Such spaces redesigned then becomes an available design that others may use as a new
provide opportunities for many youth to not only form social connections resource for making meaning.
and play but also develop expertise in sophisticated topics and new litera-
Critical interrogation, redesigning texts, and pushing the boundar-
cies that are relevant to youths’ daily lives (Alvermann, 2002). Moreover,
ies of media are common in the ethos of many fan communities. As an
the participatory nature of online spaces and the ease of online content
illustration, in their study of youths’ literacy practices across contexts,
creation are breaking down traditional distinctions between producers
Chandler-Olcott and Mahar (2003) focus on the literacy practices inspired
and consumers of media content and offering the general public unprec-
by Japanese animation, or anime, of two adolescent fans, Rhiannon and
edented opportunities for authoring in public spaces (Jenkins, 2006).
Eileen. In these articles, the authors describe how the young women drew
Unfortunately, these activities are often dismissed as frivolous or from various media texts to construct their own fictions with “gender-
unrelated to school-based learning. However, as this article will argue, bending” plotlines and heroines in starring roles, albeit roles that eventu-
the proficiencies and dispositions that students develop through such ally came into conflict with discourses about heterosexual relationships.
activities have many potential connections to traditional academic tasks in Nonetheless, Chandler-Olcott and Mahar (2003) emphasize how, in
classroom environments and can serve as a point of connection to facilitate spite of the derivative nature of these stories, the texts were means for
classroom learning and engagement, particularly in the area of critical these young women to use media texts to participate in “an ongoing,
media literacy. In fact, for many so-called “Net Generation” youth, criti- intertextual conversation about such issues as friendship, loyalty, power,
cal engagement with social issues and civic literacy begins with informal and sexuality” (p. 583).
experiences around participatory media (Jenkins, 2006). Examples of
such participatory media include online publishing environments such Thomas’ ethnographic work (2005, 2006) also describes how female
as blogs, wikis, fiction-writing sites, online journals (Blogger, Wikipedia, adolescents use fan fiction texts and collaborative writing activities to
Fictionpress, Livejournal), video- and file-sharing sites (YouTube), as well create safe discursive spaces for sharing and discussing their various life
as social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace). In these spaces, youth perspectives. For instance, Thomas describes how two focal participants,
engage in multiple forms of self-expression that often involve taking on, Tiana and Jandalf, develop narrative representations of themselves, or
representing, and defending specific values and perspectives. autobiographical characters known within the fan fiction community
as “Mary Sues,” that assist them in understanding past experiences and
Design in “forging new identities” (Thomas, 2005, p. 30). Much like Rhiannon
In its manifesto calling for increased attention to new and multiliteracies and Eileen from Chandler-Olcott and Mahar’s (2003) study, these young
brought about by widespread globalization and technological change, the women also used their fan fictions to reconfigure gendered identities by
New London Group (NLG) (1996) proposes the concept of design as a casting female fan fiction characters in many of the “hero” roles that are
framework for understanding all semiotic processes of meaning making, traditionally occupied by men in popular media. Thus, they were able to
“including using language to produce or consume texts” (NLG, 1996, draw from available resources to create fictions that gave voice to themes
and issues from their daily lives and relationships.

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Copyright © 2009 ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org
Study used discourse analytic (Fairclough, 1995; Gee, 1999) methods to con-
Data for this article come from a longitudinal study (Black, 2008) of duct analyses of participants’ processes of design. For example, texts were
ELL youth composing and reading fan fiction texts on a Web site called initially coded in terms of available designs. This included a focus on
fanfiction.net (FFN). Fan fictions are stories written by fans about me- how the intertextual elements (e.g., allusions to and/or borrowings from
dia such as books, television, movies, and video games. However, rather mainstream media), genres, and styles used by participants referenced
than strictly following the blueprint of the original media or available social, cultural, and/or political elements of larger orders of discourse.
designs, fan fiction authors generally extend, challenge, and redesign the Next, the author coded texts in terms of the process of designing. This
plotlines and characterizations offered by the media. For example, a fan included a focus on how participants, as ELLs, used their own cultural,
fiction author might construct a romantic relationship between two male linguistic, cognitive, and semiotic resources, as well as their life experi-
characters in the Harry Potter series, place the characters from a popular ences and desires, to translate the available designs into redesigned texts.
Japanese anime series in an alternate setting such as a U.S. high school, This stage of coding also reflected the tensions that often arose between
the orders of discourse of the available designs and the new meanings of
or cast a peripheral female character from a television series as a heroine
the redesigned texts.
for his/her text. In this way, rather than passively consuming media texts
(Jenkins, 1992), fans are able to draw from their own knowledge, experi- It is important to note that, although this article is based on data
ences, and interests to construct interpretations and scenarios that differ from in-depth case studies of ELL youths’ literacy practices in an online
from those offered via mainstream media. Their redesigned fan fiction writing environment, the purpose of this analysis is not to depict detailed
texts are then added to the online canon, or fanon, of fan-created literature ethnographic accounts of these individual learners’ experiences. Rather,
and become a resource that other fans may draw from in developing their the focus of this article is to discuss their textual practices in relation to
own unique stories. critical media literacy. In particular, analyses and discussion will address
the following questions:
FFN is the largest online fan fiction archive, currently housing more
than a million fan-authored texts that span thousands of media categories.
For example, approximately 40,000 texts are based on the Final Fantasy 1. How do these youth draw from available designs in the construc-
video game, 50,000 texts are based on the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime series, and tion of their fan fiction texts?
nearly 400,000 texts are based on the Harry Potter series of books. In terms 2. Do their processes of redesign reflect critical engagement with
of education and literacy research, this site warrants attention for several media?
reasons. First, the vast majority of these texts are written by adolescents 3. How might these processes relate to the teaching of critical media
from different countries, many of whom claim to dislike English class, skills in classroom learning environments?
writing, and/or reading yet devote countless hours to writing and reading
on the site. Second, activity in FFN focuses on literate activities that are
aligned with practices that schools value and promote. For instance, fans Analysis
publicly post their stories on FFN, and then audience members read and
offer feedback, or reviews, of these texts. Thus, these youth are engaged Redesigning Mediascapes
in a public process of composition, peer review, and revision. Also, many In his seminal work on fans and participatory culture, Jenkins (1992)
fans engage in meta-discussion of writing/reading-related topics, such as describes how fans “play with the rough spots of the text—its narrative
how to effectively integrate dialogue into stories, how to “show, not tell” gaps, its excess details, its loose ends and contradictions—in order to
when writing, and how to provide effective peer feedback on stories, to find openings for [their] elaborations of its world and speculations about
name just a few. characters” (p. 74). In this way, fan fiction provides a means for fans to
actively contribute modern mediascapes to make media more congruent
The author used ethnographic (Geertz, 1973, Hine, 2000) approaches,
with their expectations and life worlds. As an example, Grace explains
such as participant observation, artifact collection, and field-note genera-
that she often writes fan fiction because “I love those series, and I know
tion, to create a “thick description” (Geertz, 1973) of site activity during
some of the readers wants to read some of um... let’s see alternative story?”
a three-year period. Data discussed in this article come primarily from
(interview, 2006). She goes on to say, “Thank God for Fanfics. Even
case studies of three ELL focal participants, Grace, Cherry-chan, and though Seiya and Usagi (Sailormoon) did not end together in series, there
Nanako (all names are pseudonyms). These three young women were in are some fanfics that put them together … and its making us their fans
distinct life situations as learners of English. Grace lives in the Philippines, … satisfied” (interview, 2006). Thus, Grace uses her texts to construct
grew up speaking Kampangan (her first language used at home), shortly alternatives to the original media narratives; moreover, these alternative
thereafter began learning Filipino (a standardized version of Tagalog used or redesigned narratives are welcomed by many members of the fan
in the community and in schools), and began learning English at age 7 community because they are more consistent with their own desires in
(primarily for written activities in school). Cherry-Chan is a second- terms of plot trajectories.
generation immigrant to North America whose family moved from Taiwan
to Canada before she was born. Cherry-Chan grew up speaking Mandarin Fan fiction writing also provides youth with the opportunity to shift
Chinese and Taiwanese at home and used English in the community and the foci of contemporary mediascapes and situate them within the con-
text of their own experiences. To illustrate, all three of the young women
at school. Nanako is a generation 1.5 immigrant who moved to North
discussed in this article use their fan fiction stories as narrative forums for
America from Shanghai, China, with her parents when she was 11. Her
voicing concerns from their everyday lives. For instance, Grace’s stories
first language is Mandarin Chinese, which she speaks at home with her
draw from the available designs of anime texts that in turn are grounded in
family, and she began learning English after moving to North America.
Eastern spiritual traditions and related orders of discourse (e.g., Hinduism,
These young women’s distinct cultural and linguistic backgrounds, as well
Buddhism, mantras, mudras). However, in redesigning her texts, Grace
as their current living situations, provided different available designs and often drew from her life experiences and goals as a born again Christian.
orders of discourse for them to draw from and also shaped their processes Thus, her stories were infused with themes, vocabulary, and ways of
of designing new texts in unique ways. using language (e.g., blessings, prayers, Biblical styles of text) that are
Primary data sources included participants’ fan fiction texts, reader associated with Christianity. By drawing from the available resources of
reviews of these texts, and interviews with focal participants. The author both the anime and Christian texts, Grace was able to create redesigned

Volume 26/ Number 2 Winter 2009–10   Journal of Computing in Teacher Education   77

Copyright © 2009 ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org
stories that presented what she viewed as desirable alternatives to the It is also worth noting that by redesigning these texts and then posting
lifestyle and moral choices depicted in popular anime as well as Western them in a public forum where audience members are able to comment
media. Moreover, Grace consciously wanted her audience to draw from on their stories, fan-fiction authors also gain firsthand exposure to how
her fictions as available designs that might influence their thinking and individuals, especially those from diverse cultural and linguistic back-
further promote the tenets of Christianity. grounds, can interpret messages differently—another 21st-century media
Cherry-Chan’s fan fictions also drew from the available designs of literacy skill. As one example, when Nanako was first writing on FFN and
anime texts, as she incorporated the characters, settings, and Asian cultural had been living in North America for only a little more than two years,
and linguistic elements from the existing media into her own stories. the ending of one of her fictions created some controversy that broke
However, in the process of designing her fictions, Cherry-Chan challenged down along cultural and religious lines. In the story, one of the charac-
mainstream media representations of romance and sexuality by writing ters died, and at the end, his spouse committed suicide out of sadness
yaoi or shōnen ai fictions. Yaoi fictions are generally composed by female and was transported to heaven. Some of Nanako’s readers immediately
authors and depict very close romantic, but not sexual, relationships posted reviews that took issue with this representation of suicide. These
between young men. Early academic writing that focused on female fan reviews were grounded in Christianity as well as a Western perspective
fiction authors developing romantic relationships between men theorized on suicide, essentially arguing that suicide is never an acceptable option
such stories as “a means by which these fans were able to project their and that people who commit suicide are unable to go to heaven because
own feminine romantic and sexual fantasies onto the male characters” it is considered a sin.
(Russ, 1985; Lam & Veith, 1986; Bacon-Smith, 1992, cited in Jenkins, For Nanako, a non-Christian who spent much of her young life in
1992). In addition to offering a safe space for exploring themes related China, this was an unexpected interpretation of what she viewed as a
to sexuality, these texts also offered alternative narrative possibilities for beautiful and tragic ending to her story. In the days that followed, Nanako
relationships and presented different options for gender roles. and her readers shared their beliefs and took moral stances on this is-
As another example, Nanako’s texts were based on characters from sue. Not surprisingly, neither side was persuaded to the other’s point of
view; however, both Nanako and her readers gained potentially valuable
various anime series, but she also drew from other available media
insight into cultural and religious perspectives that differed from their
resources, such as Western-origin movies (e.g., You’ve Got Mail), books
own and achieved some understanding of how individuals may react to
(e.g., Memoirs of a Geisha), and music (e.g., “Cry” by Mandy Moore and
and interpret texts differently.
“Whole Again” by Atomic Kitten), and combined these media with her
own narratives to create redesigned hybrid texts known as moviefictions In spite of the critical leanings in many of the aforementioned fan-
and songfictions. As an ELL, drawing from the available designs of these fiction texts, some elements of these young women’s stories remain
various media acted as scaffolding for her development of writing skills deeply problematic. For example, although both Grace and Nanako have
by providing pre-existing characters and narrative frameworks to guide developed plots centered on independent and successful female heroines,
her writing. In addition, she was able to rely on readers’ familiarity with they have both also created stories that draw from available designs and
these popular media to assist them in comprehending the messages of orders of discourse promoting sexist viewpoints that warrant critical inter-
her stories. rogation. Many of these texts clearly reflect generic conventions that are
common in fairy tales, novels, and action-adventure movies, with stereo-
Nanako’s texts also reflected the tensions of being an Asian female
typical representations of females as weak and in need of a male savior and
growing up in a North American context. For instance, many of her stories valuable only in terms of their sexual and ornamental worth. As another
were grounded in orders of discourse related to patriarchal society and example, one of Cherry-Chan’s texts depicts an alcohol-influenced date
Asian familial structures. Thus, as she approached adulthood, her stories rape between two anime characters. This scenario is largely unquestioned
increasingly depicted various anime characters confronting the challenges by the audience, with one reader even suggesting that the rapist was not
of arranged marriage and dealt with related topics such as the duties of at fault because he was drunk.
firstborn sons and the responsibilities of daughters in Asian families. In
this way, Nanako’s fan fiction texts served as a means of problematizing Discussion
patriarchal societal structures, particularly within Asian cultures. Also, Although the critical tendencies commonly found in some fan fiction texts
by creating some independent female heroines for her stories, Nanako are an encouraging sign that youth are envisioning narrative possibili-
also disputed popular media depictions of women in general, and Asian ties and alternative viewpoints to those presented in mainstream media,
women in particular, as helpless and dependent on men. they only scratch the surface of the necessary media literacy proficiencies
As these examples demonstrate, some youth already are using out- outlined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills’ (2004). Other crucial
of-school spaces to engage in the creative appropriation and redesign of skills include “understand[ing] both how and why media messages are
mainstream media texts. These activities are aligned with the Partnership constructed, and for what purposes,” “apply[ing] a fundamental under-
for 21st Century Skills’ (2004) outline of media literacy proficiencies, standing of the ethical/legal issues surrounding the access and use of media
which suggest that students should be able to “examine how individuals under the rubric of analyzing media,” “understand[ing] and utiliz[ing] the
interpret messages differently, how values and points of view are included most appropriate media creation tools, characteristics and conventions,”
or excluded, and how media can influence beliefs and behaviors” (n.p.). and “understand[ing] and effectively utiliz[ing] the most appropriate
Many of Grace, Cherry-Chan, and Nanako’s fan-fiction stories reflect a expressions and interpretations in diverse, multi-cultural environments”
self-initiated form of critical inquiry into the dominant media narratives under the rubric of creating media products (2004, n.p.). The aforemen-
and orders of discourse that permeate their daily lives by rewriting these tioned examples point to a clear need for youth to have opportunities for
texts to incorporate values and perspectives they feel are missing. In ad- engaging in critical discussion of the various texts they encounter, not
dition, Grace and Nanako both consciously use their texts as a means of only in their day-to-day lives, but also in their academic lives. Teachers
influencing the beliefs and behaviors of their readers—Grace by “minister- are the clear choice for guiding these critical discussions and offering up
ing” to her audience through her Christian texts, and Nanako by using their expertise with media, adult perspectives, and world knowledge as
her stories to teach about Chinese and Japanese history and to emphasize a means of calling attention to potentially problematic aspects, not only
the rich cultural practices and beauty of Asian countries. of media but also of student-produced texts.

78    Journal of Computing in Teacher Education   Volume 26 / Number 2 Winter 2009–10

Copyright © 2009 ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org
 As the genre of online fan fiction aptly demonstrates, new technolo- Building on the sort of activities and literacy practices that many
gies have profoundly affected access to public authorship. It is important youth are accustomed to engaging with in their leisure time also can help
for students to realize that with this access to public authorship also ELL students draw from prior knowledge to contextualize and develop
comes a responsibility for the messages and materials that one promotes. understandings of new language forms and content. Such activities are a
Rheingold (2008) suggests that students’ out-of-school experiences with means of building on students’ identities as active designers rather than
self-representation in online spaces can serve as a basis for making the passive consumers of the content and available designs that they encounter
transition from public to private voices. Specifically, in online leisure in the world and can help them to make responsible choices about the
spaces, many youth tend to use personal and informal forms of address, materials that they publicly post in online spaces. This is a crucial aspect
or private voices. When using these private voices, youth assume an audi- of helping students understand the social construction of knowledge and
ence of familiars and are often uncritical about the messages and materials can be used to foster a willingness to critically engage with information
they post online. This is clearly problematic when employers and potential presented not only in media and classroom texts, but also in broader social
employers, admissions committee members, school administrators, law and civic contexts. Moreover, it can support ELL youth in developing
enforcement officials, and the general public have access to these materials. identities as powerful learners, language users, and active designers of
Thus, another critical media literacy skill for the 21st century is developing their own social, cultural, and ideological materials rather than passive
strong, critical, and responsible public voices that will help students make recipients of the available designs of the host culture.
informed choices about the content they post online, and to have the
greatest positive impact through such content. Rheingold (2008) sug- Acknowledgments
gests that voice is a means of connecting youths’ enthusiasm for online The author would like to thank the Spencer Foundation for its support
interaction and self-representation with “their potential engagement of this research through a Spencer Dissertation Fellowship.
with society as citizens” (p. 101) and that “[m]oving from a private to a
public voice can help students turn their self-expression into a form of References
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for Adult Literacy, Brisbane, Australia.

Rebecca Black (PhD, University of Wisconsin–Madison) is an assistant professor of

language, literacy, and technology at the University of California, Irvine. Her research
interests center on how young people, particularly English language learners, are using
new technologies to learn, create, and communicate. Her publications include a recent
book, Adolescents and Online Fan Fiction (Black, 2008), and articles in Research
in the Teaching of English (Black, 2009) and the Journal of Adolescent and Adult
Literacy (Black, 2009).
 
Rebecca Black
2001 Berkeley Place
Irvine, CA 92697-5500
Phone: +1.949.824.0592
E-mail: [email protected]

80    Journal of Computing in Teacher Education   Volume 26 / Number 2 Winter 2009–10

Copyright © 2009 ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), 800.336.5191 (U.S. & Canada) or 541.302.3777 (Int’l), [email protected], www.iste.org