Statement on Digital Literacy
Do you want to know what I think of digital literacy and what my goals are as an educator? Check it out. The intended audience is an administrator, student, or their family members. It's kind of dense, possibly a little bit boring, but I dig it, so I thought you might too. Happy reading.
Statement on Digital Literacy
The Digital Landscape of Today. George Lucas, the famous filmmaker
behind timeless classics such as Star
Wars, once said, “We must teach communication comprehensively in all its
forms,” (Clinton et al, 50). Today, people are communicating globally and
instantaneously in forms that were unimaginable in the recent past. Through
programs such as Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, YouTube and countless others, people
are connecting with one another to forge online communities, publishing their
thoughts and creations (including written, visual, and auditory), and
interacting with current events authentically to the point of “participatory
journalism” (Richardson, 5). As a result of the exponential growth and
increasing prevalence of digital technology in today’s society, digital literacy, or one’s ability to
utilize digital technologies and engage with online communities of information,
is a prerequisite for success. Simply put, to be employable and to be an active
participant in our democracy, our children must be able to use computers,
programs, and relevant web tools to their advantage. Therefore, the purpose of
this document is to outline my beliefs as a 21st century educator and
articulate what skills I feel my students must develop to succeed in school and
beyond.
Foundational Skills. As I ride the 6 Train in New York City, I am
often fascinated by toddlers working with electronics, playing games on their
parents’ iPhones, and cleverly navigating the many movements required to
meaningfully engage with the devices. However, without developing foundational literacy
skills, as these toddlers grow up they will only continue to use technology for
games and entertainment, and never enjoy the rich intellectual experiences that
can provide them with a greater understanding of the world and opportunities
for success. I believe that before we can truly engage in any society, online
or otherwise, we need five core skills.
1.
Reading.
To comprehend any written material, students must be able to decode words,
articulate them with fluency, and “listen” to their meaning. Regardless of
format (whether print is online or on paper), our students must develop
advanced reading skills.
2.
Writing.
To share our ideas and communicate effectively with an audience, students must
be able to compose words, sentences and paragraphs in a variety of forms;
articulating thoughts through basic writing will always be a critical
competency.
3.
Speaking.
Students must be able to communicate with others orally, both through
pre-written speeches and interactive conversations.
4.
Listening.
Students must be able to truly listen to and consider the ideas of others.
Students must understand that only through listening can we create authentic
learning conversations.
5.
Reasoning.
Students must be able to think critically and logically about new ideas,
appreciating what they believe to be rational, while analyzing and refuting
what is unsound.
Digital Skills. While developing the foundational literacy skills
above used to be enough to succeed professionally, today we must know more. In
conjunction with the foundational skills of the past, it is critical that students
develop myriad digital skills to succeed in the job market of the future. Many
brilliant educators have outlined what they feel to be the “Essential
Competencies of Digital and Media Literacy” (Hobbs, 19). However, I have
adapted these to my own thinking, and believe there are four core competencies
of digital literacy.
1.
Navigating
through experimentation. Digital technologies are constantly developing. As
learners in an ever-changing environment, students must understand the purpose
of diverse digital tools, and then master them through collaborative
experimentation. It is not important to be an expert at every tool. What is far
more relevant is identifying our learning goals, and then using the most
effective tools to meet our needs, experimenting along the way (Kajder, 24).
2.
Storing
and retrieving. Organization is an essential skill in a tangible work environment,
yet it is equally critical in a digital environment where information is ubiquitous.
Therefore, students must be able to use folders and other systems to organize
files, websites, et cetera, and then easily retrieve them when needed.
3.
Seeking,
comprehending and evaluating. Regardless of the purpose of research, be it
for a school project or personal inquiry, students must be able to search for
specific information, comprehend it using foundational literacy skills,
evaluate its relevance and possible bias, before finally determining its
usefulness.
4.
Composing
and publishing. Lastly, if our children are to truly interact with the
world, they cannot only be expert consumers of information, they must be able
to form their own ideas, compose their own thoughts, and then publish them
safely to an intended audience. Only after completing this last step have they
truly demonstrated digital literacy and their ability to comprehend and communicate
meaning in all its forms.
What You Can Expect In My Class. As a student in my class, you can
expect to rigorously develop all of the critical skills listed above. We will
read, write, speak, listen and reason with one another. We will use digital
tools such as Microsoft Office, iLife, Google (or other web browsers), Wiki
pages, Glogster, and other web tools, learning them through collaborative
experimentation. We will organize our learning online and in shared folder
systems. We will seek out information about specific subjects, digest it independently
and as a community, and then evaluate its relevance, credibility, and
usefulness to our class. Finally, we will compose our ideas using whichever
tools work best, and publish them to one another and the world. The big picture
is this; we are here as livers and learners. Our goal is to understand the
world and our role in it, share our wealth of experiences, and prepare
ourselves, the best that we can, for an unknown, but promising future.
I look forward to sharing the
school year with you.
Sincerely,
Josh Williams
Works Cited
Clinton, Katie, Ravi Purushotma, Alice J.
Robison, and Margaret Weigel. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory
Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. Chicago: MacArthur
Foundation, 2006. Print.
Hobbs, Renee. Digital and Media Literacy:
A Plan of Action. Washington D.C.: Aspen Institute, 2010. Print.
Kajder, Sara B. Adolescents and Digital
Literacies: Learning alongside Our Students. Urbana, IL: National Council
of Teachers of English, 2010. Print.
Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts:
And Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin,
2006. Print.
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