Digital literacies

Our articles this week really piqued my interest. Bringing these new digital literacies into classrooms are vital. As teachers we need to find a balance between traditional texts and modern technology like Twitter and blogs. By introducing and embracing blogs wikis etc we’re showing our students that their literacy translates infinitely past our classrooms. Their creativity and opinions can be expressed to people all over the world. Not just in the papers they turn in to us at the end of the six weeks. Some students need that extra push to be engaged in class. I personally still want to have a large emphasis on the traditional written word however. I love reading actual books. I don’t own a Kindle and never plan to. Most of what I read for pleasure comes in the form of novels and short stories. I try to go to the library weekly if possible. I get my news from the Internet and I use e-mail and Facebook to communicate but reading a book is a sacred act for me and I hope to pass on that experience to my students as well.

My CT does a really great job of incorporating both. She has a blog she updates weekly and she puts homework on there for her students. Sometimes they have to answer a simple question like what is the picture you see when you open the blog, just to make sure they are visiting it when she tells them to. She also makes sure that the kiddos know that they can use the computers in her room whenever they need to. This ensures that they don’t feel excluded from these new technologies if they don’t have the Internet at home. 

The article that struck me most this week was Schillinger’s. I really love the idea of the two different groups of girls working on the wiki together. It’s like a modern day pen pal scenario. If we let our students work and communicate with other students from different backgrounds, or different countries entirely, I think there is a lot both groups could learn from one another. This idea is kind of linked to my blog from a few weeks ago. Open communication and creating unlikely bonds can enlighten students. By broadening their worldview the students could be more open to other people’s varying perspectives and they will be less likely to judge others. Teenagers can be cruel, notoriously so. Having them foster a friendship with a student from a different socio-economic background or perhaps someone from a different country they can learn compassion.

I’m thinking with my experience I could easily start an “e-pen pal” project between my students in Austin and my Thai high school in Chiang Rai. The Thai students can benefit from learning more English and the Texan students can learn about a different way of life and new perspectives of life. What do yall think?