I found several points to be very interesting and though provoking while reading the “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants: A New Way to Look at Ourselves and Our Kids” article. And, after reading each of the definitions from the “Digital Denizens” webpage I feel that the term Digital Native best describes me. I think that my family, my public schooling, my friends and time at MSU have all influenced my use of technology. I grew up with a computer, telephone, TV, playstation, movies, CDs, etc. in my home, and during my years in high school I had a cell phone, ipod and a laptop. For most, if not all of my life I have used a telephone, cell phone, email, or texting to communicate with all of my friends and family. And, since I have been at MSU I have had several classes online, or at least all of my classes have relied on e-mail, ANGEL, powerpoints or other uses of the computer and internet. Technology has been a major part of my life for my whole life.
While reading the Tompkins chapter about working with the youngest readers and writers, or emergent literacy I simultaneously thought about “emergent” digital literacy in comparison with emergent literacy. While the chapter talked about teaching about concepts about print, concepts about words and concepts about the alphabet, I thought that it is probably necessary for literacy teachers to make sure that their students know where the letters of the alphabet are located on a computer keyboard and that they have experience reading and writing on the computer. Or, students may even know how to type on the computer or use a computer for other literacy purposes before they learn how to write the letters of the alphabet or words. While students are in the emergent literacy stage I feel that teachers can have students practice typing letters and words on the computer, allow students to type up their written work on the computer, have a classroom blog where students complete posts and comment on their classmates work, and just be sure that the students have the opportunity to work with Microsoft word to assist students while they are in the “emergent” digital literacy stage.
I think that as a freshman at MSU I was in the emergent stage of digital literacy. But, now after 4 years of using ANGEL, powerpoints, blogs, wikis and typing and submitting papers online in the majority of my classes I feel that I am beyond the emergent stage of digital literacy. I feel that some of the same things that benefit ELL’s when it comes to literacy learning needs can benefit me with my literacy learning needs as well. According to the Gibbons chapters assigned for reading this week, ELL’s literacy learning needs include clear and explicit instructions, extra time spent with vocabulary, and success with group work settings. In terms of my literacy learning needs, I feel that I require clear and explicit instructions, extra time with new vocabulary and that working with others in a group are all necessary for me at times, depending on the literacy concept.
I think it's amazing how much of our education now depends on technology. I feel like in a few decades, undergraduate and graduate universities, and probably even some high schools, will solely be online.
ReplyDeleteLike Jenn, when I first came to Michigan State, I would have considered myself in the emergent stage of digital literacy. Although I had a laptop that I received from my parents as my graduation present, a cell phone, iPod, email, etc. and knew how to use them, I wasn't "fluent" in these modes of communication. I immediately learned that all of my classes were extremely dependent on technology and the Internet, specifically powerpoints, communication via email, ANGEL, and PDF readings. As I continued through college up until now, this dependency has increased, and I now use a computer for every single class. In addition, I have taken multiple classes online, and it seems that online classes have become more and more popular with professors and certain departments throughout the years. Because of this, I, like Jenn, consider myself a Digital Native.
It is additionally interesting how the dependency on technology and the Internet, especially within education, has increased throughout the generations. In my placement classroom, my CT has 3 computers in addition to hers, and the first grade students know how to use them at least 10 times better than she does. She also isn't incredibly dependent on email, and there have been several times that I've emailed her and haven't received a response. My grandparents absolutely refuse to use technology, and won't have anything to do with it even if I try to show them how to use the Internet, a cell phone, or even a computer in general. Their technological dependency stops at their house phone (which no one seems to have any more) and TV. As pathetic as it is, I can't imagine a life without these things, and wonder how living without technology was even possible.
I think that for this reason, it is important to teach students, no matter their age, how to use technology. Even if students don't have access at home to these resources, society is becoming so dependent on it, not being a Digital Native is almost not even a choice.
Technology has always been a huge part of my life, ever since I can remember. Honestly, unlike Jenn and Kaitlin, I think that I was in the emergent stages of literacy when I was in middle school. I have always had access to a computer and my parents actually bought me my first laptop computer when I was in 7th grade. I have a younger family, and my grandpa actually taught me how to use a computer. He has always been into computers and ever since I can remember, he has had an HP desktop. It may be an abnormal thing to say, but I can honestly say that I have been surrounded by technology for almost my entire life. I would definitely describe myself as a Digital Native.
ReplyDeleteWithin the past several years, technology certainly has become a larger part of my life. Just within my last four years of college, I have had several online classes, ANGEL, LON-CAPA, Wiki's, Blogs, Skype conferences, Facebook and Twitter groups...The list could go on and on. Needless to say, we are entering a technology based era. With the majority of people having Smartphones, iPads, Kindles, and other ereaders, and even cars with internet in them, technology is everywhere, and it is growing.
As the Tompkins chapter explained, concepts of print is certainly changing to accomodate the digital world. It is very important to teach children in the emergent stages of digital literacy where letters and numbers are on a keyboard, how to type on a keyboard and how to read text that is displayed on a screen. Even though it is all the same text, reading text digitally and in print are two different ways of reading. I know that when I read text on a computer for a long time, I have to take breaks every so often because my eyes start to hurt, but with print, it doesn't bother me. I am sure that within the next several years, we, as teachers, will have to change our ideas about concepts of print, especially with the growing number of ereaders that are available on the market.
In regards to Kaitlin's idea of online high school, the other day I saw an ad on the top of my gmail that said "K-12 Online" so I clicked on it and it took me to a webpage that was, in fact, online school. Parents could pay a certain amount of money to enroll their child in an online school that "tailors the curriculum to your student's needs" and "goes at your own pace." The website was mainly concerned with the "quality of education" that the student was getting in public school, which kind of made me wonder. With a growing dependency of technology in our everyday lives, will these types of schools be a threat to teachers and their jobs someday? I would really hope that education would never get to that level, but in the coming years, who knows?
Here is the link to the website if you want to check it out: http://www.k12.com/