"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.
Hi Christine,
ReplyDeleteI too was out of school for a long period of time before I decided to go back and I can say form my experiences over the past few semesters is that even though the technology changes rapidly, you will still learn a great deal and meet some great people inhte online worlds. I taken two classes using virtual worlds and at first i thought i was over my head however i had a great time in those classes.
Hi Christine,
ReplyDeleteIf it makes you feel any better, I'm 24 years old and I still feel like I'm out of touch with technology as compared to my high school students who are only a few years younger than me! It changes so fast and there's always something newer and better coming out that it's so difficult to keep up. I liked how you linked the quote to your personal experience with this class. I think that many of us feel the same way as you - a little intimidated by the technology but ready to get as much out of it as possible!
Yes, we must keep connected to what they are using, but also must teach ourselves and our students how to make selective choices and not go off using every tool. Explore and set your assessment guidelines for the tools and master those. I also give students in my UG program the option for what ever tool they are most comfortable using as long as the assignment guidelines are met. I think this is the wave of where we must all ride!
DeleteI'm not the authority on this subject by any means, but most people are in the same boat that you (and most of us) are. The fact is: technology is changing so fast and so many new technologies are being created. It is scary and daunting -- although some people will not readily admit it. I have talked to a number of people in various positions and most of them say the same thing. I felt the way you do about four years ago. I looked around and it hit me just how fast things were changing -- and that I just did not know about all of these technologies that were out there. I started reading and reading and reading about all the different technologies and social media, etc. It was and is a very interesting learning experience. There is still so much I do not know.
ReplyDeleteI think what you should do (just my opinion, of course) is just start by focusing on the technology in your work space of PreK. What I mean by this is that since you are a PreK teacher, just start reading about the technologies that other teachers similarly situated are using. There are a lot of useful technology Web sites for educators and you could probably email some of them who blog, email, tweet, etc. and these teachers would definitely help you with this. I think that they truly want to.
If you just start reading about all of this stuff -- new technologies, etc. -- you will become a lot more technology literate (I'll say functionally literate to use a term from Lankshear and Knobel) before you know it. You will soon be the resident expert and other people will start to ask you for answers.
I also think, based on what people have written on the Internet, is that you should really only adopt the technology that you really need. There is a lot of technology out there that you probably do not need -- so that can eliminate a lot of wasted time and resource expenditure. As you said, you do not need to understand everything. I never met anyone who did -- understand everything.
In response to what you say that it is difficult for some to stay current on all of the technology that is out there," I'd say that it is difficult for 99%-100% of the population to stay current. There is just too much out there. But, as I said above, you can clearly become very knowledgeable in your work area by just spending some time each day reading and looking at the technology that is most relevant to you.
What bothers me more than anything else you wrote is that schools are devoting such little funding to children's learning, particularly for technology literacy. Perhaps Lankshear and Knobel are right in their approach. See p. 191 where Lankshear and Knobel talk about technology in the classroom and in schools. Sounds a little like your situation. Do you think Lankshear and Knobel are right?
I do not totally agree with everything they say because a lot of students want to learn about new technology -- either in school or on the street (as they put it).
Robert, great reply. Selectivity for survival is best. And it keeps you on task for the learning outcomes we set for our students! I will never know all the tools, nor will I master them all. I don't want to a master of none. Great recognition to be aware of biting off too much and then not mastering any. I recommend all of you got Kathy Schrock's web site that I posted in the resources and tools.
DeleteHere is a source regarding OER https://openeducationalresources.pbworks.com/w/page/24836860/What%20are%20Open%20Educational%20Resources
I can kind of relate to your technology "issues". I'm a newly-hired teaching assistant and recent undergrad graduate. While I was exposed to technologies while attending undergrad, they were very different that what I now have access to. During my undergrad, at a very resource-rich private college, I had almost any online resource available to me. At my new teaching position, I'm very limited. What I'm limited to are sites that I have no experience with from undergrad, so I'm learning as I go on the job. I've found myself frustrated from time to time wanted to go to a certain database I'm familiar with, or a site my college subscribed to that I no longer have access to. Though, in the grand scheme of things I'm fairly young, I still find myself learning from my students. In a way, I believe they are very capable of learning technologies and teaching us more about them.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Thank you all so much for your vote of confidence and for your reassurance! Makes me feel muuuuuch better about the entire situation. I agree with you Robert, maybe try and dwindle my focus on things that really pertain to me, my students and my class instead of getting overwhelmed by the broad scheme of things! Thanks again!
ReplyDelete