For years, when someone would mention the word ‘literacy’, my mind would go to a reading in a textbook, or an article found online. In the world around us that term has changed. The concept of rethinking facts and experiences, updating and challenging ideas, and presenting new understandings and solutions is part of the new literacy. I use new literacy everyday whether I think about it or not. I use it while I am browsing my social media in the morning and reading new pop culture articles or when I’m on my kindle at night reading before I go to bed. In 2020 when everything became virtual, I never thought that it would become a normal way of going to school for a while. If I didn’t have that experience of navigating online courses, I don’t think I would’ve been prepared to do my master’s program online.
This is my first-year teaching where I have access to a smart board and a computer to use for instruction. While I was reading the article Improving Digital Practices for Literacy, Learning, and Justice More Than Just Tools, it made me think of something my director said the other day. We were in a meeting, and she pointed to the smart board and said, “When I was in the classroom, I never had to be more entertaining than that”, And she is right. In this day, children have access to screens all the time and teachers do have to be able to catch the student’s attention without being on the smart board all day long.
While reading the article, it says Though technology can create some opportunities for different kinds of learning and engagement…. it is possible for schools’ emphasis of technology to widen the achievement gap that harms marginalized communities. (ILA, 2018) In schools that I have student taught in, it was a range of different communities Some schools had chrome books for every child in the class and other schools only have a smart board at the front of the room. By having technology affect a large part of our education but not allowing every school and all the students to have the same access is unfair. In this new age, there are many pros and cons to technology being fully immersed into our everyday lives. In the article Expanded Territories of "Literacy" New Literacies and Multiliteracies Journal of Education and Practice., It says "rapid changes of technology, social life, and language skills there are new requirements for developing literacy skills" (Sang, 2017) For example, for a child who is nonverbal, they might heavily rely on their technology to be able to communicate.
References:
Sang, Y. (2017) Expanded Territories of "Literacy" New Literacies and Multiliteracies Journal of Education and Practice.
International Literacy Association. (2018). Improving digital practices for literacy, learning, and justice: more than just tools.
https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-improving-digital-practices-literacy-learning-justice.pdf (https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-improving-digital-practices-literacy-learning-justice.pdf)
I loved reading your post! You made some really good points of how literacy has evolved. It is interesting to see how we have shifted from the digital world into our everyday lives. Sometimes I don’t even realize it but it’s the first thing I do everyday, I wake up and immediately check X or instagram. I liked your reflection on the challenge of keeping students engaged in this world of screens. I do think that as educators that we need to be creative in the approach to screens, it’s not just about using that part of technology but teaching them how it can help their learning. What do you think we could do to address and make sure students have all of the resources they need to be successful in regards to technology and this new literacy landscape?
ReplyDeleteI found many parts of your post to be very interesting! I liked your mention of your own narrow understanding of literacy in the past. I also had that same perspective on literacy up until very recently. Even though I am someone who uses many different forms of technology in my classroom and in my personal life, I never really thought about how literacy skills and literacy itself applied to technology.
ReplyDeleteI liked your mention of the use of social media! The use of Social Media has become so common that it's actually surprising when we find out that somebody doesn't use social media. And Social Media have to be part of literacy in our modern world. Especially when even our government officials and news outlets use apps such as X/Twitter as a means of direct communication with the masses. I think it would be highly irresponsible not to include social media in our literacy education when so much of our information is received through these means.