New literacy practices are highly relevant to my professional life as an aspiring teacher. These practices enhance communication and collaboration, allowing teachers to use digital tools to interact more effectively with parents, colleagues, and students. For example, digital literacy enables teachers to create and manage digital portfolios for students, keeping track of their progress, which can be easily shared with parents. Teaching methods also benefit from new literacies, as teachers can utilize interactive whiteboards, tablets, and other educational software to make lessons more engaging and adapt to diverse learning styles. This supports the cognitive and sociocultural strengths needed in digital literacy, as highlighted by Yuan Sang (2017) and further elaborated by the National Council of Teachers of English (2019), and Constance Beecher (2023). Additionally, digital literacy provides teachers with access to online professional development resources and webinars helping them stay up to date with the best teaching practices. By joining professional learning communities online, teachers can exchange ideas and resources, fostering a collaborative approach to professional growth (NCTE, 2019).
However, defining literacy narrowly as the ability to read and write print texts in one dialect, such as academic English, can present significant challenges, especially in educational spaces that aim to promote equity. This narrow definition can exclude students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, making them feel marginalized and undervalued (NCTE, 2019). This can lead to lack of engagement and representation in the curriculum. Restricting literacy to traditional print texts limits the development of diverse skills needed in the digital age, such as critical thinking, digital problem-solving, and the ability to navigate various media platforms. Students need to be proficient in multiple literacies to succeed in today’s society and workforce (Beecher, C., 2023).
Allowing literacy to include digital, media, and information literacies can address these challenges. Recognizing and incorporating students’ home languages in the curriculum can promote a sense of belonging, aligning with the sociocultural strengths emphasized in digital literacy (NCTE, 2019). Using diverse media and digital platforms allows students from varied backgrounds to see themselves reflected in the content they learn from, fostering inclusivity (Sang, 2017). Integrating digital literacy into the curriculum ensures that students develop a broad range of skills, from basic computer operations to critical analysis of digital media, preparing them for their academic futures. Activities that involve creating digital content, such as blogs, videos, and presentations, can enhance students’ engagement and creativity, making learning more relevant and enjoyable (Beecher, C., 2023).
New literacy practices are essential for teachers to enhance their teaching methods, communicate effectively, and engage in continuous professional development. This approach not only prepares students for the digital age but also fosters a more equitable and inclusive learning environment.
References
Beecher, C. (2023, July 19). Chapter 1. What is Literacy? Multiple Perspectives on Literacy. Methods of Teaching Early Literacy. https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/teachingearlyliteracy/chapter/what-is-literacy-multiple-perspectives-on-literacy/
Definition of Literacy in a Digital age. National Council of Teachers of English. (2019, November 7). https://ncte.org/statement/nctes-definition-literacy-digital-age/
Digital Literacy. (2019). https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/TSTMDigitalLiteracyBrief-508.pdf
Sang, Y. (2017). Expanded Territories of “Literacy”: New Literacies and Multiliteracies. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1139059.pdf
Hey Hannah, this was a great post. I loved the points you made in your second paragraph. Sticking strictly to traditional reading and writing can lead to lack of engagement and enjoyment. I graduated high school in 2007, cell phones were new and myspace was the rage. We were bored with reading and writing back then! So, it is crucial to engage in new literacies. I however wonder if I could do a better job with that. My students are very vocal about using computers less, and paper more. So, I am trying to learn how incorporate a new literacy but still use pen & paper. Would love to hear if you have any thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your post! You make some excellent points in your post! One thing that I particularly love that you mention is the engagement of students. I think that it is important for students to stay engaged in what they are learning. If students are engaged in what they are learning, they will tend to do better grade wise. Of course, I do no think that grades are the only thing that matters, but it is helpful when they stay engaged. Going into any classroom, most likely there will be some type of smart board or interactive board in there. Teaching students to just read using paper and write without the use of technology is great, but they need to learn about technology and media as it is relevant in their daily life. In my classroom, I try as hard as I can to use an equal amount of old literacy skills mixed with current media skills. It is important that students know how to use old media skills, though more importantly they need to know about current literacies. I also loved your mention of parent involvement. I believe that parents need to be involved for students to truly do well in school. Using multiliteracies for parent's sake will allow them to stay engaged and involved while also helping their child stay engaged with the current and old literacies they are learning about.
Hi Hannah!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I love all of the different examples that you give of new technology that we have access to in the classroom. As teachers, we have to stay up to date with these new technologies for our students. I love incorporating new media and new websites in my classroom that engage my students more than a lecture or a print worksheet would. This is my second year teaching third grade, so I am still getting used to the curriculum and teaching tools. When I have time I try to find new ways to teach my students things, such as various engaging websites that are now available for teachers to use. Often I tell my students they are "guinea pigs" for a website and that we are going to learn about it together. It is a great way to see what they can learn on their own, I've had students show me things on websites I didn't know about! This is another way to increase student engagement as you wrote about. Kids today have so much knowledge about technology and the internet! It is our job as teachers to help them use this knowledge to benefit their education and use their resources responsibly. In your third paragraph I love the list of ideas you wrote about for digital activities that our students can engage in to show their learning. We are so lucky in this age of technology to have so many options for our students to present their knowledge, rather than just on a paper assessment.