Blog Post 3 - Leveraging Tools, Text, and Talk in My Teaching Context

Blog Post 3

Leveraging Tools, Text, and Talk in My Teaching Context

    The idea that teaching technologies is a practice that influences students inside and outside of the classroom is not lost in the readings we have been provided within this module. Another objective that was made very clear is that without teachers utilizing strong pedagogical practices in our classrooms, students gain nothing from the technology provided. In “MORE THAN BITS AND BYTES”, Earl Aguilera talks about three approaches to digital literacy; on, behind and beyond the screen. (Aguilera, 2017) Educating students in what’s on the screen consists of educating them on how to navigate the physical technologies that are available to them. It also educates students on what they’re seeing online and how to interact with it in a significant, respectful, and moral way. Engaging students in conversations and activities about what’s behind the screen will get them thinking about why certain narratives are created, who is the person creating them, and how that person or organization would benefit from that. This approach to digital literacy gives students the tools to navigate the copious amounts of information online to determine which sources are reliable. The third component, looking beyond the screen, allows students to critically think about the social implications of technology. Aguilera goes on to say that what we see online, whether we realize it or not, shapes our experiences and impacts the way we interact with the world and one another. Students so often do not make the connection that the outside world and their digital world are woven together. They don’t comprehend the fact that they’re constantly being influenced by what they see online. It is pivotal to the success of our future to educate students in looking beyond the screen and thinking about how what they see online impacts what they see in the real world. In my classroom, I engage my students in many discussions about online content and I create an environment that encourages them to ask questions and be wary of different perspectives and intentions. In “ASSESSING NEWS LITERACY IN THE 21ST CENTURY”, Linda Jacobson wrote about studies being done with schools that have and have not implemented news literacy education. Although there is some disagreement on how student competency in this topic can be studied, there were many teachers that reported after explicitly teaching media literacy skills, students were using these same strategies and asking the same questions without prompting from a class or teacher. This data shows that teaching news literacy and getting students to look beyond the screen can and will impact their participation in the world and democracy. 

Engaging students in meaningful conversations about these practices will not only deepen their knowledge and understanding of these topics, but it will put them in charge of their own actions within the digital domains. With that being said, engaging students in these conversations can only happen when a teacher is properly educated in how to use these technologies and how they impact students. In these readings, it has become evident that there is somewhat of a digital literacy ladder; different levels of digital literacies that students should be introduced to at different stages in their lives. How you’re engaging students in these conversations will look different at every stage but it will ultimately lead to the same result - adults that are literate in the digital world. Thomas M. Philip and Antero D. Garcia make a strong argument that there are 3Ts that make technology education relevant inside and outside of the classroom. I believe that engaging students in meaningful conversations about these new literacy practices also involves providing them opportunities to interact with the different ways they can utilize technology. The first T, texts, allows students to interact with unlimited amounts of text and content about a multitude of topics. In my classroom, I use this as an opportunity to teach diversified topics. Not only do we engage with text and learn about diversified groups of people and their ideas, my students create their own projects with different online applications that allow them to work with different technologies. The second T, tools, literally gives students the tools to be able to navigate the information and applications they’ll come across online. This again touches on Aguilera’s idea that teaching technology goes beyond what is physically on the screen and teaches students how to and the importance of identifying false narratives online. Finally the third T, talk, allows them to engage with one another and content in an asynchronous manner. In my classroom, students do this using the GoogleClassroom platform where they’re able to comment and engage in digital conversations with one another about content. I’ve also used Jamboard. This allows students to post their ideas. Combining all of these Ts will create opportunities in my classroom where students are engaging in real conversations and making connections based off of their experiences working with the technology. 

When equity comes to mind, my first thought was my students with heavy needs and ELL students. I’m currently teaching a class with eight IEP students, five 504 students, and one ELL student. With the constant changes and shifts of what technologies and applications are being used in the classroom, it can be hard for them to keep up. A lot of what I read in “RETHINKING LANGUAGE LEARNING” was relevant to both ELL students and students with special needs. There are so many helpful ways technology can be used in the classroom to help those students keep up as opposed to falling behind. One example of this that I use in my classroom that is also mentioned in the article is text to speech functions. My students that have cognitive disorders have trouble getting their thoughts down on paper. They’ll have such great conversations with their peers or teachers about a topic then struggle to write even a sentence about it. Using text to speech, my students are able to put those thoughts onto “paper” without the frustration that comes along with the act of writing or typing. I also have a student with a physical ailment that gets fatigued when they type too long. The text to speech function for this particular student allows them to work through long tasks that would otherwise be strenuous. Hsu and Wang also discuss the importance of these students being able to create and express themselves in digital spaces. Creating a video blog using applications, such as Blogger (which was mentioned in the article!), can allow them opportunities for the same high level thinking and creativity as their classmates. Equity in digital education means equipping students with necessary modifications to help them reach their potential. As for engagement, Philip and Garcia argued that shiny new technology is nowhere near enough to keep students engaged in digital literacies. Students now have grown up in a world where new and emerging technologies are normal happenings. Students aren’t going to magically be interested in school just because they’re reading the same text on a screen. Students need to be provided with more chances to utilize this technology in a way that is meaningful to their own lives and daily experiences. 

Finding the balance with digital skills and traditional skills in the classroom is something teachers face on a daily basis. “NONDIGITAL SKILLS” highlights the idea that we don’t want to replace authentic teaching and hands-on skills with technology. Rather, the goal is to enhance those skills using technology. The goal is to mimic the outside world in the classroom and create an environment where students are using both analog and digital skills to solve problems. Author Antero Garcia encourages educators to examine the digital literacies in their classrooms to determine if those practices are in fact purposeful to students. One way I do this in my classroom is through novel studies. We start off the year reading Bud, Not Buddy. A story about a 10 year old African American orphan during the Great Depression. Before we even read the book, I provided students with exposure to the Great Depression and segregation. As we discuss these topics, students ask questions and want to know more about certain aspects of what life was like at that time for different kinds of people. This allows students to practice their researching skills and evaluate information to determine the validity of it. When we begin to read the book, students engage in both analog activities where they use paper and illustrate scenes from the book, answer questions on paper, etc. The most critical piece to the analog side of my unit is the discussions. After each chapter, I engage the class in discussions where they use the book as a reference to recall information in the chapter and make deeper connections to the text and across content areas. Most importantly, they’re working on the skill of communicating with others face to face and learning to be respectful even when they do not agree with the ideas the other person might have. At the same time, students are provided with a GoogleSlide set where they have work to complete after every chapter. They answer questions and work with vocabulary from the chapter. This allows them diversity in the tools and modalities to understand the information being provided. After we finish the novel, the students then get to choose an alternative book report to showcase their knowledge of what we have learned. Students have 10 options of projects and are just given general rubrics with requirements on what needs to be included. How they complete their projects is up to them. Some of these projects include making a playlist for a character, assigning characters zodiac signs, the paper bag project, creating a movie poster, and even creating a blog for a character. All of these projects include both a creative and written component. Many of the students end up using both the analog and digital skills that they have acquired throughout this unit to complete their project. Therefore proving that in order for digital literacy to be meaningful, there needs to be authentic teacher provided instruction and opportunities for students to work with both kinds of literacies. 

                                                              References 

Aguilera, E. (2017). MORE THAN BITS AND BYTES. Literacy Today. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1966006470?accountid=8067&parentSessionId=Xu9MRk8Lgxs%2BslpfWf4Z51haivQHgrwjorP%2Bg8w7TcY%3D&sourcetype=Trade%20Journals 

Garcia, A. (2017). NONDIGITAL SKILLS. Literacy Today. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1966005428/4E1DCD1AA7D54D6EPQ/17?accountid=8067&sourcetype=Trade%20Journals 

Hsu, H.-Y., & Wang, S.-K. (2017). RETHINKING LANGUAGE LEARNING. Literacy Today. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1966005990/4E1DCD1AA7D54D6EPQ/19?accountid=8067&sourcetype=Trade%20Journals 

Jacobson, L. (2017). ASSESSING NEWS LITERACY IN THE 21ST CENTURY. Literacy Today. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1966007432/4E1DCD1AA7D54D6EPQ/16?accountid=8067&sourcetype=Trade%20Journals 

Philip, T., & Garcia, A. (2013). The Importance of Still Teaching the iGeneration: New Technologies and the Centrality of Pedagogy. Harvard Educational Review. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1399327199?accountid=8067&sourcetype=Scholarly%20Journals