Through this week’s readings, I have been exposed to many aspects of
Digital Literacy and how it affects our daily lives. The concept of Digital
Literacy emerges from the need to comprehend the skills and abilities of those
that interact with technological devices.
It is very much about the individual and how they take on an active role in their social world. This week’s assignment asks us to look at the
following quote:
The distinctive
contribution of the approach to literacy as social practice lies in the ways in which it involves careful and sensitive
attention to what people do with texts, how they make sense of them and use them to further their own purposes
in their own learning lives (Gillen
and Barton, 2010, p. 9).
In
essence, the way in which people manipulate literacy and give it new meaning is
constantly evolving and dispersing to others through new media.
As I reflected on the
quote, I thought about how I use digital literacy in my daily routine,
specifically texting on my cellphone. It
has become more common for me to include images in my text or maybe to only use
images. I have to think about the person
receiving the text and if they are able to understand the meaning behind the
image. As described by Gunther Kress (Gillen
& Barton, 2010, p. 6), modern texts are becoming multimodal as images,
music and other media are taking on meaning as well.
Pedagogy as it relates
to Digital Literacy is a challenge due to innovative nature of technology; by
the time a curriculum can be established and teachers are trained, the
technology may be outdated. However, it
is crucial to continue integrate digital literacy into our classrooms because
of the value it brings to learning. Gillen &
Barton (2010) state that “Learning opportunities can be made available
literally beyond school walls” (p. 17).
The article mentions the Personal Inquiry Project in which students
receive a personal computer to use outside of school. Where I teach, the majority of students have
access to computers at home and they are encouraged to use Google Drive to work
on group projects outside of school. It is a great platform where students can
communicate in real time for an academic purpose. Teachers can also check on
their progress with an invitation from the students.
Users
of new technologies can become proficient in digital literacy as they begin to
use it for their own purposes; whether it is using digital literacies to expand
on their own learning, to develop social relationships or as they become the
creators and programmers of today’s media.
Bibliography
Gillen,
J., & Barton, D. (2010). Digital Literacies: A Research Briefing by
the Technology Enhanced
Learning phase of the Teaching and
Learning Research Programme. London.
I find it extremely interesting that you bring up the point that it is “crucial to continue integrate digital literacy into our classrooms because of the value it brings to learning”. As an educator I think that it is increasingly important that we adapt to the needs of our students. I notice many of my older colleagues struggling with the incorporation of technology into their classrooms and it may in fact be because they don’t have as in depth of a digital literacy as I may. But, I’ve found that technology can in fact be daunting if you are not sure how to use it and use it correctly especially in front of students who are so engrossed in it. However, on the flip side of that, I also find that many of my students struggle with paper literacy because they have not been taught the means to understand how to go about learning in that particular fashion. Many of my students have access to smart phones, iPads, etc. and can maneuver between apps like I’ve never seen before but, give them a piece of paper, a book, and note card and they’re lost. Teaching students to how to be digitally literate is extremely important. Similar to your school, I’ve incorporated Google Docs into my classroom when students are working on research papers- it allows for the entire class to access the document at any given moment because not only am I teaching them how to collaborate, I am teaching them skills that they will need to know upon exiting high school.
ReplyDeleteYour comments on texting, I found myself feeling the same way. It is amazing to me how advanced we have become so quickly. I remember texting lingo and abbreviations. Now, with smart phones, we can have our misspelled words.corrected,add video, have full keyboard, and even do talk to texts. Who knows what is next but I cant wait to find out.
ReplyDeleteYour comments on texting, I found myself feeling the same way. It is amazing to me how advanced we have become so quickly. I remember texting lingo and abbreviations. Now, with smart phones, we can have our misspelled words.corrected,add video, have full keyboard, and even do talk to texts. Who knows what is next but I cant wait to find out.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! You make several valid points - my mom works in the public school system (she is a year away from retirement), she has a difficult time in implementing the new devices and forms of technology in her classroom since she wasn't raised during the days of computers/internet. She finds it difficult to learn because the training itself is so short and it is typically geared for teachers that have more experience with the technological devices. She feels immense pressure from the school as well as the parents, technology is the main source that they want used in the classroom & she is eager to retire because of it.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way in terms of texting, I hope that what I send is interpreted the way that I intended it to be, but so much miscommunication/misinterpretation happens through text/instant messaging/email. Technology continues to advance at a rapid rate, it is mind-boggling to think of where it will be in 50 years or more.