Rethink Literacy
This week at the 2007 Kansas Summer Institute for School Librarians held at Emporia State University, Emporia, KS, 143 teacher-librarians from Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma heard David Warlick speak about the changing nature of information.
David Warlick challenged us to rethink what is meant by literacy. He said that Web 1.0 made information networked, digital, and over-whelming. Web 2.0 adds more challenges as information becomes increasingly more digital. Information is now participatory, trainable, magnetic, and without containers. Web 1.0 presumed respect for authority. Web 2.0 respects the reader.
Specific to literacy, David Warlick said that the Web 2.0 information environment requires us to be able to distinguish information, to make decisions on what information to use and what to ignore. From the stand point of the communicator, it means that the communicator must produce messages that will compete for attention. It is no longer enough to simply be able to write a coherent paragraph. We must be able to express ourselves compellingly, so that our information will compete for the attention of our audiences. He said more than ever before, reading leads to exposure; mathematics to employment; and writing to expression. More than ever before, ethics matter. Today's kids are growing up in this Web 2.0 information environment.
David wrote this week on his 2 Cents Worth Blog that kids need to learn in new ways because technology is not enough. He challenged readers to talk about dramatic changes. What does change look like? How do we find change? What can we do with change? How do we communicate change? If we talk about dramatic change, we might make a case for “basic skills” that more closely reflect today’s information landscape.
So, I say, let’s do it. Let’s talk about dramatic changes. Start by responding to these questions:
In what ways does the concept of library change in your students’ digital context?
What basic skills are needed in the digital context?
What roles can teacher-librarians play in helping student to become literate adults?
Mirah
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
Great thought provoking questions Mirah!
As far as technology in the library at the elementary level students must have basic keyboard skills as well as a good foundation in spelling to have sucess. This can be something of a problem for many students even up to 5th grade!
In the future maybe we could look at finding and creating more picture driven resources which will offer earlier sucess in navigating as well as help to give students opportunities for success at a earlier age, and for students with various learning challenges.
Right now the Internet is incredibly overwhelming for elementary! (Including elementary teachers!!!)
"Spoon feeding" elementary students by sending them to specific sites is good initially in order to demonstrate what a good site is, allows them to find comfort and skill in basic navigating, and allows them to concentrate on finding the information that is necessary for their project or interests.
I am very excited to try to get my head around the concept of Web 2.0 that David Warlick shared on Wed. and bringing it to my students and teachers! I see that this can offer some great opportunitites for students to collaborate and even some great and easy-to-manage classroom teacher opportunities!
On a technical note - Before I started creating a Blog and a Wiki I asked my district technology teacher what sites our district would support and be able to access around our filters. Hopefully this will save some time and heartache down the road! :+} SE
I liked David Warlick's comments about teaching kids the importance of "how to use info" rather than just feeding them facts and information. This takes a lot of trust on from us that students can learn to evaluate, make ethical decisions, and be responsible. It also takes a lot of confidence for teachers to jump behind the wheel when many of us feel like the kids know more than we do about technology. This is especially hard to do with filters in schools, as well as some teachers, or parents that sees computer use and the internet as only as more counterproductive than positive for kids.
As an English teacher, I really enjoyed the concept of challenging students to present something that will entice future learners. I still believe it's important to be able to write, but it's even more important in today's world to be able to combine that with visuals, technology, and a strong purpose or reason behind the project/writing.
Thanks for the thought provoking institute!
I was so very happy to have heard the David Warlick lecture. Especially with Wikipedia being all over the news this week. The David Chase entry had been repeatedly vandalized with slanderous misinformation on the heels of the disappointing Sopranos finale (David Chase is the creator/writer/director). It was attacked to often that it has now been put on the edit "disabled" list.
So when a huge conversation erupted regarding this subject, I knew exactly what they were talking about and could easily join in!
I just love keeping up on the new wave that my students are experiencing and wanting to experience so I can guide them through it. As Alycia says, "It also takes a lot of confidence for teachers to jump behind the wheel when many of us feel like the kids know more than we do about technology". They SURE DO!!!
EC
I enjoyed listening to David Warlick but as a librarian in a private school that is moving to a one-to-one computer environment, I'm seeing a lot of problems. In my building I see the filter (which only the tech department can disable) getting tighter all the time out of necessity.
I see students who are ahead of their teacher as far as the technical aspects of using computers. These students see no problems with copy and paste assignements. They are willing to take the risk of punishment if they are caught because they are convinced that they won't be caught.
I see teachers who really resist having to change their trusted assignments because the challenge of learning the technical aspects of the computer is keeping them so busy. With one-to-one computers it is also a challenge to keep all of the students on task.
Somehow there has to be a way to get our students and teachers all on board to realize that we are all in this together and that there is more to literacy than just reading text in a book!
I am very concerned about teaching my students to use internet resources in a responsible manner. How do you teach them to make ethical decisions?
I was very encouraged after attending the conference. It made me want to connect even more to my students and do all I could to make my library a place where they want to be, not only for reading but also just to hang out and do the stuff they love.
I think all librarians will have to get over the aprehension of technology and start applying it to their libraries. If we pussyfoot around this issues, it will only deter our patrons from taking advantage of the services we provide.
Being a classroom teacher, I am excited to teach my kindergarteners content and to build their creativity in a digital manner. I would like to try podcasting and have them recommend books they've read to each other. Those students who arrive extra early in the morning could listen to their classmates' "book talks".
I feel that older students must be taught safety as well as ethics while searching and/or contributing to the Internet. For example, students should know not to post their personal information in a blog. I believe it was David Warlick who stated that students must also learn to treat others as they would want to be treated in an online environment.
Hi Mirah!
We must never forget that we teach CHILDREN … not curriculum from a book nor robots of technology. We teach children with minds, and hearts, and feelings. The digital world is not a scary, unknown planet. It is merely a way to help our children learn and express themselves. If we ever forget that, than humanity may very well be thrown into the darkness of outer space.
I did enjoy David Warlock’s information. I was living in Web 1.0 – ignorant of anything like 2.0. However, I walked away carrying an enormous, invisible digital weight: the burden of ethical responsibility. So very much information is readily available to all – all – who are old enough to click a mouse. I realize that the same feelings may have overcome those who were facing mass production of books from the invention of the printing press. Ethical responsibility is a basic component that we need to nurture within our library users.
I am the first person in my school to push for the latest technological tools and resources. I thrive on ways to make kids think. But we must always remember that we teach CHILDREN first. Web 2.0 is somewhat like a virtual on-going library. We must teach children how to navigate its paths and make right choices as they learn to think for themselves.
~ Loretta
I liked what Loretta said about teaching Children. All of the technology comes so easily to children, they are growing up with it surrounding them. I am the one struggling, yet it all is so important for me as the librarian to get over my hangups with technology. That is why the summer institute is so important. It broadens your mind, gets you to see new things and wants you to jump in and try things.
David Warlick asked us if we could go 100 years back in time and visit a grocery store if it would be different than one today--or a hospital, factory, or almost any place of business. Then he asked us to compare a classroom of a century ago to a classroom of today, and we realized that little has changed in schools compared with the workplace.
Part of the reason change comes so slowly in education is because of the involvement of parents. Parents raise children in large part by modeling, consciously or unconsciously, the way they were raised. They can become uncomfortable if their children's education takes them out of their comfort zone into uncharted territory. Yet their desires strongly influence learning in their child's school system.
Slowly over time a new generation of technologically-savvy parents will arise. In the meantime, if we hope to increase our students' access to digital literacy experiences in the classroom, we would do well to bring the parents on board. Just as we have to learn and practice a technique to teach it to our students, if parents would learn along with their students they could expand their own comfort zone, reinforce the child's learning, as well as gain an understanding of the importance of technology and support progress.
Wow! What great thoughts and ideas! Change does take time and with so many different people at so many different stages of technology knowledge, both students and teachers, the gap in information literacy sometimes seems overwhelming. There have been times when I have had to step back and reevaluate my approach to teaching online information access when I encounter a new student who may not have as much technology knowledge as those students who use the Internet daily. Like Loretta and Suzanne, the Web 2.0 to me was similar to what my less computer literate students must feel like when a computer lesson is presented.
After listening to David Warlick's presentation, the importance of writing and the ability to express oneself is even more relevant in today's educational system. Writing concisely and coherently takes on added importance. With the stress of NCLB on the classroom teachers, we as teacher-librarians must help the process by teaching and reinforcing the ethics of information access and literacy. We can not do this unless we let classroom teachers know the tools we have acquired from resources such as this year's Summer Institute.
Post a Comment