The debate over Books vs. Digital Media

The argument and continuous debate regarding students reading on line or the linear written word in books, is one that can't be resolved. As unfortunate as some people feel, it is something that has to be accepted. Since the change of the century, the on line world has evolved. Rich even points out how kids usage climbed up in just 8 years. Rather than debate whether the new digital literacy is better for kids or not, we need to learn how to maximize its advantages for kids. The fact that reading on line is changing the  way kids are processing information is part of the concern but truthfully kids need to learn how to process like that in order to keep up and meet the expectations of this new era. That proof rests on the fact that even on line assessments such as the PARCC assessment can only be administered on line. No longer are assessments given in paper and pencil form.

I have heard many of parents say, "at least my kid is reading and engaging in mind stimulating reading and shows an interest in something." My son's 4th grade teacher last year said to read 30 minutes a night and it didn't matter what type of reading; comics, on line, news paper or books. She would say "so long as the kids are reading." His 5th grade teacher on the other hand doesn't feel that way. She told us at our Parents as Partners night that the kids have to read 20 minutes from a book each night. Her belief is that reading text allows the imagination to be stimulated and work which she believes makes for a more critical thinker. I find some truth to that but when a student doesn't want to read a book, any parent should promote any type of reading. 

I find that the debate on ADHD can fall in line with this debacle. With the internet having many different things on one screen and little stories here and there, kids become hardwired to multi task and jump around. This is probably not the best for students who need to read and analyze literature in class especially with the new standards. What can we do to help this issue? I feel that we need to find ways to use this as an advantage since kids are interested enough to seek out different types of literacy on line. Educators need to find ways to promote literacy while finding ways to compensate when reading a document in the written word. Perhaps it is shown that the written word will have a deeper understanding and will enrich different parts of our children's minds, but we need to help this generation so that they have the same level of understanding when they are on line.

According to Rich, there are companies that are trying to find ways to help students develop a more critical way of thinking and ways for them to synthesize the information. However, we all have to find ways to work with the new technology for the greater good of education as a whole.

I personally feel that we are wasting our time trying to debate what is better to read the written word or digital literacy. The era of technology is not going to absolve it is only going to magnify.

 

New Literacies - Journal Post 1

In the new literacy, we use new technology (media) to convey our ideas and thoughts; however I feel that the new ways of disseminating information or communicating lacks something due to the impersonal nature of texts and social media. It is very difficult to ascertain the true emotion or meaning when communicating or providing information to another person through these new ways of communicating.

 

As Dana Wilber (2010) writes in Beyond "New" Literacies, a decade ago the new literacy was more about the emerging technologies changing the dissemination of information and the means of learning, because "new literacies change faster than traditional literacies because of the rapidity of technological change." It is inevitable that new technologies will continue to change the landscape of communications in all aspects of our lives and it will be up to us to keep up with all the tools so that we can maintain the fast-paced environment that we have created. Very often text messages are written in abbreviated form, using acronyms, such as the familiar LOL (Laughing out Loud), BRB (Be Right Back), and IDK (I don't know). For me, being middle aged, it took some time to understand and get familiar with the new way of communicating; however I seem to have managed. I sometimes get annoyed when I receive an email from someone and they write 'u' instead of 'you'. It is almost as if I find it acceptable in a text message to receive a 'u' instead of a 'you' but when it comes to real communication, I get annoyed with the new abbreviated literacy, almost as if there is a new English.

 

I feel that the this new literacy will take over the traditional literacy our country has used for more than 200 years. This is due to the fact that technology has made it easier and faster to communicate. The new way of communicating is making our traditional literacy and language obsolete. In our traditional language we can be more expressive and more meaningful providing a more comprehensive message utilizing our vast vocabulary which is not used in text messages, on social media and even in email in some cases since the focus is on brevity. 

 

The new literacy is not going to go away and will only grow and continue to evolve. It is important to take advantage of the new technologies and to infuse them into our educational system. For years teachers forbid electronic devices in their classrooms for many reasons, including the ability to cheat as well as the potential for distractions from texting, gaming, etc.  However,  it may have made more sense to embrace electronic devices in the classroom and looked at as a way to integrate the enormous amount of versatile material into the learning experience. The opportunities for students to learn from new media is endless. For the better part of ten years, classrooms across the nation have utilized SYPE or other video conferencing tools to learn from those in China. The use of email and multimedia instruction has benefited so many of those with learning disabilities. I have always thought that much resistance from some teachers was because they were entering uncharted waters, or set in their ways with what worked well for them. However, as some of the readings assigned in this module have shown us, technology when integrated with education can not only enhance the learning experience but ultimately improve the education of our students.

 

In the article Literacy in the Classroom, the author illustrates the ways to keep literacy alive in the educational arena. It is up to the educators (as well as parents) to spark the need for reading and learning through various modes of communication and information sharing. The important part here is to focus on the foundation of education in all areas of curricula are based on literacy. When examining education and the new literacy, I feel that it is important to emphasize that the root of any area in learning depends on understanding and comprehending literacy.  

 

As Wilber (2010) states in her article, the multimodal use of technology has infiltrated into all aspects of our lives. From the workplace to our personal text messages, the advancements in technology has given us a cornucopia of means to communicate and disseminate information. And as expressed in Literacy and the new technologies in school education: Meeting the l(IT)eracy challenge? it is even more evident that the options for teaching in the classroom have surpassed paper, pencil, chalk and text book. Perhaps this is what needs to be embraced in all aspects of teaching, especially for those who depend on differentiated instruction. The people that are auditory learners have an abundance of resources as those who are visual learners. Gone are the days of the encyclopedias, because anything can be researched on line. Therefore, using the new technologies to provide a plethora of options to our students and giving them access to the abundance of data and information out there needs to be used appropriately to enhance learn in all ages. This is the world that we live in and we need to accept it. At the same time, we need to find ways to preserve our traditional language. Perhaps the use of e-books needs part of the array of technology in our educational system. Stopping the evolution of technology is impossible; I feel that rather than stifling it, we should incorporate it within our daily work and capitalize on the ways we can share information immediately, express gratitude through social media, encourage economic benefits with personalized websites and teach all learners with a selection of tools.

 

References

Huffaker, D. (2005). The Educated Blogger: Using Weblogs to Promote Literacy in the Classroom. AACE Journal, 13(2), 91-98. Norfolk, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

Literacy and the new technologies in school education: Meeting the l(IT)eracy challenge?. (n.d.) >The Free Library. (2014). Retrieved May 19 2015 from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Literacy+and+the+new+technologies+in+school+education%3a+Meeting+the...-a063132991

 

Wilber, Dana J. (May 31, 2010) Beyond "new" literacies. Digital Culture and Education. Retrieved May 20 2015 from http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/uncategorized/dce_editorial_vol2_iss1_2010/