I'm wondering if any of my classmates have read any of March's "Educational Leadership" ? The focus of this issue is Literacy 2.0. I have found many of the articles to be very interesting.
Below are a few thought on the articles I have read so far:1. Orchestrating the Media Collage ...This article discusses what is meant to be literate and how that definition is evolving.That many more people are able to be creators of media. in terms of teaching this is certainly a valuable asset of this new technology and one we as educators must harness.The article points our guidelines for today's teachers: 1. Shift to an idea of media as collage 2. the importance of writing and reading 3. more focus on the importance of art 4. remembering to value past as we look to the future 5. blending of the report--story continuum 6. practice private and participatory social literacy 7. develop literacy with digital tools and about digital tools and finally 8. pursue fluency, practicing literacy at advanced levels.
2. Mastering Multitasking....The article discusses the perceived multitasking abilities of today's youth. It certainly is a skill today's kids practice, but to what end? The writers make a few conclusions. First although multitasking does not make learning impossible, it does increase the amount of time necessary to complete a task. Secondly, the multitasker is more likely to rely on different memory systems. And finally, because of a loss of attention there is likely to be an adverse effect on the multitasker ability to learn complex tasks.
3. Let's Talk 2.0 ... In this article I was very happy to see a definition of web 2.0, for although i had heard it used I will admit I did not really know what it meant. According to this article, web 2.0 refers to a business model where Internet companies provide a service rather than supplying a product.A shift in a world view to the practice of participation, collaboration & distribution. That said 2.0 literacy are the tools need to be literate in this new world. These new tools will continue to challenge what it means to read, write, view, listen and record as well as to collaborate, participate and distribute. The article goes on to discuss some of the challenges these new abilities will pose for today's teacher.
4. Becoming Network-wise...In this article the authors call for the need for today's student's to become self-directed, self-motivated, life long learners who are network-literate. Of all the concerns I have after my 25 years in teaching is the growing lack of active self directed learners. somehow we have raised a generation of passive recipients of knowledge, wandering from classroom to classroom waiting for the next "show". Based on that connection I read the rest of this article looking for parts of the solution. The article discusses a shift in time/space connection, learning is no longer fixed to a classroom between the hours of 8 - 3 (a fact that some teachers might be wary of, but that I find exciting). I believe today's youth need to be guided to learn how to be active self directed learners...they will always need "teachers" but perhaps more of the model of teacher as coach or mentor and less of the idea of teachers as holders of the knowledge. I find this very exciting!
5. The Importance of Deep Reading ... First the authors define what they mean by deep reading "an array of sophisticated processes that propel comprehension and that include inferential and deductive reasoning, analogical skills, critical analysis, reflection and insight." I found interesting the fact that ancient scholars worried about having the public learning to read would reduce peoples memory and probative processes. The article goes on to discuss that our brains were not wired to read, but rather to see, move speak and think. The plasticity of our brain allowed us to learn to read and also allows use to learn and process in new ways. What and how we read helps define what type of thinker we will be. The accessing and processing of vast amount of information only a few clicks away will demand new connections in our brains.It is essential that students learn to become critical thinkers, enabling them to sift through and make sense of swirling mass of content one click away
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