The technique of various modalities affords the learner and teacher much more versatility; it is a vast change from traditional paper and print and allows for an accommodation of many learning styles. Having a variety of modalities within a text may give readers a better understanding and connection at a greater level. It may also give the reader more insight with a deeper and richer meaning. “The ability to bring a variety of modes– for example, print, image sound together in the same text not only changes the way a text can be conveyed but also opens up new possibilities for what kinds of meaning can be conveyed (Hull& Nelson, 2005; Jewitt & Kress, 2003).
Students are using Instagram to post
pictures with headlines/titles, posting videos of themselves or others on Facebook/Youtube
to communicate messages and information. Photographs, texting, videos, blogging
etc. are all ways that digital media is being used outside of the classroom. “Many
students have gained proficiency in a range of technologies through their participation
in online communities” (Lankshear & Knobel , 2013, p 26). Students are already using digital media at
home in these ways, therefore students are now considered advanced users. I believe that students
are at such advanced levels in regards to technology that it is often the
instructor who is struggling to keep up with the speed in which these modalities
can be creatively used. “The role of the
teacher that restricts the students more than supporting or challenging them is
partly due to the lack of digital
competence” (Lankshear & Knobel , 2013, p 53).
I think it is a good idea to not
only bring multi- modalities of digital media into the classroom, but to be able
to use them in effective ways that facilitate learning and engagement for
students. Utilization of media such as blogging, filling out college
applications and completing research online helps students to use digital media
to assist leaning. However, I do not agree with Tiffany (Brooklyn High School Teacher) who uses FB/AIM to chat with students in an effort to get to
know them better and allows students to use social networking in the classroom “as
long as it doesn’t get in the way of learning”. By using social media in the
classroom, it presents a distraction to students who will engage in social
media sites- which then presents other challenges.
Before I enrolled in the New Media New Literacies class, I was not familiar with using blogging in an academic setting. I was familiar with the more traditional ways of learning via paper, pencil, quizzes and test. When I began blogging for this class, I had mixed feelings about its use; I felt it was a bit informal and unconventional. Perhaps I too felt like Tiffany’s students- “What is the point”? I can however relate so much to the statement that Aidah made: “I hate writing stuff on paper because I feel like my hands can’t keep up with my thoughts” (Lankshear & Knobel , 2013, p 30). I feel the same way, since I have owned a laptop, I have never written with paper or pencil, it literally slows my writing process down by at least 70%.
Many schools face challenges in remixing within the classroom. Remixing allows students to learn in many different ways, contexts, environments and experiences. Students are already remixing in their lives, so why should school be separate? The only challenge is change- to merge the informal with the formal, the conventional with the unconventional and help to facilitate learning experiences beyond the norms. Taking remixing into consideration, teachers are forced to define what we think teaching is and to analyze our biases for certain methods of teaching. Do our preferences align more with traditional vs. informal teaching?
Remixing will take some time and
effort and may be followed by resistance initially, but through digital competence,
advanced learning and utilization of how to effectively remix, remixing will be
beneficial for both students and teachers alike.
References
Lankshear, & M. Knobel (Eds.), A New Literacies Reader: Educational Perspectives (pp. 26-53). New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Hi Ezobia. When you wrote “ It [the use of new digital technologies] ... also give[s] the reader more insight with a deeper and richer meaning [of the curriculum content]”(Ezobia, "Ezobia New Media and New Literacies"), it is absolutely true. It is common knowledge that a theater play that accompanies a novel reading provides students with a deeper understanding, relationship, and connection to the curriculum content. Likewise, the use of digital technology in the classroom by teachers has greatly affected students’ critical thinking abilities. The stagnation that we are seeing, though, has to do with the relinquishing of teacher-power and giving students the modes of gathering data to form their own understanding and interpretation of the “reading”, regardless of how divergent it maybe to that of the teacher. A “...deeper and richer meaning [of the curriculum content]” requires educators to see students as contributors of education and not simply apprentices. (Ezobia, "Ezobia New Media and New Literacies")
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Ezobia New Media and New Literacies. (2015, October 2). Retrieved October 3, 2015.
Ezobia,
ReplyDeleteIn your post you referred to a student from this week's reading who preferred typing over writing. Commenting on this, you wrote, "I feel the same way, since I have owned a laptop, I have never written with paper or pencil, it literally slows my writing process down by at least 70%." I agree with you, and love to type, but am not a fan of handwriting. My classroom is very student-centered, but when I do utilize notes on the board, I even type those as my students can't read my handwriting!!!
I assumed that like me, most students would prefer typing, but many of my students (especially those with low literacy skills), can't stand typing, and always prefer writing. I've found this interesting and of course encourage it, though I also require typed essays in order to provide students with the skills they need for 21st century academia and beyond.
I've asked many of these students why they prefer handwriting and have learned it's because they cannot type as quickly as they write. One basic literacy skill that has been overlooked, for my students at least, is typing. Many of my students have learned how to text fast, but not type, and it's a skill I'm considering teaching in my low-level writing class.
I also find it interesting that my students equate typing solely with writing papers, and not with other uses (writing blog posts, social media comments, etc). The phone keyboard may soon replace the traditional typing keyboard, and perhaps that's okay. I have students that text out their papers, email themselves, and then copy and paste what they've texted into google docs. Not a bad system, but I wonder if basic typing skills would liberate some of their restraints as writers.
I agree with your opinion on the downside of using texting/instant messaging to communicate with students. I think that we as teachers walk a fine line between what is professional, and what is private, and need to make sure that we are conscious of this. By communicating with students via social media and text we are sending the message that they are welcome into our personal lives. I have seen firsthand, colleagues who have engaged with students through social media, and the consequences of such action. Social media has very little relevance to the professional world, so it should not be a priority for us as educators to inform our students in this sphere. I agree that it brings way more distraction into the classroom, than it does productivity and utility.
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