Adaptability

The value of adaptability emphasizes willingness to take on different roles and learn new tools and techniques across modes of communication. Adaptability must be developed early in students because it is likely to be the foundation of lifelong learning in the 21st century. “Adult learning will in future take place in a world where flexibility and adaptability are required in the face of new, strange, complex, risky and changing situations; where there are diminishing numbers of precedents and models to follow; where we have to work on the possibilities as we go along” (National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education, 1999: 108). Adaptability involves new media literacies such as scanning the environment and shifting focus to salient details (multitasking) and following the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities (transmedia navigation).

Adaptable students:

  • Willingly take on multiple tasks involved in creating new media messages
  • Shift fluidly among tasks associated with multiple roles and formats
  • Recognize problems and offer alternative solutions
  • Change strategies when a plan or solution does not work well

Reflection Questions

  • Am I able to work on more than one thing at the same time?
  • Are there times when I should be focused on only one thing?
  • Am I willing to try new things or do I stick to what I know?
  • Do I get frustrated when I don’t know how to do something or do I stay cool?
  • Am I able to see the opportunities hiding behind a problem?
  • Do I want for problems to appear or do I try to anticipate what might go wrong?
  • Do I give up when things aren’t going according to plan or do I try a different strategy?