This statement ""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) reminds me of the umpteen dialogues the researchers of better educational methods have had, over all my years of reading contextual material, around nature versus nurture.
Concisely and quite inconclusively I strongly suggest a balance of many mediums of literacies today considering there are areas of society that are oblivious to the more primitive ways of literacy let alone the newer more progressive ways of acquiring relevant skills. While this may be the excitable future we see it is also a reason for mass confusion amongst those who are in the midst of learning in the classical way. We are a breed further divided today by those who have access to information and those who rely on its accessibility in a hopeful way.
Those that have had the opportunity to learn to decode information and interpret it by utilizing their experience and ideals and further more have been congratulated by their peers and teachers for it,
have prevailed. They have also been able to perpetuate this cerebral ability for the benefit of their likeminded peers. But if one were to consider a typical form of education under a recognizable ideal of sorts, then one would also have to negate the relevance of education and methods of literacy to conform to its candidates needs rather than the other way around. The question then is how much of what we have been able to achieve and correspond as academician and students and teachers has to do with the opportunities we have had to nurture this?
Personally I cannot speak for a singular sect of those in society who have been corroborated in numbers as those who are capable of interpreting contextual material and translating it to the world in their own words without thinking about those who have been left behind but are equally viable and crucial to this number.
The above statement is moot and yet has such relevance and weight to help decipher what it would take to bring this congratulatory high of education to one and all - so that everyone across the globe is rightfully part of the dialogue and of the journey of interpretation of texts at hand.
Concisely and quite inconclusively I strongly suggest a balance of many mediums of literacies today considering there are areas of society that are oblivious to the more primitive ways of literacy let alone the newer more progressive ways of acquiring relevant skills. While this may be the excitable future we see it is also a reason for mass confusion amongst those who are in the midst of learning in the classical way. We are a breed further divided today by those who have access to information and those who rely on its accessibility in a hopeful way.
Those that have had the opportunity to learn to decode information and interpret it by utilizing their experience and ideals and further more have been congratulated by their peers and teachers for it,
have prevailed. They have also been able to perpetuate this cerebral ability for the benefit of their likeminded peers. But if one were to consider a typical form of education under a recognizable ideal of sorts, then one would also have to negate the relevance of education and methods of literacy to conform to its candidates needs rather than the other way around. The question then is how much of what we have been able to achieve and correspond as academician and students and teachers has to do with the opportunities we have had to nurture this?
Personally I cannot speak for a singular sect of those in society who have been corroborated in numbers as those who are capable of interpreting contextual material and translating it to the world in their own words without thinking about those who have been left behind but are equally viable and crucial to this number.
The above statement is moot and yet has such relevance and weight to help decipher what it would take to bring this congratulatory high of education to one and all - so that everyone across the globe is rightfully part of the dialogue and of the journey of interpretation of texts at hand.
I could not agree more with your post. I believe that the shift in literacy is an amazing and helpful if it is to hit as you put it “everyone across the globe". In classrooms today you have some students who do not know how to turn on a computer because they do not have the ability to have one at home. Often times these are the students who can benefit most from the medias as a learning tool. On the other hand you have students that do not know how to learn from their own experiences and make those connections to decode information, because they are typing in one key word and reading the first link that pops up. In order for students and adults to be one the same field they must receive the same education. Which, has been the fight for many years not just in literacy. I personally feel that this new shift in the medias is great. However we cannot forget where we came from. Adults and students need not to take the easy way out and dive deep into the medias where they can make real connections and meanings and not just click on the first website that pops up on a search engine. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It is always amazes me how people interpret and see topics differently.
ReplyDeleteNicole - I guess it is the economic times we live in! I am glad I have company on the boat!
ReplyDeleteYou raise a very important point here. As of late we have been moving at light speed so to say in the amount of new literacies that are being conceived and offered. As time progresses I believe your question of nurturing these new literacies will come to the forefront more and more on a global scale until we do actually come up with a creative solution that will bring about a happy medium between the old and the new. While there are seeds of tailoring new literacies for different types of learners, I do not believe it is in full bloom as of yet. Only time mindful actions will bring this about.
ReplyDeleteNice debate women. I too agree with all of it. I believe as a digital immigrant who grew up when the first TV's were brought into American's homes, that I was lucky to develop my digital skills while professionally developing as an educator and artist. AND I AM STILL LEARNING. Everyday a new tool, a new device and new technology. As time goes there will barely be the OLD way that I who grew up in the OLD and had to learn the new see that knowledge and techniques fade into the distant past. It is exciting yet OVERWHELMING. I think we have to BALANCE what, when and WHY a particular tool for the outcome intended by the teacher or the program etc.
ReplyDeleteI hope you will all look at these two sites
http://www.takepart.com/teach
and this article which is newer and addresses the lineage of information technology in the spectrum of literacy into the new METALITERACY. The article is written by our Dean of ESC's CDL program 9 OUR ONLINE PROGRAM at the undergraduate level.
http://www.takepart.com/teach
Kerel, "mindful actions" is exactly what we need - but how do we bottle universal peace? How do we get technology giants and other corporations to work on our behalf rather than work simply for profit alone.
ReplyDelete