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Like many of you, I am experiencing an interpretation of the riots taking place in London through a mediated lens of retweeted photographs [see image above], blog posts<\/a>, +1d news articles<\/a>, and forums sharing freshly sparked memes<\/a>. Nested commenting across online sources-like this video\/blog post\/tweet<\/a>-are rich and inherently different from how information is shared and absorbed than ever before.<\/p>\n The experiences of the urban youth that are engaged in political dissonance, in resistance, in bringing social issues to the foray are, in many ways, retelling a narrative that I\u2019m already uncomfortably familiar with. The prominence of looting and of reprehensible behavior in the dominant narrative<\/a> here echoes the social discourse of looters during Katrina and Rodney King (events so engrained in America\u2019s consciousness I can signal them through proper nouns only somewhat associated with the events themselves).<\/p>\n As I continue to follow along with what is happening\u2013now geographically distanced from the culturally familiar\u2013I am struck by the fact that this is precisely the urgency for a widespread induction of critical engagement with participatory media and its resulting media literacies in formal schools. Right now, \u00a0it is the livelihood and well-being of entire communities at stake. Technology’s role in mediating resistance efforts across global channels means that a media literacy today extends directly into illuminating these repeating narratives and in equipping a generation of youth with the tools to successfully interpret, contribute to, and reflect upon the myriad thread of information about physical world activism and protest. A pedagogy of participatory media begins with what is happening in the streets of England right now <\/em>and empowers educators and students alike in transforming & challenging dominant narratives.<\/p>\nTell people this is awesome:<\/h3>