Geeking Out

I love all of this information on digital literacy.  I think that the most important lesson, still, that I’ve learned is that digital literacy is a completely new kind of curriculum.  There is a difference between incorporating technology and incorporating technology in a meaningful way. That being said, I particularly like the idea of implementing hanging out, messing around, and geeking out into the classroom.  I also love that most or all of the ideas from The Digital Writing Workshop can translate into these three categories.

The concentration on student interaction with technology in “Living and Learning With New Media” seems really important to the new media literacy curriculum.  Because the emphasis is based on how technology shapes students’ ways of thinking, we should be examining the ways in which they interact with technology.  One quote I found especially poignant from this study is found on page 25:

Although some view these activities as dead-ends or a waste of time, we see them as a necessary part of self-directed exploration in order to experiment with something that might eventually become a longer-term, abiding interest in creative production.

This quote is especially significant because it questions the views of adults.  Adults, the people who control what these kids do for seven hours a day, many times do not see worth in how their students chose to spend their days.  If adults do not see the meaning in their students’ interests, they are less likely to embrace them, which is a huge set back for education.  It is therefore important to examine the meaning in technology in order to embrace the benefits of technology, and there are many benefits.

            Once the adult or teacher has decided to questions her views, she must then implement them, which is where the research done in Ito’s study and the lesson plans provided in The Digital Writing Workshop come in handy.

            The “hanging out” aspect of new literacy has changed the way students interact with one another.  Online is a place where everyone has a valid view and all peers are categorized as “friends”.  In the classroom, we can implement this new community with discussions, small group activities, and other interactions with peers.  Because students are in basically constant contact, it seems counterintuitive to try to isolate them for a large chunk of the day.

            The “messing around” aspect of new literacy is where a little bit more classroom instruction comes into play.  As the quote above shows, there are various benefits of the messing around stage that translate directly into the classroom.  Giving creative assignments such as photo-essays, podcasts, and video production allow students a chance for “unique opportunities for expression” (Hicks, 65).  If a student is individually interested in the topic or the means of presentation of the topic, they are more likely to have continued interest.

            “Geeking out” provides so many benefits—interaction with others, self-taught learning.  Having one project a semester when a student can choose any medium to present on a book or topic would tap into that geeking out side. 

            All in all, these three kinds of interactions with technology are ones that I have experienced myself and would love to have had implemented more in my classroom.  Although the Digital Writing Workshop provides many examples of lesson plans and ideas, I’m excited to get to a more topic specific version of these lesson plans.

As I publish this, I see that I've forgotten to examine the ideas presented in the readings as seen in my classroom at Clarke Central.  On a daily basis, my MT allows the advanced students to interact with one another in small groups, the on-level class as a large group.  Although he uses youtube clips every once in a while and assigns students drawing assignments, I haven't seen much evidence of him attempting a new literacy education.  I will continue to critically observe though, and see if I've missed anything after reading these pieces.