Thinking about technology
Posted by bmellott on June 27th, 2008
Currently, I am taking Information Literacy in the Digital Age at the University of Mary Washington. Dr. Teresa Coffman is the professor. She has us working on the framework for a wikibook about Information Literacy in the K12 Classroom. The contributions from the class are coming along beautifully. Here are links to a few of them:
Differentiation and Information Literacy
I could not help but feel, however, like something was missing. Then today, it hit me. I am writing a brief history of literacy in an effort to create a bit of context for the work. What is needed, I think, is a broader background in which educators and students can place this concept of information literacy.
In my brief contribution, I cited Stephen Stroup’s writing about the explosion of literacy rates after the development of printing technology. The printing press was, in fact, a piece of technology. As a matter of fact, it could very well be considered information technology. In the Revolutionary period in U.S. history, lanterns were widely used for communication. Who hasn’t heard the story of Paul Revere and “one if by land, two if by sea”? This simple phrase could be viewed as a form of information literacy. If we follow the American Library Association’s definition of information literacy:
to be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information,
we should most definitely consider the recognition of one lantern or two a simple form of information literacy.
My point is this: information is nothing new, literacy is nothing new, technology is largely contextual in nature, and the interrelation of the three is well established. I believe that educators should be aware that information technology and information literacy are not products of Web 2.0. I further feel that, while we should offer some specific tools that educators can become familiar with now, we should focus our energies on providing educators the framework to find and use all tools: old, modern, and those yet to come.
Perhaps future classes can work towards these goals and further the background that I feel is so important to this topic.
June 28th, 2008 at 10:24 am
It is funny you should post this today. I just finished reading an article about a school that had no money to buy books and chairs for its students. The school is in shambles, the drop out rate is soaring, and they are desperate for teachers because no one wants to work there regardless of the opportunities. When I read things like this, I cannot help but feel spoiled and selfish when I log onto my internet account to take my online class about digital literacy and information. You mentioned old, current and future information literacies and I had been thinking about the fact that perhaps we are caught up in a world that expects a lot from its people, without understanding that not all people are given the same opportunities. Instead, we need to consider those who are not privileged to digital literacy and help them to focus on literacy in its purer and older forms. Learning to read, write and analyze are NECESSARY skills.
Kudos to you for recognizing ALL that needs to be considered, regardless of how advanced we become in our information literacy.
June 30th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Excellent and yes. You are on target. Literacy has been with us since the inception of education and before. It turns and revolves into the ideas of the day. It grows and develops with the needs of the society it is embedded in. Early on it was the three R’s. Now, it encompasses the three R’s and incorporates digital skills and information.
Literacy does not solely focus on Web 2.0. The benefits of understanding Web 2.0 though revolve around the overall benefits that they provide - collaboration and communication - and how these tools can enhance digital literacy. These tools allow teachers and students to connect with the world outside of the confines of the school building. Schools do need to provide opportunities for ALL students because not all students have these opportunities, as roarke5 suggests. Very good point.
I agree that teachers need to be aware that one information literacy idea does not take the place of another idea or model - because overall they are the same. As we experienced when each classmate created a model to meet the specific needs of their students and of their classrooms. Each model highlights necessary research skills and critical evaluation skills that are needed to be successful. The difference - technology is embedded in today’s world. How can we as teachers build upon the literacy models of the past to strengthen our students literacy skills that are needed today?
Friedman talks about the needs of our work force in his book, The World is Flat. The needs highlight literacy in the digital age. Interesting.
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/04/25/opinion/25friedman-transcript.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=12486&title=thomas-friedman
Excellent posting.