It comes as no surprise that critical digital literacies, or
“those skills and practices that lead to the creation of digital texts that
interrogate the world [and] allow and foster the interrogation of digital, multimedia
texts”, have a great deal of potential in terms of benefiting students (Avila
& Pandya 2013). For one, they can
offer an opportunity for better engagement to students that are less inclined
to engage with printed work.
Furthermore, they can also blur the line between teacher and student
and, most importantly in my opinion, “disrupt traditional banking systems of
education” (Freire, 2000).
This is a great benefit to students because it allows them
to participate more actively in their own education, instead of simply
receiving a ‘knowledge dump’, so to speak. And so,
while the incorporation of digital literacies into one’s classroom can be
challenging, their ability to promote knowledge ownership and critical thinking
make it worthwhile.
Hello Raymond,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post! I really think your graphic summed up the information that we read about this week very nicely. The one thing that came to mind when I heard critical digital literacy before doing the readings this week was that this had a heavy emphasis on analyzing different types of texts. Or at least that was my interpretation of it. In reality, it is so much more. The components are the different branches of your image above. I really underestimated the potential of digital and multimedia texts for students until I got to this class. My view completely changed when I started the text set analysis assignment. When I started looking for digital texts for my text set analysis assignment, I realized how helpful these texts could be for students to see different sides to the same concepts they are reading about in their textbook, etc. I felt that because these types of texts were not used when I was in school, they would not be helpful to students, but my mind has changed completely after this class. We are living in a digital age. It's time we put some of that into our curriculum.
I totally agree, Elizabeth! I'll admit that I've struggled to get used to the idea of incorporating these sorts of things into my future classroom, but I can't deny the benefits after engaging with this week's readings.
DeleteHello Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading the summary of critical digital literacy from your graph, which also can be considered as a digital text. With the rapid development of technology, we can see the convenience of technology and digital texts bring us, and "critical literacies provide skills be tools to address social and educational inequalities and assist us in continuing to read the world, a world that is increasingly digital" (Avila & Pandya, 2013). In our traditional classroom, only lecture-based teaching strategy could not satisfy all needs of students to reach their potentials and make them engage with the literature texts. The math classrooms I observed are typically traditional classroom, the teacher-directed lectured based classroom, and I think students could not be really interested in the math literacy and engaging in learning; instead, some of students are playing their smartphones because the traditional practices seem boring to them. Thus, I believe that the teaching strategy and literacy should be updated following with the development of digital technology so that the students can have more engagement with learning literacy in class.
That is definitely true, Shuqin. The traditional lecture-based strategy just isn't feasible if we hope to get as many students as possible truly-engaged. Luckily, technology can be utilized in order to reach a larger percentage of the classroom, regardless of the discipline!
DeleteI enjoyed your blog post a lot. I definitely think using technology in the classroom would be a good idea and being able to actively engage students is a great benefit as you said. Blurring the lines between teacher and student is also a great point because I think that would allow for more engagement if students feel that they can bring up ideas without them being disregarded as I have seen. I also like the image you included I think it is a good explanation of the idea behind Critical Digital Literacies and how to use them to support student learning and engagement.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post! Having technology in the classroom does actively engage students! I use technology quite often and see first hand how this benefits the students and teachers as well. For example, I have my students connect into my lesson through a mimio technology system that our school has provided for us. It allows for students to connect and actively engage in the lesson, and also provides for a fast formative assessment. Teachers can quickly see which students are struggling and need more guidance with the material being presented. Not only can you use this for lessons but for quizzes and test as well. Having this technology has allowed for me to better teacher for my students. From my experience, if you are willing to incorporate new technology and the students see that you are having fun with it they are more open and willing to actively participate.
ReplyDeleteI had the chance to observe two chemistry teachers this month. One teacher was using the traditional lecture-based teaching, and the other teacher was using the flipped classroom strategy and was relying more heavily on technology and digital literacies in his classroom. I can say that the teacher who was using the flipped classroom strategy was able to engage students more. I felt his classroom was full of energy and interactions. Students were so engaged in what they were doing. On the other hand, the other lecture-based class was so quite. The students were just listening and taking notes. There were no interactions or discussion. I didn’t feel that students were so engaged in the materials. We lived in the digital age, so it is important that the teacher use different formats of texts to deliver knowledge. The use of technology would expand students understanding of different texts. I have started to realize the importance of digital literacy when I was working on the text-analysis assignments. I noticed how technology allowed me to use different type of texts to teach one concept. Some student would find it more beneficial to read a digital text than reading a print text. I think digital literacy would help teachers to meet the need of diverse learners in their classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think that everyone has really come together to share how our perception of critical digital literacies has changed since we started to break down this unit. I think that Avila and Pandya focus in on how the introduction of critical digital literacies can be one of the multiple paths to knowledge that we can use to our own as well as our students' benefit to make learning more accessible. The shifts in authority and power that take place in the classroom that focuses on use of critical digital literacies lead to a reformulation of the learning process, making it more participatory instead of a "learning dump" as Raymond put it.
ReplyDeleteRaymond,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you bring up the "banking system" that Freire mentions. Too often teachers get caught up in the rhythm and motions of teaching that it becuase monotonous, for them and the students. By applying these critical digital literacies, it keeps students engaged and away from the pattern of teaching that Freire describes. In doing so, it also expands students' knowledge and critical thinking.
Raymond:
ReplyDeleteYou made a very good point. I have recognized in myself several potential problems in trying to bring digital literacy into the classroom. First, lack of proper equipment for my students thanks to my school not having enough funding (or the misuse of said funding--another problem altogether). Second, I am one of those old-fashioned people who still prefers to read real books, which has its advantage and some disadvantages. Third, I would like my students to to create digital media and engage in it more, but I find that my students need to have a mindset change that there is more to the world that lays beyond their community and school. How do I "awaken" the potential for them to explore more, since most of their dealing on social media lay confined to their own immediate neighborhood? I feel I need some training in this regard. Last, some of my students know a lot more than I do about digital technology, and the potential to join myself and my students on a learning exploration together as equals has great appeal, but how do I make sure that the learning takes place is of value and benefit and ensure that students are learning when some of the things they may do could be "over my head?" Just something to reflect upon.
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI agree that although difficult it seems like a no-brainer to include digital literacies. These digital literacies can lead students to get a more all encompassing education. Instead of getting the "knowledge dump" that you speak of we allow students to explore different options of learning. By introducing digital literacies it is as if we are giving students more tools to succeed. These tools then can lead students to be more open to new ideas and to think creatively and out of the norm. Although they can attract attention of students who don't usually focus, it can also distract them. I think that digital literacies although helpful can also bring a sense of degrade to regular textbooks. What do you think about this?
Raymond,
ReplyDeleteMore and more I read about teachers jumping on the technology bandwagon that leads to greater use of technology in the classroom. My question, the same question that I have had all semester, how does this pertain to a Math class? Of the classes I have observed over the course of this semester have made technology in the classroom very apparent to myself. But I watched as a teacher stood in front of a document camera, completed operations, and limited their movement around the classroom. Mathematics is so much more then just the content. Its the one subject area, I believe, in school that should force students to work "outside" of their box and use their prior knowledge. Mathematical stressors pave the road for solid reasoning skills. Yes, social justice is an important topic to be discussed. English Language Arts can read books about sensitive topics. History can dive into the changes that have occurred over time. How does a math teacher involve social justice skills into lesson planning? (Honestly I kind of just answered my own question in my head and thought of a good lesson plan for my other class!)
Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I think it really summarized what we read this week very well. Technology is everywhere now, and its use in the classroom is growing more and more each year. I do agree that the use of technology in the classroom does benefit the student in the sense of engagement. The students become more involved using digital text versus printed text. When students are more involved, learning becomes more interesting and students actually want to learn and be involved in the classroom.
Raymond - I too was stricken with Avila and Pandya's insight into how resistance to CDL might stem from a complication of the conventional pedagogical dynamic, namely the "receptive" role of the student and the "disseminative" role of the teacher. I think it can be difficult for many teachers to acknowledge how much they can truly learn from students; one can argue that this is even more difficult when a teacher aspires to be the "disciplinary expert" our class might imagine. I would argue, however, that implementing CDL is not so much "challenging," as it is divisive.
ReplyDeleteI think students, by and large, are excited by the prospect of learning through the new medias that speak to them, rather than the "traditional" print texts most of us are accustomed to. The issue is that most systems for tracking students' grades and individual progress are not conducive to such activities. Administrators, I think, might raise concerns about how opening the gate to online mediums, for example, allows a deluge of other perspectives, experiences, and subcultures - not all of them productive - to come rushing into the classroom. Avila and Pandya note this possibility in their article. So, the real question seems not to be, "Is CDL worth implementing?" but rather, "how we we implement it responsibly, while acknowledging the needs/values/expectations of the school and the community?"
Yeah, Kevin, Agreed. Students go ape for technology. It is funny to--I see some math lessons get interpreted into online computer game form, and the kids won't put it away. While an unheralded aspect of mathematical learning is no-doubt the muscle memory involved with solving equations by hand, the learning of many basic tools in math can be done in game format.
DeleteAs far as how we implement it responsibly in this regard, we can look at monitor monitoring i.e. seeing how students react to what is before them on computer or device screens. In class this is both challenging and simple. When homework is done online, it becomes a whole different beast
Hello Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you and believe that critical digital literacies is a great way for us to disrupt the traditional banking system. This is due to the fact that by showing students how to decode, analyze and construct their own meaning we are teaching them how to think critically. However, I also believe that it is crucial for us as future educators to actually build a community were students are able to share their knowledge and work together to find solutions to problems.
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteI agree that digital literacies should have an active place in our future classrooms because as technology becomes more and more common in our everyday lives, students will inevitably grow up to be more inclined toward using that data. We have to keep up with the best means of letting our students demonstrate their strengths and also their weaknesses so that that they can improve on that and turn it into a strength. Just like the old timers of today, we will also have no idea what to do with technology when we become old and grey. But I'm the meantime we can try to make technological strategies a tool in our students repetoire.