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Post by taylorbelleglaze on Jan 27, 2016 14:55:05 GMT -5
While reading the introduction to "Digital Literacies," several thoughts came to mind. The idea of what digital literacy is and means for our society was intriguing according to this text. One quote I came across while doing a little more digging was this: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." -Alivin Toffler What do you guys think about this quote in regards to digital literacy and what the text had to say? This quote reminded of something we brought up in class on the first day about how different IPhone's are constantly coming out so we have to rewire our brain to learn the new updates and get used to the new formats while also keeping our old information in tack about what remains. Digital literacy is crucial in today's time because we have all kinds of information available at our fingertips in an instant; but, the problem is that many people do not how to use this information properly. How would you implement the idea of digital literacy properly in your own classroom? Another random side comment: The reading mentioned blogging several times throughout. Blogging is a great tool to communicate with others in different means (i.e., our class using this blog format to create lively discussion about literacy.) How would you use a blog in a secondary classroom that creates this rich form of literacy in an online environment? Also just because the reading mentioned LOLcats,  |
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Post by felishadake on Jan 27, 2016 15:34:55 GMT -5
I really like the Toffler quote; I agree that the ability to adapt to changes, especially social practices, is a vital part of being literate in the 21st century. In science research, if you do not keep up to date on recent publications, one method that was once a standard procedure can be completely obsolete in light of a new method. I think we can encourage the practice of digital literacies by encouraging meaning making in various formats in the classroom. Class discussions that incorporate science blogs and memes can serve as gateways into engaging lessons; they can also be used to teach students how to determine what reliable and valid science is.
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Post by hannahhiester on Feb 1, 2016 11:40:39 GMT -5
I also really like the Toffler quote. felishadake's comment about determining what is reliable and valid science is something I feel is incredibly important. I would also say that this extends to other forms of media such as determining reliability of sources for a news article or discerning opinion pieces from factual reporting. If we want students to become adept at these practices then we as teachers need to facilitate their acquisition. This may come very explicitly, a source comparison task for example, or be more implicit or just one aspect of the task. Either way, I think it should be frequent so that it becomes a norm for the students. As things like blogs, norms, twitter etc. are interfaces students are likely familiar with and use regularly, I think there are ways these can be utilized to help students learn these discourses, whether it's a weekly blog post or daily twitter contribution and/or having them analyze memes or posts.
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Post by ronettekortbein on Feb 1, 2016 20:44:26 GMT -5
I think digital literacy is something that is especially unique to our generation. Many of us "grew up" with the internet and have come to master using the computer not by learning, but rather by acquisition. We learned through trial and error and practice within our social groups. We learned it out of necessity to be accepted by our peers. Thus for our generation, digital literacy is a secondary discourse. Because digital literacy is second nature for so many of our generation and future generations, I think it will be a great tool in education. Even in this class, we are using our digital literacy to do google searches, watch videos, write blogs, and read articles. In my own future classes, I hope that I can use digital literacy to further interest the students in my own content area.
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Post by lindseynharrell on Feb 2, 2016 12:56:44 GMT -5
Okay, I love the idea of blogging in my classroom. For some reason I feel like digital natives immediately like a task better if it is done on the computer. For instance, blogging is literally the exact same thing as journaling, but the idea that a blog is immediately published for the rest of their peers to view gives the student's work a kind of validation that journaling does not. Don't get me wrong their is a lot of value in journaling too like privacy and written literacy, but blogging serves an entirely separate purpose that engages the classroom as a whole, and I just really like it. I would use blogging in my classroom for a lot of different things. Like any kind of response to a reading, teacher-student feed back, generic questions, homework, and a variety of essays, and projects. Like I said the legitimacy in immediately being able to publicly publish a student's work at the push of a button adds excitement, validation, and autonomy to the student's education.
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kasee
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Post by kasee on Feb 2, 2016 13:56:15 GMT -5
I like the idea of blogging as well. I think its so relatable to students today and it would be something they would enjoy and hopefully remember the content better as a result. I enjoy reading blogs and blogs posts for a number of things and on different material, so I think students in a classroom setting would enjoy this practice, too. Love the image Taylor!
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Post by hannahhiester on Feb 3, 2016 14:00:21 GMT -5
What lindseynharrell said about the immediacy of blogging and availability for peer review reminded me of a couple of tools that I have not used but I have heard about. With these types of tools a question is posed to the students using a digital tool (e.g. the computer). The students then all respond on their phone or computer or similar and their answers appear on the screen at the front (anonymously). Have any of you used these either in teaching or been subjected to them as a student? I think, if done well, they could be very useful to share ideas and give both the teacher and student immediate feedback. (Two examples are Kahoot getkahoot.com/ which I understand is more game-like and Socratic socratic.org/) |
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Post by alicenburnett on Feb 3, 2016 14:58:28 GMT -5
Though I think digital literacy is important, it's not everything. Yes students need to utilize the tools technology provides in and out of the classroom. I think sometimes we focus on the positives that technology gives, but I think there are drawbacks. I don't think digital literacy should be a large focus in the classroom. I think it becomes a crutch and a hindrance. Should students know how to use it? Yes. Should students get the chance to practice and utilize it? Absolutely! But technology is not the only thing we teach are students. There are other creative ways students can find an outlet. Blogs, webpages, PowerPoints, etc. are wonderful tools when working with literacy but I have a strong opinion about the use of technology in the classroom. Digital literacy is awesome and important but it's not important.
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Post by chelseahickox on Feb 3, 2016 16:02:53 GMT -5
I think all of you have hit on great things. I agree that digital literacy has a special purpose to serve in our 21st century classrooms. One of those purposes that I see in digital literacy is giving students options. Because every student is bringing a different level of ability and skill to the table, I’m a big fan of individualized teaching. No longer do students have to left behind to struggle because they aren’t quite up to speed with the rest of the class. I see digital literacy as giving students and teachers the option to learn and practive literacy in multiple ways. If a student struggle is write a five paragraph essay but can explain to me all of the same things through a multimedia mode such as a short film or by using text to talk features, I’m absolutely going to take advantage of that. When used appropriately, I think digital literacy can allow us to let students show us how great they are and how capable they are by allowing them to use tools that they are efficient in.
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Post by janinesherman on Feb 4, 2016 14:18:12 GMT -5
You all make wonderful points about the pros and cons of digital literacy! Digital platforms can be an excellent learning tool when used purposefully in the classroom. I agree with you all, I like the idea of blogging because it gives immediate publishing, the opportunity for peer review, and gives students ownership over their writing. I also like the idea that Chelsea said multimodal tech. being an alternative to a traditional assignments like a five paragraph essay. In these ways, it sparks students interest by becoming relevant to them through technology.
Students should absolutely be aware of the cons of technology though. Many students come to school knowing how to use the technology, but not often do they know how to use it responsibly. This is an opportunity for an educator to show them how to find reliable sources, or even educate students about the harmful effects of cyber bullying.
My aunt is a High School biology teacher in NY and her distract is forcing a very big push on integrating technology in the classroom, each student is even given an Ipad for the year. This seems like it would be an excellent idea, however my aunt has told me that it actually hinders learning in her classroom because it takes up a lot of student's learning time in the classroom by trying to transfer their learning onto a digital platform. She has to squeeze a lot of information into her curriculum as it is to prepare them in time for the AP test, but also trying to teach them the ins and outs of multimedia sources like creating a website has not furthered their knowledge of biological content. How do you think we can relate the two in a way that lets them build together and it is not just an additional thing for them to learn?
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Post by ashleyygreen12 on Feb 8, 2016 12:09:56 GMT -5
I think digital literacy is important for students because it allows them to make the connection between literacy in school and at home in their personal life. They're a great way for students to learn and have fun but they can also distract students so that would be something to watch out for. For example, having students use social media to enhance their literacy would be amazing but there should be certain limitations set in place so students aren't doing thing unrelated to curriculum objectives.
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Post by hannahhiester on Feb 9, 2016 11:27:48 GMT -5
This question of balancing a useful tool to enhance learning and a tool that takes so long to master that all the attention goes into making it work is one we have to think about often in science. For example, we ask students to use equipment to do experiments or calculators to do calculations. I tend to think, if it is possible*, introducing the features of the new tool in stages can help as well as explicitly teaching how to use the equipment say for the first 5-10 mins of class. This last part may not be the most exciting but I think that trying to learn a new tool and new content all at once can get overwhelming. I also wonder, again if possible*, if trying to be very selective about which features of the tool to use or pair with another teacher and try to focus on the same skills each week might help too. What do you think about user guides? I know we have discussed how people don't learn from instructions but if the objective is to learn content and use the tool to enhance content learning rather than to learn how to use the tool itself, then is it so bad to have a guide to facilitate use of the tool?
*I think the reality that this is not possible is quite likely with potential pressures from pacing guides and so on.
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Post by taylorbelleglaze on Feb 9, 2016 12:02:35 GMT -5
Hannah, you bring up an interesting point. If we are teaching in a classroom using technology, but we don't know how to use it properly, then what is the point? It becomes a matter of using technology just to be up to date with the times or using it improperly. I am a strong advocate for using technology, but students and teachers do need to understand how to use it so everyone in the classroom benefits from its features. I think having someone from tech coming to explain to a class would be a good idea then having the technology being used on a weekly or biweekly basis. I think working with colleagues too in the education field is always beneficial so that students can understand the different content areas together and it makes learning a much more interesting process. As for whether user guides are good or not, it depends on the technology. It is definitely needed in some situations, but I think people learn more from seeing it being done by another person. That's how this generation is nowadays I've noticed.
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Post by leahwertz on Feb 9, 2016 23:06:19 GMT -5
I absolutely love the idea of using blogs in the classroom. I think they give a great space for students to share things they wouldn't necessarily say out loud in front of their peers. It's a great way to get students engaged in dialogue outside of the class and can even create a frame for discussion in the class - I know I've really enjoyed when a teacher comments in class about something I've posted on a blog forum. Technology, when used correctly, can really activate student exploration and appeal to different types of students (those who may be too shy to contribute in the traditional classroom setting) however, it must be utilized with guidelines. It's important to remember that while these discussions may happen outside of the classroom, they are still a part of the classroom so the teacher must closely monitor them because they may be held responsible for what students post. Creating specific, detailed questions may curb this issue while also allowing students to practice responsibly using the internet.
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kasee
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Post by kasee on Feb 10, 2016 12:32:55 GMT -5
Leah, I really like that you brought up the topic of teachers monitoring the students while using technology. Technology can be such a great tool and asset for both the teacher and the student, but we all know that technology has its downfalls, too. Students are very comfortable with technology and especially doing things online, but it's not always a positive atmosphere. Students could potentially wind up on a website where they shouldn't be. Unfortunately this is sometimes out of their control, but not always. I agree that teachers must be aware of what their students are viewing online, while also making sure they stay on task. I also like that you commented on the importance of creating specific and organized lessons or activities that will keep them focused and on task. Creating meaningful activities combined with the use of technology can be very beneficial to the students.
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