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The future of being literate – (Therese – Substantial post)

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Being able to comprehend text goes beyond books.  It has already happened.  It is not something that can be ignored.  Digital technology is a strong force that if used wisely will enhance educational opportunities.  The essential reading of week 8 from Youth, Popular Culture and Texts by O’Sullivan explores what it means to be literate in the 21st Century.  Also knowing how to deal with the digital medium and teaching students how to reference appropriately from the internet is just one component of being literate.  Valuing the written information from the Internet and referencing the author will alleviate the dilemma illustrated below.

Shinall (2010)

Knowing how to recognise valid information and referencing correctly is just one example of being literate in the 21st Century.  “Communication is public and published” and use of the material using an electronic medium means that your information that you post has the potential to be seen by a “limitless audience” (O’Sullivan, p 192).  Once you place something on the internet, whether it is a website, wiki or blog your information is out, open to the public.  You then trust the public to acknowledge the source.

When you locate information on the internet you also need to have ways of identifying if the material is valid information. Teaching students how to recognise valid information is a necessary component of being literate today.  This takes time and creating a minimum standard, for example locating the author of site, whether it has referenced other information, looking at the date of the information and whether it has been updated are all areas to test validity of the information.

Reading information in a book of English origin is a logical left to right process. You may need to understand how a contents page works or and index to locate information in a book. To be able to read information on the web you need some more skill.  You might have to navigate and search through multiple pages and links to locate what you require.  A blog for example might have multiple posts on different pages.  Hopefully there will be category headings and tags that will assist you in quickly identifying if a post is relevant to what you want to read about.

O’Sullivan (p. 196) gives examples of uses of blogs to provide up to date information that the reader may want to use in another area.  For example information on new books available with online reviews.  I can see the usefulness of using a blog in this way to promote new material in the library. Students may, from the comfort of their classroom or home, view a school library blog and read reviews for new resources or ideas. This may engage students to venture into the library and borrow resources.  Students may also comment on the blog after they have read the material on review in the blog and therefore promote the material to other students.  It’s a way of keeping current with information and informing students and teachers.

The use of pseudonyms on blogs helps maintain confidentiality within the web. O’Sullivan (p. 197) suggests that many teenagers are aware of reasons to maintain privacy and safety on the web.  Something that is important to teach students about is the need to not share personal details with unknown people on the Internet.  This is something that I build into lessons in the library when using the Internet.  Explaining why you keep details to yourself and the digital footprint that you leave as you navigate through web pages.

Something that might engage students is to create a blog that they can comment on.  This might be information about a particular subject that you want students to write about.  Creating something online that the students can collaborate on and discuss is sure to engage most students.  I would like to use a blog with students to enable them to use a different medium to just paper and pencil as assessment with writing.  Learning how to write on a blog will be important for their future learning and employment opportunities.  Moving forward with technology will provide a stronger educational advantage for the students.  The opportunity to write and have the freedom to participate without fear of being wrong is very beneficial (O’Sullivan, p. 200).

Creating blogs and commenting on blog posts allows for creativity of ideas to flow.  To engage with an audience that is interested in the same or similar ideas as yourself.  It is a great forum to use to learn. I feel I have learnt how successful blogs can be with education by using a blog to engage with fellow students.  We are able to comment on each other’s posts and learn more as we go.  I feel much more confident now as I near the end stages of this subject and I feel much more prepared in putting what I have learnt into practice with students in school.

 

References

O’Sullivan, K., (2012). Chapter 12 : Books and Blogs : Promoting Reading Achievement in Digital Contexts in Manuel, Jacqueline and Brindley, Sue, Teenagers and reading : literary heritages, cultural contexts and contemporary reading practices, Kent Town, SA: Wakefield Press/ AATE, pp.191-209.

Shinall, A., (2010). Internet facts cartoon. The University of Southern Mississippi http://aubrieannshinall.blogspot.com.au/2010/09/end-of-term-for-my-information-literacy.html Visited site: 21/10/12

 


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