Digital Literacy: Juan, Charles, Jennifer, Jack by Cameron




       Within the two articles (Kist, 2000) (Castek & Maderino, 2016) they discuss how technology is evolving and changing the classroom throughout the years. Castek and Maderino begin talking about how vast the internet is and how easy it is to extract information from it. They go on and add how digital literacy are not necessarily technology-based texts and tools, but a way of collaborating, interacting and using texts. The change of texts just so happened to directly effect the classroom and how students and teachers interact with texts.


  • What are the pros and cons to having technology-based texts?
  • For your own personal classroom would you prefer to have more text-based texts? Why or why not? Does it depend on the subject?

     Kist begins by talking how his first unique literary experience was through a movie his senior year of high school. Kist then goes on by adding that through advancements in technology leads to different ways of people expressing themselves. Kist also goes on how with new technology there would be a smaller gap in diversity in learning. The example that is given is the divide in the rich and poor in youth. There would be a higher amount of ways to interact and leading to equal opportunity. 

  • With this written in 2000, how would Kist write this article differently in 2019?
  • Do you think technology will truly make for a classroom with more interactions?

My feelings on these articles are indifferent, mainly for my subject. I do not feel that technology and tech-based texts can be used as freely and effectively as other classrooms can. I feel technology is quite important for advancing the classroom. However, the only real way I can see digital based texts making a great impact in modern math classrooms are through online videos. 

Comments

  1. Although, I believe it is essential to use technology in classrooms at this day in age there are still some negatives that we should be aware of. When using technology it is so easy to get distracted and lose track of what you are supposed to be doing sometimes one will end up on some unrelated page. That is the main concern with using technology in the classroom. Another one may be all the false information that students can come across and think its real. We have to teach students to be critical about the information that is online so they don’t end up being misinformed. As a future history teacher, I believe that I will use more of digital based texts but I won’t completely rely on them. It is easy for history teachers to use websites to teach in their classrooms because there are so many that are able to engage history and make it fun for students that may not find history interesting. In the article “Beginning to create the new literacy classroom: What does the new literacy look like?,” William Kist finds that showing films in his classroom is one way to engage students to learn (2000, p. 710). It is interesting that even back then he was aware of the exponential growth of technology. Kist writes, “This technology is increasingly multimodal, encompassing forms not only of print but of combinations of graphic art, music, mathematics, drama, cinema, and others” (Ibd., p. 711). I think that the more technology use inside and outside of the classroom for educational purposes will end up leading to more meaningful learning and social interactions. As explained by Kist, in a new literacy classroom with the use of technology there will be “a deep responsiveness of the classroom culture to students’ expression: written, oral, and artistic” (Ibd.,p. 715). Students will be able to be more knowledgeable about a wide variety of different subjects and it will allow them to interact more in the classroom and be more confident with the knowledge they gain.

    ReplyDelete
  2. In the age we are in technology is an essential and important part of our world today it is a double edge sword. Technology based texts are easy and accessible for students. It is also Eco-friendly as more paper would be saved if they are online. Many students actually learn through seeing things on a screen rather than a paper. Online articles would obviously need to be accessed through a device and for students with visual disabilities there are computer programs that will read the articles for them. While many pros come with these digital articles there are also as many cons, High school students are easily distracted, giving them technology you will always get students who will not do the work and just mess around on the internet. Sometimes tech just gives out, wifi will go down, or laptops won't be charged. many of these are minor inconveniences. I believe in my classroom I will use technology based articles. these articles will encourage positive use of technology in the classroom. In college I have used technology more and more in classes. The way that tech is used in many of my classes is effective, readings are organized and easy to find. These reading allow me to master the art of multitasking and allow me to work on papers while having all the articles at my disposal. These are useful skills that can be learned earlier than college and with the use of articles in a high school classroom it will prepare students for the fast paced technology based college classes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Juan, I think you bring up very important uses of technology especially for students with disabilities that could benefit from supplementary programs on the internet. I think that even videos and interactive websites can be a beneficial way to learn. I agree that it is important to implement these lessons on accessing the internet while they are in high school so that they are ready to do research on their own in college. We would not be doing them justice by using only disciplinary texts at all.

      Delete
  3. Cameron, you pose some great questions. In my own classroom I will definitely use as many digital resources as I can. Simply because the pros of them outweigh the cons. It is easier to access, and will not get lost in a students backpack two weeks after it was taught. It also provides more grounds for discussion, as you can open it up for comments and a discussion board for the students to engage in critical thinking. It is also a whole less stressful for students. I hate receiving huge packets of sources and readings, and just having them in one place organized in my laptop makes my life seem so much less hectic as a student. In terms of discussion I think if there was a way to make comments etc anonymous between peers it would also be better in the high school setting. As students who may not click with each other can still engage, and just wont respond everyday to what their friend had posted. Also the greatest pro as pointed out by Juan its eco-friendly, we got to save our trees!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment