New Literacy Blog

When I began this class, my definition of literacy consisted mainly of a person being able to read and write. As the class has progressed, I have continued to add elements to my working definition, as we have been introduced to numerous new literacies and aspects that should be included. Looking back at my first post about my definition of literacy, I stated, "I'm still not sure if I have a set definition that I can apply to the term, but for now I believe that literacy is the ability to comprehend and effectively use reading, writing, listening and speaking." After continuing in 402 and researching social literacy through a prezi, my definition of literacy has expanded. I have come to realize that literacy is much more than simply reading and writing, but how one uses these skills to effectively communicate with others. Through my research on social literacy, I have found that there are many critical skills that can be learned through the use of technology. While I focused my project on social literacy, looking at the other literacies has helped me to grasp a better understanding of included elements as well. Emotional literacy is one that I had not thought to include, but it is a critical part of how a student becomes literate.

After viewing my classmates' projects and learning about the multitude of literacies that are present, I have learned that I need to have a good grasp on what they all are to ensure my students benefit to their fullest. In language arts for instance, technology can be incorporated using digital and social literacy to interest students who may not otherwise prefer the language arts topic. Working with this new literacy (social literacy) and new technology (prezi), I came across many resources and websites that I did not know existed. All of these new sources would be effective tools to provide effectice literacy instruction to students. With blogging, wikijunior, and all of the other sites available, students from multiple learning styles can be accomodated and instructed. Each student has a different way they learn best, and using social literacy with technology can help to address each student's style. Each of the seperate literacies are also crucial to consider when working with students, as each child brings a unique background and characteristics that an educator needs to be aware of to ensure the student is learning the material.

As I am in a kindergarten classroom for placement, I feel that a prezi would be an incredibly difficult resource for my students to use in the classroom. In order for the students to make an effective prezi show, they would need to understand how to use a computer and the internet, which is something they do not have practice with in the school setting. They do not have access to a computer within their classroom, so it is hard to say how much experience they have outside of school. They would need to know the concept of a slideshow (one they have not been exposed to in school yet), and the purpose for putting information into an online resource for people to view. As they are still learning the alphabet and how to spell simple words, this project would be one that would be challenging for them, as they would not be able to explain social literacy through the use of words. The concept of social literacy may be difficult for them to understand as well, and would need to be thoroughly explained. To share what they do learn with their peers, the students could use a variety of pictures to communicate their message. Even using pictures, the students would have to understand how to use computer functions such as saving and uploading files.

The two most relevant resources that I found when searching social literacy for young students are www.epals.com and http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior. These websites are both child friendly, and incorporate communication and collaboration through technology. I would use either one for a lesson plan, as they are both interesting and exciting websites for children to discover. If I were to incorporate wikijunior into a lesson, I would open the website on the smartboard (we do not have computers in the classroom for the students to use), and would show the students examples of books that other children have created. After explaining the project and the idea that children can post books online, I would work with the students to create a class book that we could then edit and upload to the website for others to see. Towards the end of the year, if my students were progressing well in writing, I would have them create their own books to add to the sites. This lesson would allow the students to see components of a book, and would allow them to practice creating chronological events in a story. One of the big common core standards for the kindergarten grade level is that students can recall important details in a story, so this lesson would push students farther, as they would be creating the important details and learning what should be included and what can be left out. Assessment would be informal for this lesson, as I would look to see who was contributing, and the types of answers that the students were contributing to the discussion.