Literacy Debate
“What counts as literacy, how literacy changes in response to the new media landscape, and what value we should ascribe to the new forms of communication that continue to emerge and evolve online (Jenkins, 2009)."
I thought this was a great article to read. I passed it on to my boss and co-workers at my job. This article really makes you rethink what we should consider as literacy. I personally feel that schools should still being utilizing print-based medias and incorporate aspects of digital media as needed to practice skills or help struggling students. I don't think the literacy curriculum should solely be focused on having the Internet can teach our kids. Technology in schools is not going to be going away anytime soon. Hopefully, as educators research and start to find new ways of using digital media in the classroom, test scores will be increasing and students will be more confident in their literacy skills.
What counts as literacy depends on your own personal views. Some different medias that are considered to have literacy include video games, cereal boxes, instruction manuals, and comics. According to Rich (2008), children need to have experiences with a wide range of literacy. But do these medias qualify as literacy experiences? I think a comic book and instruction manual could provide new vocabulary that would help improve literacy skills. As for the others, I think they can provide some aspect of literacy but not enough on its own. Due to the shift in technology, there has been steady drops in reading test scores.
The value we place on these new digital literacies varies. For example, Nadia enjoyed reading stories online and writing her own. This is a great use of the Internet for a young adult to discover their interests. As for watching YouTube videos or reading e-mails, this does provide some practice with literacy but, again, not enough on its own. It all comes down to literacy skills, literacy skills, and literacy skills. Can reading e-mails contribute to a person's literacy knowledge? Do video games really have enough literacy embedded in them to make a difference in a student's education?
Technology is being pushed into classrooms more and schools are developing their curriculum around it. If digital media and print media were used in tangent with each other, I think we could potentially see improvements in test scores, reading comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary. Getting to know your students and figuring out their learning style preferences is key as the technology continues to change. This article shows that not everyone learns in the same way, some students may learn better using digital media while others prefer print (Rich, 2008).
Reference:
Rich, M. (2008, July 27). Literacy debate: Online, r u
really reading? The New York Times.
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteI love the questions your pose in your post. I caught myself pausing to think about your questions and reflect on my own views on literacy as I was reading. Based on your post, we have very similar views on literacy in the classroom and what it should look like. I agree that there is no arguing the benefit in schools using print-based media. I teach first grade and first grade is the biggest year for students learning to read. I see first-hand the benefit and need for students to be engaged with physical texts and how it aides in their learning.
With that being said, educators also have to understand that not every student learns the same. When we have a student who isn’t very interested in reading, or it is a task that is difficult for them we have to get creative in finding ways to engage them. This is where the technology piece comes in and I agree with you that while the Internet should not be the sole focus of literacy instructions, it would be naïve to deny the help it can provide. Technology can feel very overwhelming for educators and can be easy to dismiss. It can feel scary to try something new, but change can often bring out so many great things. As educators, we must take the time to fully understand what our students can gain from technology and how we can incorporate it in our classrooms while still promoting and using print-based literacy.
I love the way you reflect on the value of digital literacy and acknowledge that it varies greatly. The example you talk about with the student, Nadia, is one I was drawn to while reading, as well. I love how she was able to find a joy in reading online and ended up doing some of her own writing. This led to her wanting to major in English and publish a work of her own someday. This type of digital literacy is completely different than video games, per the example you provided. I appreciate that you make the point that video games can provide some form of literacy but that the literacy it provides is not enough on it’s own. I truly think the power is in using both print-based and digital literacy, together! Thank you for a great, thoughtful post.
Sara,
ReplyDeleteI agree that schools need to keep a balance of paper based media and blend it in with digital media as well. I do not believe that digital and new media technologies are a replacement for teaching. But must be used simultaneously. I think that platforms that are available can provide data for teachers to make instructional decisions about small groups or intervention.
Literacy can in fact mean different things to different people. Gillen and Barton (2010) write “The distinctive contribution to 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” (p. 9) I am not sure if playing video games would count in my opinion as literacy, however to be honest I do not play them so I am not sure what is involved in many of them. I think YouTube, however, is a modality that can be used to learn new information. It has helped me personally to learn how to do lots of things by listening and attending to images used within the videos. I often say, “how did we live without Google?”
Rich (2008) writes “how to value different kinds of reading is complicated because people read for many reasons.”(n. pag.) This has been true well before new media or any digital literacies. People gravitate to reading what is comfortable to them and what they like. My husband reads the newspaper while I read mostly fiction. Which is better? In Rich’s article the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer said “Learning is not to be found on a printout. It’s not on call at the touch of the finger. Learning is acquired mainly from books, and most readily from great books.” (2008, n. pag) Who makes the subjective decision about how we should learn new information?
Technology needs to be infused into what we are teaching with thought and purpose. Often it is “easy” to direct our students to "get onto…….” (insert learning platform). I was in a grade level meeting today and a teacher mentioned that we will see a drop in test scores when our students transition to computer based testing and questioned why we don’t just stay with paper based testing? While this may be true, my thought was how can we prepare our students to navigate this new way of testing?
Rich, M. (2008). Literacy debate: Online, r u really reading? Retrieved January 22,2023.
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read "Do video games really have enough literacy embedded in them to make a difference in a student's education?", my mind just went no, no, no! It made me think of the lowest reader in my class right now. I teach third grade and he is at a kindergarten reading level. We do as much as we can for him, but I figured out just how much he has learned to "get by". When we use computers in class, he has memorized so much that he can figure out exactly how to get to where he needs to go without actually reading anything. The big thing in our grade right now is Pokemon. He can tell you almost every single Pokemon and their powers, but he isn't actually reading any of the cards. He has committed so much to memory. I started to back away from him using technology to have him become more independent and have to figure things out on his own. Using technology a lot over the years has made him get really good at ignoring actually having to read anything. I also have a little cousin who was the same way when he was about 4-6. He couldn't read at all but could tell you everything about his tablet and even do things such as changing the wallpaper without reading any of it!
Hi, Sara!
ReplyDeleteIt is awesome that you shared this with your coworkers! I agree that this article makes you reevaluate what literacy is and how we teach it. It truly is constantly evolving like most other things in education and it is important that we, as educators, take the time to analyze those changes and how it changes our practices.
I LOVE technology and think it offers so much to the classroom, especially in terms of literacy support. However, I agree with you that it is not enough on its own. Finding that balance between traditional literacy materials and technology is definitely an overwhelming task but I do think if we find this balance, students will benefit greatly.