Henry Jenkins - Convergence Technology

Cultural convergence "describes an emerging pattern of relations bringing together entertainment, advertising, brands, and consumers in creative and often surprising ways. These new relations are underpinned by three key concepts: transmedia entertainment, participatory culture, and experiential marketing." It combines the old way with the new more technological way. Jenkins describes what is going on with the technology has its definite benefits, but it is not without risk. The implications in education are endless. Convergence technology allows all to access information that could only be found in a library before. It is important to note that there are definite benefits to this culture in education, but it is not without risk. It is important that the teacher is aware of the benefits and risks when using these tools in a classroom. For instance, in a classroom today most schools ban the use of youtube, social networking sites, cell phones, ipods, etc. All of these tools could be beneficial to use inside the classroom, but most schools ban them. For instance, ipods would be extremely useful in secondary education in viewing and submitting podcasts. I believe the problem with this new culture is that it is second nature for most of our students to use this technology, but is foreign to most of our educators and administrators. I believe it is important for us all to keep learning to keep up with the latest technology. It is important for us to learn the benefits and risks associated with these tools, so that we can use them to our advantage to truly create a classroom with endless possibilities.