"The distinctive contribution of the approach to literacy as social practice lies in the ways in which it involves careful and sensitive attention to what people do with texts, how they make sense of them and use them to further their own purposes in their own learning lives" (Gillen and Barton, 2010, p. 9).
I'll be honest, just beginning this new chapter in my life is scary. I have taken online courses in the past but it was years ago and now, things have changed so much. Like Wilber talks about in, "Special themed issue: Beyond ‘new’ literacies," technology changes from minute to minute and it depends on you and your ability to adapt to the updated technology. I am a Universal PreK teacher and the funding for the program is very low; technology in my classroom consists of three old computers that can connect the children to such websites as PBS kids, Star fall and ABC Mouse. Having such limited resources for the children in turn, limits me. Being out of school for a while has definitely caused me to be, "out of the loop" when it comes to technology. Wilber is right, "what is “now” means something completely different five minutes later from when it was first uttered" and over the past couple of years my "now" has been stagnant. This new adventure makes me realize just how much there is to learn and be updated on (and how much I've missed out on). In the article, "Digital Literacies" they mention, "change is hard especially when challenges are presented at the most material level, with technologies themselves let alone the practices around them seemingly in a constant state of flux." (Gillen and Barton, 2010, p. 10). Demand, people's abilities, people's financial situation and cognitive abilities all play into what new technology they can access and understand. I believe it is difficult for some to stay current on all of the new technology that is out there; we are not all in a field that requires the understanding of it all. Like stated above, not having access to new technologies and not having the need to learn them has really hurt me. I feel like I'm very lacking in the area of new and ever changing technology. My hope is that this course will better inform me of what is out there; hopefully I can bring it into my classroom and home as well.
