Draft:New media pedagogy

New media pedagogy, commonly referred to as "digital pedagogy," is an approach to the teaching of writing that emphasizes the usage of technology in the classroom to provide effective and innovative instruction. New media refers to any media that is distributed digitally. This includes a wide range of media forms such as videos, podcasts, digital images, online newspapers, and countless other mediums.

As the name suggests, new media is constantly evolving. As technology has innovated, writing teachers have taken advantage of it to create new, interactive forms of writing pedagogy. Over the past 100 years, studies on the incorporation of new media in the classroom have proven marked innovation for pedagogical approaches to the classroom, such as improved alphabetic writing and reading, increased engagement in active writing processes, and efficient creative student production.

New media pedagogy aims to facilitate several learning objectives in the classroom. Such examples include the critical evaluation of information, an increased knowledge of information technology, and the value of incorporating new media in solutions of real-world social issues. This creativity and freedom provoke motivation within students to not only create their work, but connect with the digital world, preparing them for work in the 21st century. Additionally, new media technologies give students access to the world around them—discussions, cultural topics, and real-world events all serve to aid the students in developing their critical thinking skills as they connect what they learn in the classroom with the world outside of it.

Background
New media has evolved over the years and refers to any type of digital media. Similarly, new media pedagogy refers to the utilization of digital technologies to improve the educational experience and facilitate learning in the classroom. Modern examples include instructional platforms such as Canvas, collaborative software like Google Documents, and the digital proctoring software Honorlock.

Throughout history, educators have always worked closely with available tools such as interactive graphs, audio and video, and physical objects to support classroom instruction. Before the emergence of new media pedagogy, classroom instruction was predominantly characterized by face-to-face interactions between teachers and students. Teachers relied heavily on lectures and assigned reading material, while students were responsible for taking notes and participating in discussions. Classroom lessons followed a linear, predetermined structure, and were delivered at a set pace with some room for customization or personalization. However, the history of new media pedagogy is not limited to recent developments in digital technologies. Over the past century, various forms of visual and audio media production have been integrated into writing instruction, such as the use of television in the 1950s by innovative teachers who sought to enhance learning experiences.

New media pedagogy places a strong emphasis on the use of digital tools and resources to enhance student engagement and encourage active learning. Teachers are increasingly leveraging a variety of multimedia resources, including videos, animations, and interactive simulations, to clarify complex concepts and help students visualize abstract ideas. The traditional confines of the physical classroom are expanding, as online resources and mobile devices provide students with the ability to access information anytime, anywhere.

Goals of this approach
Digital literacy has become a cornerstone of contemporary society, emphasizing the importance of proficiency in navigating and utilizing digital tools and resources in professional fields. By incorporating new media into the classroom, educators empower students with essential digital skills that contribute to their success in various personal and professional contexts. This includes giving students the tools to enter careers that involve using new media skills. Career examples include working in social media, as a public relations specialist, as a graphic designer, and more. New Media pedagogy strives to teach students skills such as how to use various digital platforms, social media, digital marketing, etc.

The integration of new media pedagogy also enables the creation of interactive and engaging learning experiences. New media pedagogy not only transforms the traditional classroom experience but also plays a crucial role in preparing students to excel in an increasingly connected and technologically driven world.

Application to the college writing classroom
According to Collin Gifford Brooke, four principles of new media are important to New Media Pedagogy. Brooke’s first principle is that different types of new media have different capabilities, meaning that teachers should focus on teaching by keeping mind how those tools can help students better internalize certain skills, rather than focusing on the “end product”. Brooke’s second principle is that teaching with new media can enable student experimentation and the learning and research experience that this provides. Brooke’s third principle is that educators should allow for flexible learning that mirrors the unpredictability of opportunities on the internet. Brooke’s fourth and last principle is that new media pedagogy not only often requires collaboration between students, but also between teachers and students, since there are so many types of quickly changing technology available.

As the internet era unfolds and technology persistently shapes our world, new media pedagogy is revolutionizing the educational landscape, influencing the ways students learn and teachers instruct in the classroom. New media pedagogy has the ability to cultivate critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration, while simultaneously equipping students with the competencies needed to thrive in the 21st century.

New media pedagogy has allowed for students to have access to outside resources in relation to classroom learning. The use of the internet and digital devices, such as laptops and tablets, has given students the ability to learn in a different way that is more in line with the constant digital media inclusion that is occurring within the 21st century. This has allowed students to learn the parameters of digital media and navigate it effectively.

New Media pedagogy strives to integrate the various composing technologies students are familiar with. Examples include social media platforms, blogs, Word Processing programs, and more.

With the incorporation of digital media into the classroom, students have learned to interact with learning applications such as Canvas, Google Docs, and Blackboard to collaborate on classwork and engage in the classroom more effectively. The shift from traditional pencil-and-paper methods to new media pedagogy includes incorporating devices such as computers for typing and tablets for note-taking, and has provided students with more accessible and efficient means of navigating information online and collaborating with others. The general use of digital media has been prevalent within the classroom, but there are some educators, such as Peter DePietro, who aren't as receptive to the growing integration of new media into the classroom. This stems from the preference for traditional learning and a reluctance to invest money in revamping learning spaces.

AI in the writing classroom
The MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI is one group that has been formed to explore AI’s implications for writing education.

One example of AI that is impacting the writing classroom is ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a type of artificial intelligence that is capable of being used in a variety of ways to aid writing techniques and content, such as summarizing the subject matter and providing research. This is especially apparent within the education field, where ChatGPT has potential uses such as teaching content to users through its interactive interface, grading, making tests and rubrics, completing tasks for educators so that they can focus on other aspects of teaching, language translation, conversational and adaptive learning, etc. However, potential problems with using ChatGPT as an educational tool exist. For example, there is the concern that the interface can be used to plagiarize content. Some schools have implemented a ban on the AI chat box to discourage students from cheating in this way.

Another example of AI in the writing classroom is Turnitin, a program that uses AI to help teachers and professors assess whether a student is plagiarizing in an assignment.