M3 Blog 3: Leveraging Tools, Texts and Talk

Based on this modules readings, my understanding of designing and implementing digital literacy and instruction is that this cannot effectively occur on it's own without prior scaffolding and analog learning experiences. Digital literacy and new medias also doesn't have to mean having students simply sit behind a laptop, computer, tablet, etc. to take in new instruction. It can be shown through play-based learning (Coggin et al., 2014) or watching films (Hernandez, 2017), or listening to books (Semingson, 2017), or in an affinity space with no formal constraints (Magnifico et al., 2018). Our society is moving beyond traditional and formal learning experiences to promote better learning outcomes that are formed through digital literacies and technology.  

I can engage students in meaningful conversations around new literacies practices, helping them to navigate in a purposeful and informed manner by directly modeling these practices and thinking aloud as I'm doing so. A huge part of direct instruction is "showing your thinking" in any subject/content area. Students learn by example, so extensively showing them around these tools can help with proper student engagement. Something as simple as introducing audiobooks, I shared my screen for my students and showed them step by step, how to access this content and all the tools to personalize it. When we need to research any information online, I model how to do so and how to evaluate our sources. It's great to have students explore on their own but to effectively learn, students need to have some direct instruction and scaffolding before going off on their own. Conversations and questions will arise as we navigate through using new practices in a multimodal way. Once students are engaging in new literacies practices, they will learn from observing others work, receiving feedback, giving feedback, and overall collaborating (Magnifico et al., 2018). 

I'm always keeping the idea of equity in my mind in my special education classroom and evaluating the possible concerns of my lessons. For my current school, every student has their own device that they take home each night. When I was a student, I also had my own laptop that I was able to take to and from school each day, starting in 7th grade. Before 7th grade, we had class sets of laptops in each classroom. So, my point is that I have been lucky enough to experience a constant source of technology in my personal and professional life. Some districts aren't as lucky, and I'm seeing this more and more in my classmates discussion and blog posts. An educator needs to keep in mind the accessibility of technology. This also includes a students understanding of how to access the technology at hand. It would be unfair to assign my students to create a digital story without providing them the support of what is included in a digital story, what platform or app to use, the requirements of the assignment, etc. Physically accessing the activity will look different for each student. An educator needs to troubleshoot the design and provide accommodations for those students who may not be able to physically access the content like other students. This could include allowing varied methods of response where students can verbally provide information and record themselves instead of typing. Or maybe they are including drawings, symbols, or illustrations in place of words. 

I mentioned in my discussion post how I have used a form of play based learning (Coggin et al., 2014) by having students create skits when learning new vocabulary or creating a prediction about an upcoming class unit. My students recently finished a unit about failure and success where they read multiple short stories, poems, and articles about overcoming failures with hard work and dedication. Their summative assessment was to write a personal narrative about a time they have failed and what was their response to this failure. Building off of this, a project that I could've assigned was for my students to create a digital story, recreating or retelling this story, in a way that they chose instead of limiting them to typing. Digital storytelling can be a tool for early literacy learners who are still learning how to write (Semingson, 2017). Although my students are 11-12 years old, in 6th grade, they are still struggling with writing. Digital storytelling allows them to learn how to form narratives and plots without having to put their thoughts into writing (Semingson, 2017). This can include them role-playing and creating skits of themselves or using digital resources to create aspects of their narrative to include in their digital story. This is a flexible assignment that combines analog and digital learning experiences. This makes the goal of this assignment more accessible to my students. Many of my students were easily able to verbally tell me the story they wanted to write about, and then struggled when it was time to write. A tension to this type of activity/assignment will be the grading process (Magnifico et al., 2018). This current summative assessment (the written personal narrative) was a part of our MYP unit which followed an MYP grading rubric. A new rubric would need to be created based on the digital story. I would attempt to find a website or app that has all the necessary tools so all the students are working on the same platform. It would be a lot more manageable to create a grading rubric if I was familiar with the site and all of it's tools that are made available to the students. Or, this may be an affinity space (Magnifico et al., 2018) where students are graded throughout the assignment by observations, conversations, drafts, etc. Another possible tension may be the absence of scaffolding (Magnifico et al., 2018). My students have never completed an assignment like this before, or at least in my classroom, so I would need to ensure that I was introducing them to the platform and integrating exemplar student examples. They would need time to explore the tools and play around before drafting their creation. The more students are comfortable with what the end product should contain and the steps to get there, they should succeed. 

References

Coggin, L. S., Wohlwend, K. E., Buchholz, B. A., Wessel-Powell, C., & Husbye, N. E. (2014). Expanding early childhood literacy curriculum through play-based film-making and popular media. In C. Felderman (Ed.), Perspectives and provocations on early childhood education, Early Childhood Education Assembly of National Council of Teachers of English Yearbook (Vol. 3). 

Hernandez, M. (2017). REFRAMING THE MEDIUM. Literacy Today, 35(3), 16-17. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Ftrade-journals%2Freframing-medium%2Fdocview%2F1966007223%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D8067 

Magnifico, A. M., Lammers, J. C., & Fields, D. A. (2018). Affinity spaces, literacies and classrooms: tensions and opportunities. Literacy, 52(3), 145–152. https://doiorg.sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/lit.12133 

Semingson, P. (2017). DIGITAL LITERACIES FOR YOUNG READERS AND WRITERS. Literacy Today, 35(3), 30-31. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/loginqurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Ftrade-journals%2Fdigital-literacies-young-readers-writers%2Fdocview%2F1966005551%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D8067 

M2 Blog 2: How New Literacies are Relevant

The two articles I chose to read were "Improving Digital Practices for Literacy,  Learning, and Justice: More Than Just Tools" and "Digital Literacy". It felt as if the two articles were a little contradicting of each other, at least in my opinion. It seemed like the authors of "Improving Digital Practices for Literacy,  Learning, and Justice: More Than Just Tools" were trying to express the possible harm and negative aspects to integrating too much technology and digital media, tools, resources, etc (International Literacy Association, 2018). While the author of "Digital Literacy" was highlighting the importance of digital literacy skills and how to achieve them in order to be successful in life (Vanek, 2019). Vanek emphasized the importance of frequently using technology while the International Literacy Association seemed to be doing the opposite. Both articles highlighted the importance of appropriately using technology, especially in the classroom. Literacy will always build off the foundation of knowing how to read and write (International Literacy Association, 2018) and further applying those skills to gain digital literacy skills.

Classroom technology should be used as a tool to assist learning and prepare students up for the "real world" (International Literacy Association, 2018; Vanek, 2019). Something that challenged my thinking was the idea that technology can create more inequity in the classroom (International Literacy Association, 2018). "The inequalities of schooling are exacerbated when literacy instruction focuses on tools that may not be fully accessible in all schools" (International Literacy Association, 2018, p. 4) I am always using technology in my ELA classroom, especially when I am trying to bridge gaps in their learning. We use assistive technology tools during a majority of our assignments, which I didn't consider how lucky these students are to have that support system. I didn't consider that not everyone has the same access to the same tools or competency to access those tools, therefore creating inequity. I have always had technology in my life and during my schooling so I know no different. According to the International Literacy Association, technology doesn't have the ability to make school more engaging or interesting to the students just by digitally providing curriculum. From my personal experience thus far, I highly disagree. My students show a drastic increase in engagement when they are learning on their tablets versus learning directly from watching me provide direct instruction. Reflecting on this, I don't agree that it should be this way and I think social media and technology has a huge hold over our world. Another self-reflection, less student engagement could mean that I need to switch up my teaching styles or adjust my lessons.

I loved reading about finding a balance of technology and digital resources because technology should be used support instruction and not always as a main source of instruction (International Literacy Association, 2018), even if students do seem more engaged. According to Vanek, lacking digital literacy skills can negatively impact someones life in terms of finding and being successful in a career. But these digital literacy skills don't just appear naturally, but having them builds on many aspects of life such as critical thinking skills, communication skills, evaluation skills, etc. I have students who will choose to create a game "review" for a test as a study method instead of making flash cards. Students need to have self-awareness of what they are capable of and what will best support their learning (Vanek, 2019). 

Overall, I still believe that as a teacher, I should be providing my students with many opportunities to develop digital literacy skills. This is not an easy task and it requires figuring out the best way to incorporate technology so that it is being used in a meaningful way. The first step is getting my students comfortable with foundational computer skills (Vanek, 2019) and building from there in each lesson. What I still wonder is are these skills being directly taught into for full comprehension? Or does this come naturally for some? Am I putting aside time in my lesson planning to touch on how an assignment is building their life skills or will they just start to naturally acknowledge that?

References

International Literacy Association. (2018). Improving digital practices for literacy, learning, and justice. More than just tools [Literacy leadership brief]. Newark, DE: Author. 

Vanek, J. (2019). Digital Literacy. https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/TSTMDigitalLiteracyBrief-508.pdf

M2 Blog 1: Defining New Literacies and Why They Matter

 Professionally Attempting New Literacies

As a current English Language Arts teacher, I am frequently trying to incorporate new literacy practices into my special education and general education classrooms. Many of my students are reading below grade level, some two or more grade levels, which automatically puts those students at a huge disadvantage currently and later on in life (Beecher, 2023). Audio books are commonly used as accommodations for my special education caseload, but I use those resources to support all of my students. This year, I discovered a website called Bookshare that I started using in my self-contained classes as part of their assistive technology. Then, I later created accounts for all my students after seeing how accessible the platform is. Bookshare allows my students to follow along with a digital text while listening to the audio. They are able to customize the appearance of the digital text (text color, background color, font, font size, line spacing, etc.) while also customizing the audio (language, accent, speed, volume). It gives students control over their learning and exposes them to different forms of digital literacy. Having access to media to address learning deficits while also supporting students as a whole relates to new literacies and our changing world. As our world changes and evolves, we need to be changing and evolving with it (Beecher, 2023; Sang, 2017). Using interactive and digital media is a huge support to my students and fosters higher student engagement. A big takeaway was the need for students to take part in new literacies to be successful in life in a variety of ways (Beecher, 2023; Sang, 2017). I have had numerous conversations and lessons with my students about the great and convenient approach of finding information online, while also making judgements on the validity because of how collaborative the internet it is and how anyone behind a screen can be publishing that information (Sang, 2017). The effort needs to be made on how to appropriately adjust and learn digital skills such as narrowing down your results and evaluating the sources to adopt the practice of new literacies (Beecher, 2023). With this effort, we are promoting strengthening executive functioning by critically thinking (Beecher, 2023). Overall, new literacies can be great if taught correctly. 

Promoting Equity and Access in Education

This definition of literacy can be very problematic in inclusive educational spaces that focus on providing equity and access to all students. Sometimes, equity means that a student isn’t physically writing an assignment but maybe typing or using speech-to-text. Sometimes, equity is using visuals such as videos, pictures, or symbols to tell a story instead of words. The same message can be relayed through different media. I have students with very high reading comprehension scores but very low decoding scores. So, they may not be able to physically “read” all the written text, but they are still gathering information and content through a different form of it. This goes beyond special education. Students need representation of their cultures, backgrounds, languages, etc. in the classroom (Sang, 2017). If literacy is only focusing on one dialect, we are then excluding a large population of our students who are not fluent in speaking, reading, or writing in English. Those students don’t have the same access to the curriculum and their English-speaking peers.  

How can we fix this?

More expansive ideas of new literacies address the issues of equity and access in educational spaces by evolving from that old definition of literacy and promoting the use of digital technologies. Digital technologies make it capable to differentiate texts to best support your learners. Traditional reading and writing can be taken over by hands-on, engaging lessons where students are still learning the content without sitting and reading a book, old-school style.

 

References

Beecher, C. (2023). Chapter 1. What is Literacy? Multiple Perspectives on Literacy. Methods of Teaching Early Literacy. https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/teachingearlyliteracy/chapter/what-is-literacy-multiple-perspectives-on-literacy/

Sang, Y. (2017). Expanded Territories of “Literacy”: New Literacies and Multiliteracies. Journal of Education and Practice, 8.

Introduction

 Hi everyone!

My name is Jenna Gargano. I graduated from SUNY Cortland in May 2024 with a bachelors degree in Inclusive Childhood Education with a concentration in Mathematics. During my sophomore year of college, I started subbing at my local middle school when I was home for breaks and summer. I also subbed at schools in Central NY (Cortland, Syracuse, Ithaca) that I completed my field placement / student teaching at during some breaks. I started this school year as a month long leave replacement in a 6th grade humanities (ELA/SS) role at my local middle school in Putnam County for a teacher who was on maternity leave. Two days after that leave finished, I started another leave replacement as a 6th grade ELA Special Education teacher in Westchester County. I am in this position until the end of the school year. I am teaching two sections of self-contained (special class / small setting 12:1:1) ELA, two sections of ICT ELA, and a Learning Center to assist my special ed caseload with executive functioning skills. As a first year teacher, I have had a lot of assistance and support from my coworkers who have helped me learn so much in so little time. IEP season is almost over!! It has also been amazing to see the difference in ELA curriculum from two schools only 10 miles away from each other. The school I'm currently working at is part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) which is a framework that connects curriculum to the real world. This is my first semester at Empire State University. I chose to pursue the M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction because I wanted to research and stay up to date on best practices and how to incorporate those practices into my own classroom. As a young educator, there is so much room for growth and I want to be able to become a better teacher each year with more experience and knowledge on researched instructional practices. One of my current coworkers always talks about research that she does and books she reads to keep up with current best practice and that also sparked my interest in this program. I don't want to be the teacher who won't change or be open-minded to trying new things in their classroom. I have always wanted to be a teacher since I was a kid but the type of teacher has changed over the years. I started wanting to be an art teacher and now my dream job is a middle school math teacher so I eventually want to get a middle school extension since I am only certified grades 1-6 at the moment. This program also allows the flexibility to continue to be a full time teacher and gain experience while also being a student. I am so excited to apply what I am learning in my own classroom as I complete this degree.

My learning goal for this course is to obtain knowledge on how to incorporate media into all subjects effectively. My current and past students love using technology so being able to build your instruction around media really helps to engage students of all ages. I could put the same assignment on paper and their tablets, and they will always pick to complete the assignment digitally! I have a strength in math and I often find it easier to incorporate media through math projects and lessons so I'd love to learn more about getting students involved with media to assist and enhance their reading and writing. Overall, I'd love to learn more about New Media and New Literacies as a whole as I feel like this is a newer topic for me!

Some of my hobbies include drawing, reading, journaling, doing puzzles, and playing volleyball. I play volleyball for fun sometimes since playing in high school, and I am hoping to get a coaching position soon to continue my teaching in a different setting. 

This meme describes how it has felt since spring has sprung and everyone is loving the warm weather!