Blog Post 2 (Module 2)- Defining New Literacies and Why They Matter
Blog Post for New Literacies:
Digital Literacy is one of the most up and coming topics in the education department. Every time my school has a staff meeting our IT department comes in and gives us a new literacy tip or trick to help enhance our teaching or to make things easier/shorter. We even had a meeting where they discussed Magic School AI and how we should be using that to shorten our planning down. I am going to be honest, I haven’t used it for much. I typically use it for topic based word problems in math. Example: Multi digit multiplication but then having the word problems be about football. I find this engages the students and makes learning fun. A lot of what we read during Professional development is online through a link or PDF. As a younger teacher, this doesn’t come with any difficulties for me. I do have some teachers who have been teaching for years and they find it difficult to navigate a computer, much less learning online. I found it interesting when NCTE Position Statement said, “The internet is one of the primary information sources of the modern era, making it a necessity for learners to understand how to participate and navigate the networked world” (2019). One reason I found this interesting is I am only two years out of college, I never had to take a digital literacy class or even a class on how to navigate your teaching through the computer. I find it shocking that this wasn’t a requirement when it is so important in today's society.
I think one thing I use most in my classroom would be media literacy. Media literacy is defined as, “Much like information literacy, media literacy focuses on finding, evaluating, using, and communicating information; however, it emphasizes the range of media found online “from print to video to the Internet,” (Vanek, 2019). This can be as simple as showing a “Number Rock” video before math to get the students engaged all the way to having your students make a PSA poster for water scarcity in specific parts of the world. I find myself using media literacy in multiple parts of my day. I think if you put me in teaching 10-15 years ago, I wouldn’t be using videos or projects online as much as I do now.
I think the main issue of having literacy narrowly defined is as simple as those students who are ENL. In my job last year, I had seven students from different backgrounds and even countries. I had students who spoke Chinese (traditional) and others who spoke Spanish. Some came to me knowing not even a single ‘Hi’ in English. This made it extremely difficult to communicate with them. I took 5 years of Spanish and one semester in college, so I was able to communicate with my Spanish speaking students better than I was with my Chinese speaking students. Thankfully, every form of reading was available in multiple languages because the Oswego City School District has a lot of diversity in their classrooms. If we have a narrowly defined literacy problem then students won’t be able to learn and grow to their full potential. I think one way to close this large gap is to have texts that are available in many languages so all students feel included. This can even be seen with libraries having vast texts in multiple languages, as stated by NCTE, “Not only should learners have opportunities to explore and engage with a wide variety of inclusive texts and tools, but they should also be provided equitable access to these texts and tools on a frequent basis” (2019). The article then goes into talking about how it is the professionals duty to make sure all students have access to these resources. Just as much as we give access to those in the special education department (ex. Accommodations and modifications), ENL students should receive these accommodations as well.
On the other hand, we need to also keep in mind that with those diverse students, we need to also find common interests. This is proven when Beecher states, “Students learn best when learning is authentic and connected to their lives” (Beecher, 2023). If we can incorporate their religion or ethnic background then the student would be more apt to do better in school.
International Literacy Association. (2018). Literacy Leadership Brief: Improving Digital Practices for Literacy, Learning, and Justice More Than Just Tools. International Literacy Association.
Vanek, J. (2019). Digital Literacy. The Skills that Matter in Adult Education. American Institutes for Research.
Expanded Territories of “Literacy:" New Literacies and Multiliteracies (Sang, 2017)
I have not been teaching long but did get my degree later in life, so I definitely am not up to date with all the new technology. I too have never taken a digital literacy course and have had to just learn as I go!
ReplyDeleteBlog Post 1 Reply #2 by Savannah Taylor -
ReplyDeleteI agree with your affirmation of the shocking nature that is the lack of instruction for perspective teachers regarding new media and new literacies. Similar to you, I did not experience any form of our or content during my undergraduate that specifically prepared me to engage my students in the pursuit of mastering digital literacies. Considering that this topic is widely acknowledged as growing and of increasing need for representation, I find it shocking that even though I graduated less than six months ago and represent the newest group of educators entering the field, this is my first time actually learning about integration of new literacies in classroom learning. Given the lived experiences through COVID remote learning and resent technological advances, it seems that there is a necessary change that needs to be made for educating prospective teachers. If you could go back to your year of teaching, is there any specific component of digital literacy and new literacies that you wish you had integrated more for yourself and your students? While I have not yet started my first year of teaching in a k-12 setting, I am glad I am currently taking this course in order to better prepare myself to educate my students since I am starting a middle school mathematics positon this upcoming school year. You mention the current amplified usage of media literacy in your classroom, are there any other forms of new literacy that you wish you were currently integrating more? When I consider the integration of new literacy in a k-12 educational setting I see two sides of usage, one of these views is the ability of new literacy to support instructional outcomes (such as how you describe using media literacy as a means of focusing students attention or creating project based assignments) as well as the view of intentional teaching media literacy skills to support students development towards and transition into life after k-12 education. Currently I think there are a lot of teachers that do very well with utilizing new literacies to maximize their success in instructional outcomes, however I think there is a lesser emphasis on explicitly teaching the skills necessary for students to become proficient in new literacies for themselves. In what ways do you help your students to build the necessary skills that will eventually allow them to transition to life after k-12 education with proficiency in new literacies?
I also did not have a digital literacy class when I got my undergraduate degree. I agree that this is a class that should be included for future teaching programs. I learned a lot about digital literacy and ways to use media teaching through the pandemic in 2020. It was definitely a learn as you go kind of moment and I wish I had more experience with it prior!
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