Reality then hits me and I begin to remove the blinders that I've developed over the years to remember what using the internet looked like for me as a young adult/teen. I remember loading up the internet on the home computer (which could take a good 5-10 minutes), and getting excited to meet my friends and complete strangers in an AOL chat room. pretending to do some type of schoolwork on a different tab incase my parents happened to walk into the living room. Oh how age does make our memory foggy to the risks one use to take! 
(For anyone who may be unaware of what the AOL chats looks liked)
While the idea of online book clubs is nothing new to me, utilizing a space like TikTok was an absolutely new concept. How could an app that I'm always telling my kids to close provide them with an opportunity to constructively and impactfully engage with books and other young readers? With this question I started down my journey of BookToks by putting "Black woman BookToks" into the TikTok search and came up with this amazing list. (I've provided the link to you so you can explore also). Blackwomanbooks. The reading by Jerasa and Boffone add nuance and understanding to the needed exploration of young readers that can be accomplished on a platform like TikTok. Young adults spend so much of their free time on these types of platforms that incorporating commentary and suggestions on diverse books is a plus! Especially since I've come across many young adults who have openly told me that they do not read and have no interest in reading. Maybe seeing other people who look like you in not just appearance but age can help activate a spark within them to at least try a new book! 
When it comes to my social media usage, I see myself as a firm user of Facebook and Instagram platforms. On these platforms I primarily network and negotiate, as presented in the reading by Jenkins. Posting about upcoming social/ political events, and moving between different online groups allows for me to stay connected with what's going on in my community, which is an important factor in my life.
For many students in urban settings, who are from diverse backgrounds, having a sense of control and autonomy is missing in traditional classroom spaces. According to a reading titled, Critical Media Literacy Practices for Equitable Futures, "Empowering diverse voices to impact and
enact social change cannot be done without centering equity in teaching and learning. Doing this
not only enhances media literacy curricula but also strengthens the ELA classroom to foster inclusive
practices" (Johnson et al., 2022). The ELA classroom is the foundation for all other learning that takes place during a students day. Having a positive relationship with the ways in which you express and digest information is central to a students development, especially those from diverse urban settings. These youth also need to find safety and space within institutional spaces to unpack all the ways in which they feel. DeJaynes and Curmi-Hall explain that, "leveraging institutional spaces for civic discourses engaged youths and their school community in a public dialogue about systems of oppression" (p.10).
Adults and educators must take a step back and allow the youth to explore. Structured but not rigid should be the motto!!
Citations
DeJaynes, Tiffany, and Christopher Curmi‐Hall. “Transforming School hallways through critical inquiry: Multimodal literacies for Civic Engagement.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 63, no. 3, 25 June 2019, pp. 299–309, https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.991
Jenkins, Henry, et al. “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century.” Building the Field of Digital Media and Learning, 2006, pp. 3–4.
Jerasa, Sarah, and Trevor Boffone. “BookTok 101: Tiktok, digital literacies, and out‐of‐school reading practices.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, vol. 65, no. 3, 8 Oct. 2021, pp. 219–226, https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1199.
Johnson et al. "A Field Guide for ELA Educators." Critical Media Literacy Practices for Equitable Futures, vol.2, 5 June 2025, pp. 27-32, https://prjohnson.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/critical-media-literacy-practices-for-equitable-futures-a-field-guide-for-ela.pdf
Hi Cheresse! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on balancing the spectrum of how students use/view technology, how adults and teachers interact with technology, and the cross section in between where it may become a beneficial learning opportunity for everyone. I agree that I am also weary of many things involving technology, mainly because I have thought a lot about the skill Jenkin's defines as "judgment" in perceiving if what we interact with online is true. It is interesting to think about our role as educators in teaching students how to be good judges of credible material online, which seems like such a clear connection for ELA teachers since we already often teach them about credible sources in research. However, without being taught the connection between checking for credible sources in research and doing the same with internet use, it usually just doesn't happen. I remember last school year after the election, many students came up to me with a plethora of questions, including if school was going to end because they saw on TikTok that public schools would be immediately defunded. While that was very disheartening, it did prove the fact that many of our students are getting their information from TikTok and they need to be taught how to sift through and make the most of those sites, which can also provide some benefits in the form of community building. As you mentioned, BookTok does amplify many books and voices. While there are some students who do not naturally gravitate toward reading communities, it is interesting to think how we can combine the community and interest many students already have in TikTok with some of the connections students may have to the content of a book to raise student interest in reading and literary communities.
ReplyDelete"Structured but not rigid" is an amazing way to put this! Creating safeguards for students, whether they realize them or not, is so important when engaging in digital spaces within the classroom. This is also a very delicate balance that can quickly turn disastrous if not monitored closely enough which also takes a lot of effort and support from the school community. But it is so worth it when it works well!
ReplyDeleteI love that you brought up the search function as part of interacting with BookTok. I find that my FYP is so curated to the type of content I have interacted with but does not define me as a whole person. I do often use the search function to find titles in genres I have a hard time finding. For example, I really love Science Fiction but dislike how women are typically portrayed in this genre. Female science fiction writers are my bread and butter when it comes to reading but they're so difficult to find. Searching BookTok has lead me to some really great authors.
I also really agree with your point of providing students with methods to create positive relationships with engaging with information. Meeting students where they are at, and giving them space to discover using spaces they are comfortable with is a great way to foster that relationship. I had never thought of it quite like that.
Hi Cheresse! I really appreciate hearing your perspective on the importance of student autonomy in the classroom and your thoughts on technology's affects on students. I share many of your concerns about the pandemic and overuse of online spaces limiting children's abilities to build collaborative and social skills. I think it's vital for us to find balance between utilizing digital platforms and encouraging in-person connection and collaboration.
ReplyDeleteI strongly resonated with your point about students needing a healthy relationships to learning and expressing new information. The importance of this relationship and student autonomy is a big reason why I'm interested in finding online spaces like BookTok. While I believe the use of the internet in the classroom should be intentional and measured, I think allowing students to learn and express their knowledge via digital platforms gives them more options for expression and connects them with a digital language so many students are fluent in.