Changing Literacies; Changing Pedagogies

    


'Computer literacy' seemed to be associated with detailed knowledge of equipment rather than the uses to which that equipment is put.

This quote was taken from the excerpt on a study that assessed pre-service teacher's digital literacy skills. And I found this particular quote to be extremely provocative, because oftentimes we(and our students) are misunderstood about what computer literacy actually entails.

I think it's fairly common to assume that we are talking about hardware rather than the functions we use. I also feel that this needs to be addressed in the classroom, because misconceptions lead to mixed emotions about a particular subject or issue. Students lack confidence in their computer literacy skills because they aren't familiar with the basic concept of computer literacy.



Provision of clear expectations and models, coupled with explicit teaching and one-on-one support, are as necessary with digital literacies as with traditional print assignment, and this demands that teacher educators develop their own skills and capacities as designers and producers of digital texts.

This is perhaps one of the most important aspects of teaching in the digital age. It is imperative that teachers take workshops and attend professional development seminars in order to learn how to create their own digital texts. Only when we have had the opportunity to be a learner, will we be able to effectively guide our students in their own literacy development.


The novel, the academic argument, the poem and the research paper are dead genres, and should be substituted with genres more likely to be found in the native, everyday practices of youth.

The aforementioned quote is taken from the "replacement" stance in the final chapter of our text, and I do not completely agree with the quote. While I do agree that we need to incorporate more texts into the classroom that are found in the everyday practice of youth, I do not necessarily think that we should toss out timeless novels and poetry like yesterday's garbage.

I side with the 'parallel pedagogy' stance which supports the use of old and new literacy practices side by side. Maybe I'm nostalgic for old literacy practices, but I find value in being able to sit down a ready a novel from cover to cover. I think that certain works will stand the test of time (regardless of technology) because they were a revolutionary work of art for their time. This isn't to say that The Great Gatsby cannot be read on an e-reader, because there are many useful functions on these devices (dictionary and thesaurus, highlighting capabilities, etc.).

My beliefs on literacy lie with accepting the new and yet still maintaining an appreciation for the past.