Blog Post #3

Although creating activities that cover multiple spaces while incorporating technology can be fun for educators, we also have to consider how we support these activities beyond the screen? Very similar to ourselves, students are consumed and engaged by what is happening behind the screens of their phones which has translated to education. The assigned text states, “Current approaches to digital literacies tend to emphasize how students engage with what is displayed on their screens.” (Aguilera, 2017). As we push forward with new literacy practices, we are often thinking about what students are viewing on their phones. An interesting conversation that can be had with students, is who do they portray online vs. in person? Do their online and offline personas differ? (Aguilera, 2017). Similar to how our personas may not be entirely true or authentic, the same is to say about a lot of the information that is out on the web. For example, certain headlines that jump out at us are known as “click bait” (Aguilera, 2017). These headlines might say they have information about a certain topic then when you open it up it's fake or has misinformation. I have been a victim of click bait. I'll see an interesting headline about a celebrity and open it to find nothing about the story I was hoping to find. The same can be happening to our students. A staggering 37% of people in a survey admitted to sharing information online that turned out to be incorrect (Jacobson, 2017). Therefore, we need to teach our students to look beyond the screens and to “read the world” (Aguilera, 2017).

Allowing students to continue to use their media to learn and build their literacy is key, but teaching them how to do it in a responsible way should be emphasized. When students use technology correctly, it is called digital citizenship. It is defined as, “The rules for correct and responsible technology usage that provide guidance to students on how to direct the online world in their personal and academic lives rather than just being a citizen of a country…” (Öztürk, 2021). Just like how students need help from their parents and teachers when learning a new subject, they also need help on learning how to apply digital citizenship (Öztürk, 2021). When teaching a lesson about bacteria, I had students do a research project. I gave them a list of pre approved websites as well as journal articles to pull information from to ensure the information was true. However, I want my students to be able to decipher if the information is true for themselves. An activity that I think would be beneficial for science classes is to talk about climate change. There is so much misinformation out there surrounding climate change. I think comparing posts from social media to facts from scientific articles would be an interesting activity that could lead to a deep conversation with my students about the importance of fact checking what we see on our phones. 

As an educator who likes to incorporate digital literacy and technology into my instruction, I am aware of the challenges they pose. Something to be aware of, is students have access to all different types of media, which can contain negative and hurtful perspectives that target marginalized groups. For example, “From the online persecution of women and the LGBTQIA community through Gamergate to the sexist and racist language often found floating in the comments sections of news articles and YouTube videos, digital literacies can problematically obscure the cultural practices these tools carry.” (Garcia, 2017). Despite the creative, engaging ways digital literacy provides students, the negative narrativities and comments are visible. This is something to keep in mind as educators when we use digital literacy in our classrooms. Although we can't censor everything from our students, providing them with websites that have good information or showing them content creators/youtubers that are non-biased could help shade our students from the hurtful comments and perspectives that are seen so often in the media.

Further Questions:

1. What are ways we can teach digital citizenship to our students? 

2. How do we censor our students from inappropriate and hurtful comments in the media?

References: 

Aguilera, E. (2017). More than Bites and Bytes. Literacy Today, 35(3), 12-13. 

https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/trade-journals/more-than-bits-bytes/docview/1966006470/se-2 

Garcia, A. (2017). Nondigtial Skills. Literacy Today, 35(3), 24-25. 

https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/nondigital-skills/docview/1966005428/se-2 

Jacobson, L. (2017). Assessing News Literacy in the 21st Century. Literacy Today, 35(3), 18-22.

https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/trade-journals/assessing-news-literacy-21st-century/docview/1966007432/se-2 

Öztürk, G. (2021). Digital citizenship and its teaching: A literature review. Journal of 

Educational Technology and Online Learning, 4(1), 31-45. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1500928

Blog Post #2

    The world is shifting toward technology and it has affected all aspects of life including education. Teachers are constantly tasked with finding new engaging ways to deliver content to our students and get them to critically think. Fortunately, there is a lot of technology already out there that can help educators. Technology is becoming the forefront of our lives and is much more than an extension tool for teachers. In one of the assigned readings it states, “... an English classroom may explore social justice movements by looking at the rhetorical structure of hashtags in social networks…” (ILA, 2018). Students should be using different types of digital media to learn content through teacher instruction. In addition to technology being a useful tool to deliver content, students today are very tech savvy themselves, sometimes more than their teachers. In another assigned reading it states, “Need help getting the WiFi booster to work properly? Ask a student. There is no question that today’s schools are filled with digitally savvy children who have grown up with technology and the internet of things.” (Misha, 2023). Since so many students are able to work a computer with ease, we should allow them to use this strength in an educational context.

    Although technology is a useful tool, it does pose some challenges. One being that technology can be misused by students. For example, “Rather than preparing classrooms to plug in, download, or sync new tools, classrooms must facilitate authentic learning goals for students…” (ILA, 2018). This means that we should be applying technology in classrooms, but in a thoughtful way with literacy as our learning goal. Another issue that technology poses is the risk for inequality due to lack of accessibility. For example, “The inequities of schooling are exacerbated when literacy instruction focuses on tools that may not be fully accessible in all schools.” (Misha, 2023). Certain technological tools and platforms may not be affordable for lower-income schools. Not to mention the lack of chromebooks and tablets. These inequalities need to be acknowledged when moving forward with technology as the forefront of education. 

Although I have used technology in many of my lessons, I have also experienced the challenges expressed in the assigned readings. Sometimes it is hard to do a technology based lesson while strictly following learning goals and making sure students aren’t misusing the technology. For example, one day I was doing a simulation on the Earth’s revolution and walking around the classroom I noticed many students not on task and doing other things on the computer. Yes there are solutions to monitor students' screens from my own computer, but it is hard to do that when I'm circulating around the room offering extra support to students who need it. I have also experienced the inequity that comes with educational technology. As stated in earlier posts, I work at a low income district where many students do not have access to computers or wifi. Our school does the best to supply students with chromebooks but there simply isn’t enough and the high school grades are a priority. Right now 8-12th grade students have chromebooks but the 7th graders in my building do not. Therefore, it is hard to assign work that require a computer when my students simply do not have access to one. 

Despite the challenges technology poses, it still is useful and necessary in schools. In my own classroom, I want to continue to use technology as well as multiple types of media. The reading gave examples of ways to implement different types of media like Twitter in the classroom. The text states, “Searching for topics through keywords and hashtags means that multiple authors’ perspectives offer a polyphony of new ideas while inviting students to contribute to an ongoing and meaningful dialogue.” (ILA, 2018). Students can use familiar and engaging social media outlets and combine them with their education. Another way to implement digital literacy is to simply collaborate with other educators. For example, “Teachers find success in her district by using collaborative planning, adding digital components to competencies already in the curriculum and eventually developing an interdisciplinary, authentic experience for students.” (Misha, 2023). Talking to colleagues and sharing ideas is sometimes the best way to learn about new programs to use in the classroom. 

Further Questions:

1. How much of our instruction should be related to technology?

2. How do we make sure students aren’t misusing technology?

3. How do we address the inequity technology poses? 

References: 

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

Misha, A. (2023). Advancing Digital Literacy for a Digitally Inclusive Future. Dell 

Technologies. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2023-03-29-advancing-digital-literacy-for-a-digitally-inclusive-future 

Blog Post #1

        In the past, to be literate meant you could read and write. As society evolved, to be literate meant you could not only read and write but understand as well (Beecher, 2023). However, as society and technology continue to evolve, so does literacy which has coined the term new literacy (NCTE Position Statement, 2019). Its goal “extends beyond the conventional view of literacy as printed and written texts, and includes meaning-making practices using digital technologies (e.g., video games, weblogs, mobile texts, etc.), and explores the changes of beliefs towards literacy in the process of practices.” (Sang, 2017, p. 16). As someone who graduated high school less than 10 years ago and graduated college 1 year ago, I was part of a generation who had to become literate in terms of media. As a student in high school and college almost all of my assignments were typed instead of written. In addition to typing papers, all my information came from online journal articles, books accessed through the web, and sometimes information blogs or websites. As an educator, I have had to tap into my creativity to deliver literacy to my students in terms of media. For example, I have daily PowerPoints for instruction with videos and images, homework is completed through digital platforms like Ed puzzle, and I include technology into activities through online simulations and WebQuests. In addition to my professional life using new literacy, my personal life has been affected as well. Like many people in the world, my phone is always with me. I communicate with friends and family daily through social media and texting and I learn new information about the world from multiple types of media and share the information with those around me. 

        As stated earlier in my post, literacy has been defined and redefined many times and in the educational setting it is often defined as being able to read and write in one dialect, typically English. This narrow-minded idea negatively affects students who are English language learners (ELL). I work in a district that has many low income students as well as a large ELL population. Many times the ELL students are not able to read or write in their own native language which makes English literacy even more challenging. Therefore, by not being able to read or write proficiently in English, they are labeled as illiterate which can be problematic. However, studies found that students who can read and write in their native language first, perform better when it comes to learning English. A recent article states, “An added benefit of dual language instruction is that bilingualism and biliteracy confer cognitive, social, academic, and economic advantages to emergent bilinguals.” (Ortiz et al., 2021, p. 154). The mindset that literacy means reading and writing in English only, is harmful for ELL students. Instead, taking approaches from new literacy can help close the gap and inequities of literacy in the educational setting. New literacy supports the idea that “the language requirements and challenges in current workplaces are no longer restricted to reading and writing paper-based texts in native and other foreign languages, but have extended into recognition, interpretation, comprehension, and appreciation of languages and cultures in different forms and in diverse literacy practices.” (Sang, 2017, p. 17). Therefore, taking into account other languages and media as forms of literacy can help us prepare students for a society that is constantly evolving. 

Further Questions:

- Does the narrowly defined term of literacy harm only ELL students or other demographics as well?

- How do educators assess literacy proficiency in the new literacy context? 

- How do you assess literacy in your classroom?

References:

Beecher, C. (2023). What is Literacy? Multiple Perspectives on Literacy. Methods of Teaching  

Literacy. https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/teachingearlyliteracy/chapter/what-is-literacy-multiple-perspectives-on-literacy/

NCTE Position Statement. (2019). Definition of Literacy in a Digital Age. Category: 21st

Century Literacies, Assessment, Curriculum, Diversity, Literacy.  

https://ncte.org/statement/nctes-definition-literacy-digital-age/

Ortiz, A., Franquiz, M.E., & Lara, G.P. (2021). The science of teaching reading and English 

learners: Understanding the issues and advocating for equity. Bilingual Research Journal, 44(2), 153-157. https://doi-org.sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/15235882.2021.1976584 

Sang, Y. (2017). Expanded Territories of “Literacy”: New Literacies and Multiliteracies. Journal 

of Education and Practice 8(8), 16-18. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1139059.pdf