Week 13: Resources and New Literacies

This week, we discussed learning context and evaluating the resources in our classrooms. I have been fortunate to work and have many field placements in many districts and schools with plenty of resources. However, I realize that some districts and schools may not have as many resources and teachers need to be creative in reinventing their resources to make lessons as dynamic as possible. 

We continued to talk about New Literacies. The whole concept baffled me at first, but I began to understand the concept of New Literacies with discussion of all of the new technologies coming into our lives. It was difficult to understand at first that many teachers have not grown up in a digital environment and must learn not only to navigate new technologies, but to use them to their advantage. At first, the digital world included places to find information and become a consumer, learning about online businesses and gathering knowledge through data and "experts" online. Now, anyone can consume online content, as well as produce it in our increasingly social online environment. Though it was frustrating to navigate new technologies in class that I was unfamiliar with this semester, I found it useful to learn from others in the field about popular topics in both general and special education, and, along the way, discover my philosophies and thoughts about the way I teach. 

Digital Literacy in the 21st Century

Teachers must teach to students now growing up in an increasingly more diverse digital world, where one must be smart about the way they use technology, to not only use it for fun, but to use technology to effectively communicate their ideas. The above visual shows the different components to Digital Literacy, and how they all work together to help people use information well and be smart consumers. At my field placement this semester, one of my days was spent learning about internet safety with the school's police officer. Even starting at five and six years old, the students learned not to talk to strangers on the internet and hide personal information unless through a trusted source. This was the first step to their learning about being smart consumers. Students will learn as they grow to create reliable and useful information, how to find credible information, and discoverwhy they search for information. As I've gone through my four years of college, I've learned to take important information to share my thoughts and learning about what I am passionate about - teaching children and making a difference in their lives. Students also become very motivated by Web 2.0 materials to incorporate into their learning. Including these options helps students relate content to their lives and provides an outlet to show how technology can be used effectively and for learning. Providing these options gives students choice and allows them to have a relevant means of explaining information. 

Gamifying learning is also very popular with students in my generation. Many teachers, especially those who grew up before my generation and had been teaching for years, discount gamifying learning as dumb and useless, claiming that students do not have the same level of knowledge as students in the past because they learn less through these new games. However, this infographic explains the amount of time people devote to gaming daily now that casual games have become much more popular. The infographic talks about the aspects of gaming that apply to learning. The one that struck me most was the endless nature of gaming, and how students continue to learn and advance until they become experts, which is what teachers want. Students should continue to learn about different topics and keep exploring until they satisfy all their curiosities and fully understand their learning. We also discussed in class the opportunity to create content and that students may be able to demonstrate their knowledge by creating a game that applies what they know. The opportunity to produce content helps students take pride in their work, showing what they know in a medium very relevant to their lives. I always loved playing video games growing up, and would love to incorporate games into lessons as I become a teacher.