Exploring New Literacies Fall Conference, Calvin College August 10, 2010 Cheryl Rosaen & Marj Terpstra

New Literacies for a New Age

Today’s Agenda Questions New Literacies Discussion Working with new literacies and technologies Communicating new literacies learning New literacies for a new age:

Literacy Literacies are  “socially recognized ways of  generating, communicating and negotiating meaningful content  through the medium of encoded texts  within contexts of participation in Discourses”. Text Knobel, M. & Lankshear, C. (2007).

Literacy Literacy is “the ability to consciously subvert signs”. Myers, J. (1995)

Literacy Definitions Conventional  The ability to read and write Functional  Equipping for life in society  The ability to read and write and understand what is meant Cultural  A good background of cultural knowledge and the knowledge of cultural institutions and values Critical  Whose set of knowledge is important?  Why is it valued?  Being able to read and write not just words, but also the world

Literacy Technology has everything to do with literacy. And being able to use the latest electronic technologies has everything to do with being literate. Wilhelm, J. (2000). Literacy, therefore, may be thought of as a moving target, continually changing its meaning depending on what society expects literate individuals to do. As societal expectations for literacy change, and as the demands on literate functions in a society change, so too must definitions of literacy change to reflect this moving target. (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro & Cammack 2004) Literacy is no longer an end point to be achieved and tested but rather a process of continuously learning how to become literate. (Leu, 2001)

Types of New Literacies Cultural Literacy ( Digital/Information Media Literacy Emotional Literacy Environmental Literacy Numeracy Print Literacy Social Literacy Visual Literacy ( ) )

New Literacies New literacies have both “technical stuff” and “ethos stuff”.  Enable people to build and participate in literary practices  Different kinds of values and priorities and sensibilities Knobel, M. & Lankshear, C. (2007)

“technical stuff” Standard computer and internet access Elementary knowledge of software applications Create meaningful artifacts, products  Photoshopped images  Animated Valentine’s card  Short animated film  Slide presentation with narration  CDs, DVDs, remixing  Googlemaps mashup Knobel, M. & Lankshear, C. (2007)

“ethos stuff” New literacies are more  Participatory, less published  Collaborative less individual  Distributed less author-centric  Ruled by fluid rules and norms less expert dominated Knobel, M. & Lankshear, C. (2007)

Charlotte Bronte

Charlotte bronte

New Literacies The new literacies of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) include  the skills, strategies, and dispositions necessary  to successfully use and adapt  to the rapidly changing information and communication technologies and contexts  that continuously emerge in our world and influence all areas of our personal and professional lives. Leu, D.J., Jr., Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J., & Cammack, D.W. (2004)

Central Principles of New Literacies New literacies are changing and evolving. Critical literacies are central to the new literacies. New forms of strategic knowledge are central to the new literacies.  Focusing on what one is researching  Building web pages for certain audiences Speed counts in important ways within the new literacies. Learning often is socially constructed within new literacies. Teachers become more important, though their role changes, within new literacy classrooms. Leu, D.J., Jr., Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J., & Cammack, D.W. (2004)

Preparing to Teach New Literacies What new literacies are students likely to bring to the classroom?

On their own, students are using…

Preparing to Teach New Literacies What new literacies are students likely to bring to the classroom? If children come with these new literacies, why do we need to address them in our classrooms?

New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension Questioning First skill with online work Students need to focus on their question, what they are looking for Helps develop key words for searching Hartman, D. (2008)

Bottle-neck skill Search engine, not.com method Search engine results  Title  Description  URL  Cached  Sponsored Inferring correctly the information that may be found at a hyperlink on a webpage. New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension Locating Hartman, D. (2008)

New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension Evaluating Decide whether to use page Determine veracity of site Find conflicting evidence Hartman, D. (2008)

New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension Synthesizing Take from multiple sources Read a variety of formats in non-linear way Hartman, D. (2008)

New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension Communicating Instant Messaging (IM) Video- YouTube, Bubbleply Writing- Wikis, blogs, word processing  checking spelling accuracy  inserting graphics  formatting text  typing Audio- podcasting Hypertext markup language (html)  Google pages, google docs, wikis, blogs Bulletin board or listserv discussions to get needed information to communicate effectively Hartman, D. (2008)

Preparing to Teach New Literacies What new literacies are students likely to bring to the classroom? If children come with these new literacies, why do we need to address them in our classrooms? What teaching approaches help children develop the knowledge, skills and disposition they need for new literacies?

From: Literacy for the 21st Century: An Overview & Orientation Guide to Media Literacy Education Limited access to knowledge and information (content) through print Infinite access to knowledge and information (content) increasingly through the Internet 19th- 20th Century 21st Century

19th- 20th Century From: Literacy for the 21st Century: An Overview & Orientation Guide to Media Literacy Education Emphasis on content knowledge that may or may not be used in life Goal- to master content knowledge Emphasis on skills for lifelong learning Goal- to learn skills to solve problems  Access  Analyze  Evaluate  Create 21st Century

19th- 20th Century From: Literacy for the 21st Century: An Overview & Orientation Guide to Media Literacy Education Facts and information are “spoon-fed” by teachers to students Teacher selecting and lecturing Teachers use discovery, inquiry- based approach Teacher framing and guiding 21st Century

19th- 20th Century From: Literacy for the 21st Century: An Overview & Orientation Guide to Media Literacy Education Pencil/pen and paper or word processing Classroom-limited learning and dissemination Powerful multi-media tools World-wide learning and dissemination _Qw _Qw 21st Century

19th- 20th Century From: Literacy for the 21st Century: An Overview & Orientation Guide to Media Literacy Education Textbook learning from one source, primarily print Real-world, real-time learning from multiple sources, mostly visual and electronic 21st Century

19th- 20th Century From: Literacy for the 21st Century: An Overview & Orientation Guide to Media Literacy Education Conceptual learning on individual basis “Lock-step” age-based exposure to content knowledge Project-based learning on team basis Flexible individualized exposure to content knowledge 21st Century

19th- 20th Century From: Literacy for the 21st Century: An Overview & Orientation Guide to Media Literacy Education Mastery demonstrated through papers and tests Mastery demonstrated through multi-media 21st Century

Foundational Literacies New literacies almost always build on foundational literacies rather than replace them Include skill sets such as  phonemic awareness, word recognition, decoding knowledge  vocabulary knowledge, comprehension, inferential reasoning  the writing process, spelling, response to literature Could become even more essential  reading and writing become more important in an information age. Leu, D.J., Jr., Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J., & Cammack, D.W. (2004)

Foundational Literacies Insufficient to fully utilize the Internet and other ICTs Reading, writing, and communication assume new forms  as text is combined with new media resources  and linked within complex information networks  requiring new literacies for their effective use Leu, D.J., Jr., Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J., & Cammack, D.W. (2004)

What’s on our side? Pedagogical knowledge and skills Content knowledge Understanding of foundational literacy skills Increasingly more user-friendly technology Student interest and skills Colleagues

What do we need? Confidence, boldness, fearless learner disposition Creativity  Change business applications into educational tools Opportunism  Take advantage of student interest Collaboration  Share ideas with colleagues and develop plans together

Students of Today

Students Today

Digital Divide Therefore, the digital divide based on access to technology may be lessening between the rich and the poor, but there is a ‘‘new digital divide’’ (MacGillis, 2004) based on what role technology takes in the classroom and how it supports student learning (Yamagata-Lynch, 2005, p. 582).

Importance of New Literacies From half of all jobs at mid-century, blue collar employment will comprise only 10% of the U.S. total by the end of this decade. People trained for these routine forms of work are often unable to move into the more intellectually and interpersonally demanding jobs the new economy has to offer, which require more capacity to take initiative, to organize work with others, and to deal with novel problems. (Darling-Hammond, 1996, p. 6)

Your Work Choose one article to explore with a partner or on your own. We recommend partners Explore the literacies and links. Choose a technology to explore and use it to communicate your exploration and findings. Articles and technologies are listed on the wiki: ______________________

As you work Explore fearlessly Ask each other questions Talk about new literacies needed Communicate your learning by making a new wiki page on the wiki:

Resources Darling-Hammond, L. (1996). The right to learn and the advancement of teaching: Research, policy, and practice for democratic education. Educational Researcher, 25(6), Hartman, D. (2008). "The New Literacies of Online Reading Comprehension: Preparing a New Generation of Students and Teachers." New Literacies Research Team, University of Connecticut, talk given Wednesday, January 9, 2008, Michigan State University. Knobel, M. & Lankshear, C. (2007). A New Literacies Sampler. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Leu, D.J., Jr., Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J., & Cammack, D.W. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the Internet and other information and communication technologies. In R.B. Ruddell, & N. Unrau (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th ed., pp ). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Available: Myers, J. (1995). The value-laden assumptions of our interpretive practices. Reading Research Quarterly. 30(3)

Additional Resources Learning to Change/Changing to Learn-