This article heavily emphasized the importance of teaching about new literacies (i.e. the Internet) in all primary classrooms since "the ability to read, write, and communicate online will profoundly impact all children's futures" (Forzani and Leu, pg. 421) The authors point out that unfortunately, most new literacies research has been focused on older children. Delaying instruction in this area means that many students are missing out on valuable learning opportunities. Introducing new literacies to economically disadvantaged students is even more important since many of these students do not have access to the Internet and will likely not learn these skills unless they are being introduced in the classroom. Schools in poor areas often have less money to spend on technology and tend to devote more of their time on bringing test scores back up than on such things as new literacy forms. The authors state that since "many digital tools, like the Internet, have affordances that respond immediately to a child's natural, exploratory, and interactive learning style," it only makes sense to take advantage of tools such as e-books, online games, interactive websites, etc, in order to capitalize on the fact that children often learn best by actively constructing knowledge during experiences (Forzani and Leu, pg. 422). Particularly hard tasks for children might be made easier and more fun for students through the use of online interactive tools. The importance of more research in this area is stressed in this article as well.
What are your thoughts as a classroom teacher about the importance of new literacies in primary grades? Do you agree with the authors?
If you have them, can you share some positives and negatives that you have found with using new forms of literacy?
What are some ways that you incorporate new literacies into your classrooms or perhaps would like to incorporate them in the future?
I would disagree with the authors on a few points and I think they contradict themselves. I don't think these two thoughts--- "children who fall behind in reading achievement at third grade are unlikely to catch up later " and " parallel argument can be made with the new literacies of the Internet, which are a new and important gateway for learning"---are in the same category. These two ideas seem vastly different. I don't know that if a child is not introduced to new literacies they will end up falling behind.
ReplyDeleteI actually think young children now are exposed to too much screen time on their own without the interaction from parents/caregivers.
Karen,
DeleteI too think that young children are over exposed to electronic devices nowadays. I teach second grade and almost all of my students have tablets, cell phones, or other electronic devices that are accessed daily. Many, thankfully not all, of which are not for educational purposes, but for entertainment. The internet does allow some children to practice literacy skills as they communicate with others in forums and chats, this does not need to occur at such an early age.
I don't agree with the statement of children who are not introduced to new literacies will fall behind, because I know that many adults today did not grow up using technology but have quickly learned to navigate through it easily. Accessing new literacies is a great tool and resource, but I don't think it should be stressed until the later years of development.
I agree with the authors when they stated that is completely unnecessary for student to fall behind in learning because they were not provided with opportunities to use the new literacies due to access or teacher instruction. It is extremely important for our students to learn how to use new literacies because they will be expected to use them in order to be successful in the work place. My third graders love researching topics of interest and reading non-fiction books to answer questions they might have. I wasn’t completely familiar myself with how to use google slides, so I had a fifth grader come show our students how to make the slides. They are pros now and I too now know how to use them. That situation reminded me of the significance of teacher education with these new literacies. I think as teachers we need to make sure we our knowledgeable about these tools, and provide our students with opportunities to use them or we are only holding them back.
DeleteIn our district, we use Achieve 3000. It is an online reading program that students use to read informational texts at their level. After reading the article, the students answer comprehension questions. The students are immediately given feedback about their correct/incorrect responses. As the author suggested, the students really do enjoy the automatic responses and interactive nature of the program. I think as long as the new literacies are balanced with more traditional ways of teaching literacy all is good.
Jamie,
DeleteI agree that teachers need to have knowledge/training for implementing new literacies that are purposeful and appropriate--the key words being purposeful and appropriate. The achieve 3000 sounds interesting, although I am not sure about the purpose--does it take the place of a reading specialist or reading instruction? Is it supplemental? I think for me, with new literacies, I worry about the lack oral language interaction/engagement with others.
Typically our district would like us to use Achieve during computer lab time. However, our school is small and due to the number of added teachers we converted our computer lab into a classroom. Therefore, I have made Achieve one of my reading centers. They have printable graphic organizers that the students can fill out as they read. Occasionally they also give out gift cards of choice to the school classroom with the most comprehension points! The contests have really motivated my students, as the program updates them on their points in regards to other classes each time they log in! One thing my students started doing on their own, without me asking them to do so was talk about the right comprehension answers for the articles! They discuss why one person got it right and the other got it incorrect. They have started to do the articles together and help one another towards the right answer through explanation to boost our comprehension points. In this regard, like the author suggested the automatic feedback has been helpful for my students!
DeleteI disagree with the author about the "delay and the possibility of missing out on instruction." Too often, the attention required in technology hinders children's focus in the classroom. They lack the ability to communicate with teacher and peers due to "new literacies practices from digital technologies."
ReplyDeleteAll of the opinions on this topic are very interesting to me. I am finding myself conflicted in this area. I also think that students are overexposed to technology and the internet as is. However, I also realize that the internet and technology are only going to become more of a factor when it comes to pretty much every facet of life. I would tend to disagree with the author when it suggested that children will not be able to catch up. Although I do know many adults (including parents and colleagues), that struggle with new literacies- these are individuals who grew up before the Internet existed and all of this new technology became so predominant. Children growing up now are surrounded by it, even if it is not heavily promoted in the classroom. I think growing up around it gives them a distinct advantage.
ReplyDeleteMelinda,
DeleteI understand where you are coming from and it definitely makes great sense. I just believe that children can focus on new literacies later in their years and not the beginning ages when they should be focusing on fine motor skills, social skills, and other experiences to construct their understanding in life. Like you said, there are some adults that struggle with technology today and a way to bridge the technology gap is definitely to implement new literacies into instruction, however it can wait until other more important developmental milestones are reached.
The author stated that e-books, online resources, and other interactive games are possible ways to introduce new literacies to young children. Those are great supplements that I like to include into the day for the children, but I try not to let it take over teaching time. It's more of a time to practice the skills and get a break from hearing my voice all day.
I was going to mention that our district has recently purchased a game called SmartyAnts that allows children great practice in phonics. It also tracks data for teachers to review and increases in difficulty as the student progresses. It's great as supplemental instruction!
DeleteThere are also other literacy rich websites like BookFlix, PebbleGo, Starfall, and Online Storytime. These websites allow the option for children to listen to the words being read as they see them on the screen!