New Media and new literacy
practices being implemented into the classroom is something that is becoming
more and more common. As an educator, the advancement of technology can be very
beneficial for instances of creating engaging lessons that will grasp the
attention of the students. In the field of education, a majority of our day is
spent doing literacy in one form or another, because literacy is tied into all
other subjects, so it is an important concept to practice. Also, as an educator
we are in constant communication with parents, this is a somewhat newer ordeal
because I remember when I was in elementary school there was not a constant
report being sent home but nowadays teachers are required to give an update on
practically every detail, which can become an overwhelming task for a teacher
to do especially when they have so many other things on their plates. Aside
from how new media is relevant in my professional life, it is also part of my
personal life as well. Something that stands out to me is the increase in
popularity of social media, many people my age and I spend a lot of time using
different social media platforms, at times probably too much time, but
nonetheless it is a recurring representation of new media and new literacy
implementations within my personal life. A statement that stood out to me is
that “Facing the dramatic change in economy, educators argue that the
conventional literacy education may not be able to fully prepare students for
the challenges in the modern working and social life” (Sang, 2017)
Literacy
however is narrowly defined as the ability to read or write in English, so this
poses a question in my mind, what about the students whose first language is
not English? During my student teaching placements, I have been in a classroom
where students' first language is Spanish, so my mentor teacher would be sure
to have materials in her classroom available for the students to feel included.
She made sure to have books in both Spanish and English available so that the
students had the opportunity to expand their reading skills such as
comprehension because as the educator it is your job to cater to the students’
needs for academic success. I have a firm belief that there should be diverse
literature in the classroom so that all students feel accepted and included in
the curriculum because I have witnessed firsthand the frustration that students
feel when they are unable to read and understand the material, so by having
reading material readily available in their language would benefit the student
not only academically but also emotionally because they will feel seen.
Sang, Y. (2017). New literacies and multiliteracies.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1139059.pdf
Hi Alexa- Can you point us to a place in our course texts where literacy is defined as the ability read and write in English? That, as you mention, feels quite narrow to me! Looking forward to the follow-up. -Emily
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement that stood out to you in paragraph one. I think the way we are teaching now will soon be outdated and it will feel like we are always just trying to keep up with the times. Perhaps digital literacy is the key to ensuring that students are well prepared after school so they know how to keep up with present information.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that teachers are required to communicate more frequently with parents than before. My district just started using a new service called Apptegy to communicate with parents. Many of my co-workers are unhappy with it. They feel that being able to reach teachers via email should be sufficient. The service also sends out a text at the end of the day that tells parents any assignments that have been posted in Google Classroom as well as any other vital information that needs to be shared. I guess education had to evolve enough to get messages home without students being responsible to deliver them. So far I am all for the evolution, but it did require more effort on my part to understand the technology.
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