July 25th Blog: New Literacies

How are new technologies changing literacy? What are your thoughts about this?

New technologies are changing literacy greatly! I can see this firsthand because when I grew up we didn't have the internet. For school related projects we needed to go the library all the time. I practically lived there! By the time I reached college the internet had been around a few years but not to the extent that it is presently. I love the ease of looking up information on the internet for school projects. It is much more convenient and a time saver. No more microfisch! :o)

Technology is changing literacy as well by making it easier for students to learn how to read and write who may have difficulty the traditional way. Programs online have been proven to help students learn to read better and has helped to make learning fun.

One personal example I have is that last year I taught 5th grade in an inclusion classroom and I had 6 students with SLD (specific learning disabilities). Two of them were on a Kindergarten reading level and another on a second grade reading level. One thing that has helped them is the internet. They love MySpace and love playing games on the internet. This, in a way, forces them to have to read and write. They aren't the greatest at it yet, but the internet is motivating them. In order to communicate with their friends via MySpace, email and other chat programs, they will have to read and write. They can't NOT participate with their friends on the internet so they are doing it. Years ago without the internet, kids had no motivation to want to read or write like this. I am actually keeping in touch with them over the summer via MySpace and it's great to see them still reading and writing from their computer even over the summer!

Programs have also been developed to assist people with physical disabilites to be able write and communicate with other people. There is even a new technology that has just been invented where people who cannot move or use their arms or legs wear a headband with a laserpoint on it and it tracks their eye movements. With their eye movements they can type on a computer, surf the internet, etc... The possibilites are endless here!

I also believe that we should integrate technology with the old style of teaching children literacy in our schools. This way the children get the best of both worlds. We all learned to read and write using the traditional method and are Graduate students. Technology has just enhanced our skills. We all write emails or blogs almost on a daily basis, so we are constantly practicing writing and improving our schools without even knowing it. It is great! Technology and traditional literacy learning go hand in hand.