What's the Point of the Class Project? Here's One.

What I want to know is why we are doing this project. As far as I understand, it is mainly for our own edification. Sure, it would be cool if it were something that was interesting and interactive for other people, but all we can really hope for is for our work to be re-examined and maybe used by another classroom of learners just like us. Don't get me wrong, thats cool, but quite frankly, it sounds a little bit dry.

I propose we put our weight behind an actual cause. Or maybe multiple causes. We could learn about social literacy and digital possibilities through actually using them. The historical ties are all over the place. Our founding fathers didn't just write a book about what they learned, they decided to create a nation out of their knowledge. They were activists, not just conversationalists.

The fun project could be a great start. By creating a social change here on campus, we are not only using our skills of digital literacy, we could then compile that knowledge and then write a book about it, after we have actually done something with all of our hypothesizing. The Girl Effect is a movement that I have recently become very interested in, and I would love the opportunity to do more with it. But theres also the Action Against Hunger movement, the Global Fund, which leads the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in third world countries, Educate America, and so many more wonderful causes that could use our help.

I believe that we will best learn how to more fully function in our digital society and how to integrate the skills of digital literacy and active participation by choosing to act for a specific cause, something that we feel passionately about and that we want to be a part of. We will learn to participate not just because we have to, but because we have the skills to do so. I don't want to just write an e-book. I want to make a difference. What about you?