Defining New Literacies and Why They Matter
In today's day and age technology is constantly evolving and becoming increasingly widespread. But what role does this technological expansion take in literacy? Literacy as we know it refers to reading and writing, but when implementing technology and the media, how does literacy change and what does it look like? I will be referencing two articles that address this “new” form of literacy; Expanded Territories of “Literacy”: New Literacies and Multiliteracies by Yuan Sang, and Improving Digital Practices for Literacy, Learning, and Justice by the International Literacy Association.
As society changes, literacy must adapt and change with it. In the article, Improving Digital Practices for Literacy, Learning, and Justice, the quote “our classrooms must move fluidly between the digital and analog worlds that we simultaneously inhabit” stood out (International Literacy Association, 2018). In almost everything that we do, we are constantly moving between digital and analog worlds at the same time, and it is important that our students can fluidly move between both as well. In most professions, both text and technology are utilized. For example, schedules are usually digitized, presentations are a combination of text and technology, email is often used as a form of communication, and face to face meetings might include media (International Literacy Association, 2018).
How are New Literacies Relevant to my Professional Life?
Yuan Sang explained how technology is different from old technology because it now includes multiple different forms of retrieving information; photos, text, videos, and music (Sang, 2017.) In my professional career, technology has played a crucial role in aiding my instruction, providing an extra tool to scaffold with and creating more ways to differentiate my lessons. For example, as a middle school science teacher I have found awesome songs on YouTube that relate to my lessons. These songs aid in student engagement, and create a fun and catchy way for the students to understand and conceptualize something new. Students come to class days later begging me to play the songs and eventually a lot of the students sing along. Visuals are great for my ENL students, and tools like kahoot and blooket add an element of fun that keep the students interested and engaged. In classrooms today, teachers are facing a variety of challenges such as learning deficits, English language learners, students that are well below grade level, and students that can not read or write. Technology can not and should not replace teaching and good instruction, but it should be used as a tool to enhance our students' learning, and to differentiate our instruction to the needs of our students. These tools can be extremely helpful and effective when addressing the individual needs of our students.
The Problem with Literacy Being Narrowly Defined
Literacy is often defined as just reading and writing in one dialect. Yuan Sang described literacy as “paper based, formalized, and standard forms of language that only reflects the dominant language and culture” (Sang, 2017). However, given the technological advances and the widespread use of technology globally, literacy is now so much more than text based, and is constantly changing. We can no longer define literacy as just reading and writing. Our classrooms should focus on equity and access, and we need to consider the individual needs of our students. With such a narrow definition of literacy, we can't possibly meet each student's needs. Our ENL students need more options than just reading and writing in English, and are capable of much more. Our students who are struggling and below grade level need a lot of differentiation and scaffolding. New expansive ideas of literacy can be a great tool in helping these students because we can present information in so many different ways. We can use images to help guide our ENL’s, and we can use videos and songs to help guide our struggling learners. We can encourage face to face conversations in the classroom such as turn and talks and group work, we can plan self reflections for the students to engage in, and we can assign activities where the students interview their friends and family (International Literacy Association, 2018). “Intentionally building time for these online and offline literacy practices allows students to see themselves as agents of change across settings” (International Literacy Association, 2018).
References
International Literacy Association. (2018). Improving Digital Practices for Literacy, Learning, and Justice: more than just tools.
Sang, Y. (2017). Expanded Territories of “Literacy”: New Literacies and Multiliteracies . Journal of Education and Practice.
I loved reading your post and I totally agree with your saying that technology has played a crucial role. I teach elementary but I totally agree, recently we didn't have our access to internet temporally and it put everyone it a panic and this really got me thinking that we as a society might be relying on it too much. I think we have to get back to the basics and use technology as an advantage but not an every day thing we rely on to teach the students something. Do you have any ways that technology has enhanced your instruction? I really liked your write up on your ENL students and the different strategies you gave and how they need more options rather than just reading and writing in english. Really good ideas! I loved reading this.
ReplyDeleteHi Richard,
DeleteThank you for your kind reply. We experience internet issues in my district here and there as well, and I have learned to always have a back up plan in the event that my lesson does require the internet and it goes down, and another back up as well! I remember the first time this happened, being in such a scramble. Technology has enhanced my instruction in so many ways! I am a big google slides teacher, and I think that making the slides appealing and attractive can be helpful in keeping the students interested. I've learned so much over the years about little things that you might not even realize can have a big effect, like making sure to use a font that doesn't change the letters to "fancy" letters, that might confuse ENL's. Making sure to use bright colors that naturally attract the eye, and including images to help ENLs and struggling readers. Another way that technology has enhanced my instruction is by being able to make test review fun for the students using platforms like kahoot, blooket (the kids especially love blooket), and jeopardy. Often times I will give students white boards and markers along with these games, infusing technology and written literary. Google forms is another resource that I often use for quick "Do Now" assignments, rotating those with journal "Do Now" assignments.
I am also a big google slides teacher as well and it really did affect me that day and since then I have learned to always have multiple back ups just incase! Have you ever used the game called gimkit? It's very similar to blooklet but just has different game modes. What grade do you teach? I teach fourth grade and they love those types of games! What tools do you use to make your google slides more appealing? I do a lot of the basic ones in slides but I do add a bitmoji! Thank you for replying to me! I can't wait to hear back
DeleteI have never heard of gimkit I will have to check that one out!! I teach sixth grade, and they still love those kinds of games but especially blooket. I use a lot of gifs in my slides, and I try to make them relatable to the student's interest's. For some reason, I have not mastered the bitmoji thing haha but I do need to figure that out.
DeleteHello Kayla!
ReplyDeleteYour post was a great one to read, and you and I seem to share similar view points on new literacy through this post! I agree that as society changes literacy must also adapt to these changes. Ensuring students can smoothly transition from technology to tangible learning is essential. This transition will happen constantly throughout students' lives. As stated above, with the constant change of society, students (and all individuals) must adapt their transition to this constant change. Technology is a great aid in the classroom. I like that as a science teacher you are able to find songs that are relevant to your curriculum. I am not surprised your students love this and are always asking to hear the songs again. I remember when I was in middle school one of my science teachers would also play songs or create chants for us to remember the information. I always loved this and found it to make class fun! Although technology is an essential addition to education, I agree that it should not be used as a replacement for teaching. Offering more options than just traditional writing and English is essential as this is a way to push for more equity and inclusion.
Hi Marissa,
DeleteThanks for your response! I think that it is just as important to incorporate a mix of technology, and writing and reading. I will often switch between Chromebook activities (Google forms, online escape rooms, google slide activites, etc.) and written work (quick writes and quick check in their science journals, worksheets, labs, white board and markers, graphic organizers, etc.). I try to always incorporate an equal mix.