Digital Literacy: A Conceptual Framework for Survival Skills in the Digital Era

This article discusses the term "digital literacy" and describes it as being more than just the ability to use software or digital devices, but that it encompasses a wide variety of skills (cognitive, emotional, motor, sociological) the user must possess. The article talks in-depth about five types of digital literacy: photo-visual literacy, reproduction literacy, branching literacy, information literacy, and socio-emotional literacy.
Photo-visual literacy is used with young children (online games, photo-visual books) as well as adults (type-writing skills). In my field classroom I have seen a lot of photo-visual literacy in the form of online games. The students in my second grade class go to the computer lab everyday where they are encouraged to play interactive online games that require them to match pictures with words in oder to figure out the answer. I think it is important that educators as well as students are familiar with this type of digital literacy in order to effectively use it in the classroom. Research with with this type of digital literacy shows that adults were not as able as young children in decoding photo-visual literacy.
I noticed that several of the five forms of digital literacy talked about in the article showed that young children were more capable and comfortable using digital technology than adults. However, with socio-emotional literacy, which focuses on cognitive ability and experience, adults were more skilled. Socio-emotional literacy deals with the Internet, chat rooms, discussion groups, e-mail, etc. Because of the unpredictablitly and uncertainty of reliability in this digital form, users have to be extra careful not to be tricked, scammed, or slipped a virus. Cyberspace may be risky for users who are immature or are not up to speed with the "rules of the game." (This form of digital literacy is the most complex form discussed in this article because it requires the user to be familiar with the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms, etc. It also requires the user to be critical, questioning, mature, and familiar with other types of digital literacy like information literacy and branching literacy.
As a future educator, I think it is important to teach students the dangers and benefits of socio-emotional literacy so that they are able to use it effectively and smartly. Because younger students have grown up with this age of digital technology, they are more able and comfortable using it. It is important to make sure that students are familiar with these five types of digital literacy because digital technology is only going to increase over time.
(Eshet-Alkalai, Digital Literacy: A Conceptual Framework for Survival Skills in the Digital Era.)

SEARCHing for an answer: The critical role of new literacies while reading on the Internet - Jessica

Being literate in online reading is just as important as being able to read. The example provided is about how some students don't understand how to successfully search on Google. They struggle because they do not know how to narrow their search down so they can read more information that directly relates to their topic. Instead, they are reading information off different sites that are not specific enough for them. After teaching these students were taught how to successfully search, they found many different usable resources that they could use.

This is particularly important for students to learn because technology is advancing constantly. Students need to know how to use these as different sources because of the opportunities that arise from them. The internet is a very valuable source for most students. Resources are so much more accessible if a child knows how to search. The acronym presented in the article is SEARCH. It goes through the steps on how to get the results you need from a search engine. I think this would be very valuable for students to learn because like any literacy, students need to be taught how to use it, so they can benefit from it.

Figure 1 is an example on how to help students get their ideas organized before they start searching online. I think that this would be particularly helpful to all students because it will keep their ideas organized and focused. Students with learning disabilities could also benefit greatly from this because some struggle with keeping their ideas straight.

"Where do you want to go today?" Article - Jenna Fudge

I found this article to be very interesting. Before reading this I had never heard of "inquiry-based" learning before. The article described it as the students being responsible for formulating engaging questions and then participating in experiences to answer them. I thought it was great that this kind of learning involves some kind of action. For example the student who studied the idea of using horses as therapy for special ed kids. After visiting a special stable the student then made brochures about it and took interested kids to the special stable. I think it is so important that these kids are taking what they have researched a step further by putting it into some kind of action.

I also thought that this learning is very meaningful to the students. They are able to pick a topic that they are interested in. The option of choice makes this meaningful as well. The kids feel like they have a say in the things they are learning and spending their time researching.

I thought the focus of technology in this article was interesting as well. The article made it clear that computers are not the focus of the learning but instead the "vehicle for getting to the destination". I remember when I was in school the teachers were very leery of us using the computers and the internet was basically there to be used as a last resort. The computer is full of so much practically endless information and should be thought of as a valuable resource. Along with technology resources the students also used live resources such as visiting the actual places of interests and interviewing the people who knew about them.

I thought this article was very interesting. Inquiry-based learning is something I will definitely be using in my future classroom. I also think it's great that students today have so many resources available right at their fingertips and think any available resource is always worth looking into.

Gibbons Ch. 1-2 Jessica Thelen

I have been fortunate enough to have worked with an ESL student. She was in kindergarten and had just moved from Zimbabwe. When I first met her the only word that she could say was "Yes" but after 3 months she was able to carry on a conversation with her. When I was reading chapter one from the Gibbons book there was a section about how ESL students can have conversations sooner than they can understand their school work. I could definitely see this with the student I worked with. We could talk about many different subjects, but she struggled with her alphabet and counting. Eventually she did meet the requirements needed to go on to first grade but just barely.

When I was working with this student I was able to observe her in her classroom. Most of the students were English Language Learners. When they had free time to play, a majority of them spoke in their native languages and occasionally said a few words in English. The teacher really had to spark conversation between the students by asking them about what they were doing and why. This teacher used some methods similar to those presented in the book. For example, she had them place pictures in order and asked them to explain why.

I think that these methods will be very helpful in a classroom setting. It does not have to be just for ESL students. I think that students that are behind their peers in learning how to write and speak English could benefit greatly from these activities. In special education classrooms these could be very helpful. This could be helpful to any child that is having a difficult time understanding and speaking.

Gibbons - Ch 1 & 2 by Jenna Fudge

I found this reading to be very interesting. I felt these to chapters were full of very valuable information. I am excited to learn about how to best teach second language learners in my future classroom. The first chapter sparked my interest when talking about the different views of learning (empty vessel and progressive). I have learned about these two views in previous classes and have never really found myself fully agreeing with either one of them. I was excited to see that this book is offering an alternative to both of these views. From what I have read about this third view so far I find myself agreeing with it. I think it is very true that "while we are all biologically able to acquire language, what language we learn, how adept we are at using it, and the purposes for which we are able to use it are a matter of the social contexts and situations we have been in."

I am excited to read in the future chapters how this learning view will be applied to how we as teachers should teach second language learners. Chapter 2 covered a little bit of this in the ideas about classroom talk. I never realized how important the role of talk in learning is. It does make sense that actually having to speak the second language will enable the student to process the language more deeply than when they are just listening. I thought the use of group work was a good idea and thought the principles for making sure the group work is effective were very important. I also thought this chapter contained many good ideas for group activities that I can use one day in my future classroom.

I think I will be learning a lot from this book. I am excited to see what the next chapters have in store. So far I have found it to be very useful and informative. I am looking forward to learning more about how to best teach English language learners.