New literacies are providing teachers and students with authentic experiences with diverse ways of learning in a world that is almost intimidated by diversity. These new forms of literacy are crucial in order to ensure our students are active participants in the digital age. Digital ways of communicating are the way of life and are going to be for the foreseeable future; with that being said, to participate in this communication, we must continue to learn and develop new literacies to promote academic growth, critical thinking, and a justice-seeking citizen.
Over the course of this module, I have developed a strong grasp on what "new literacy" means and why it is easily one of the most important contemporary issues in education. As Sang expressed, the language skills necessary to understand the world are changing and in order to maintain an understanding of the world around us, we must learn and teach these ideas (Sang, 2017). The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Position Statement lays out the characteristics needed to be "successful participants in a global society" (NCTE, 2019) which all, to no surprise, align with practiced abilities within new literacy. The council suggests that a person must, "explore and engage critically, thoughtfully, and across a wide variety of inclusive texts and tools/modalities" and "recognize and honor the multilingual literacy identities and culture experiences individuals bring to learning environments" (NCTE, 2019) to name a few. The primary steps in prompting these characteristics, is using digital literacy as a tool, as Vanek says, to develop skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration (Vanek, 2019).
Beyond the technical world, it is important to note the perpetuation of standard English practices and the fact that this is not a reasonable standard (nor ever should have been) in our country. All students need to be heard and seen in literacy in order to make the collaborative literacy environment productive. Sang argues that multiliteracies (or new literacies) is a social practice that sets the stage for our social future (p. 17). If we continue to ignore literary practices of various cultures, the social world will continue to ignore various cultures. New literacies are truly shaping our future in ways that celebrate and encourage the diversity that so many often fear. Each of the readings from this module were in agreeance on this point, and all reflect one another in the ways to create a more productive and equitable literacy environment. From these readings, I have taken away the demand to make change now, and not wait a second longer. This seems like a big task on an individual level, but it is our job to educate one another and perpetuate a society of celebrating diversity rather than a society with one standard way of communicating.
References
Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2006). Sampling “the new” in new literacies. In a new literacies sampler (pp. 1–24). Peter Lang.
National Council of Teachers of English. (2013, November 21). NCTE’s definition of literacy in a digital age. National Council of Teachers of English. https://ncte.org/statement/nctes-definition-literacy-digital-age/
Sang, Y. (2017). Expanded territories of "literacy": New literacies and multiliteracies. Journal of Education and Practice, 8(8).
Vanek (2019). Digital literacy. The American Institutes for Research.
https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/TSTMDigitalLiteracyBrief-508.pdf
I agree, the material in this module is helpful for us to better understand our current students. They are living in a changing world and from day to day have a new method of communicating it seems. Our job is to ensure they have the tools to effectively interact with these tools. Diversity in education and in the advancement of literacy is so important. I agree, it does seem to be a big task to take on individually and would imagine those who make decisions at the state and national level would be the ones to make a change that has an immediate impact. Communication is such an interesting topic of study and I look forward to discussing it further with you.
ReplyDeleteI agree that digital communication has become an integral part of our daily lives, shaping how we interact with one another. It is not just essential; it is the very foundation of our personal and professional exchanges. In my role as an educator, digital communication is the primary channel through which I connect with the parents of my students. This method allows us to maintain a consistent line of communication, ensuring that parents are kept informed about their children’s daily activities, progress, and learning experiences. Through emails and messaging platforms, I can share updates, answer questions, and foster a sense of community, all of which are vital for supporting each child's educational journey.
ReplyDeleteHey Arianna,
ReplyDeleteI thought you did a great job in this blog post! I loved that you specifically said, “All students need to be heard and seen in literacy in order to make the collaborative literacy environment productive.”. One of the primary goals of every educator should be to increase the productivity of your class as much as you can. When teachers look to incorporate literacy into their lessons, it needs to be done in a way that reflects upon all of the students in your classroom. We want students to have a voice and a way to express their thoughts. One way to make sure all students are heard and seen is to have multiple types of literacies incorporated into a classroom. Students can express themselves through reading, writing, art, music, video games, projects, presentations, etc. A personal goal of mine is to include as many literacies into my classroom as possible, so that everyone’s voice can be heard!
John