Module 3: Leveraging Tools, Text and Talk in My Teaching Context
Most students love screen time, but in their free time they are solely consuming new media via social media. They are not using critical thinking, they are not creating new media, they are not checking sources, in fact, they use new media for entertainment only. What a gift to be able to bring new media and its practices into the classroom and to students. In Garcia’s text “Nondigital Skills” he states, “As educators, we should be more apt to challenge the kinds of digital literacy practices expected in our classroom and to consider how these practices can better mirror the world around us, engage our senses, and facilitate learning”. Our students need to know how to effectively use new media, in the classroom, but also in their everyday lives. Students are very tech and keyboard savvy. They love shortcuts and love to use “copy and paste”. What they don’t realize when they copy and paste, they are stealing someone else’s hard earned thoughts and words and claiming it as their own. In "Plagiarism in the Digital Age” by Moorman and Pennell, they have a very practical way to combat plagiarism:”To learn to be independent thinkers, students must engage in effective writing instruction. We advocate for a three-phase writing model that embraces prewriting, writing, and post writing”. When students are being creative, given peer feedback, and are able to do final editing before submitting a writing piece, they have the opportunity to succeed. As I will later go into, new medias cannot operate without a teacher leading the instruction and direction of use. Regardless of if a writing assignment is done on paper or online, students need to know how to effectively write so they don’t take short cuts or plagiarize. “This approach cultivates a writing community that affords students the opportunity to think deeply about a topic and to craft their words thoughtfully”. (Moorman & Pennell, 2017) Beyond consuming new media, students need to be taught how to create, comprehend and respond to new medias. In “More than Bit and Bytes” the text states, “we invite them to explore the social context and impact of digital technologies in the world today”. (Aguilera, 2017) Teaching new media involves teaching students how to think critically about the information they are consuming, and how to respond to it. “By exploring issues like intellectual property, internet censorship, and government surveillance, we can help students ask more critical questions about the impact of digital media and technologies”. (Aquilera, 2017) Once students are thinking critically about the information they are receiving, they need the tools to be able to separate fact from fiction, real news from fake news. In “Assessing News Literacy in the 21st Century” the text states, “They might be able to separate news from opinion during a lesson, but when they are scrolling on their phones, will they dig into the details behind a sensational headline or a doctored photo before they retweet it to their followers?”. (Jacobson, 2017) Educators want students to be successful using new medias in the classroom, but the real test comes when they are in the real world using new medias, have they been given the tools to succeed and not blindly consume? “Ultimately, teachers are expanding their views of what it means for their students to be literate in today’s world. ‘My goal is to help my students become lifelong readers and writers,’ Amato stays, adding that analyzing articles and photos are excellent ways to help students become more knowledgeable about the world while reinforcing important literacy skills”. (Jacobson 2017)
Once educators know what needs to be implemented, the next hurdle is how to engage students in the conversations regarding new medias and to help them successfully navigate new medias in a way that makes them successful in and out of the classroom. As previously mentioned, the examples of engaging students with new media included: in an attempt to combat plagiarism, using writing practices to foster creativity as well as teaching how to know if a site is credible or if it is fake news are valuable skills for students to know as they navigate new medias. In “The Importance of Still Teaching the iGeneration: New Technologies and the Centrality of Pedagogy” Phillip and Garcia state, "With the increasing presence of technology in the classroom, the role of an effective teacher is not diminished; instead, it becomes even more indispensable.” Students need both the technology and teachers to help use and develop the skills necessary for new medias. “Effective teachers are essential in differentiating, orchestrating, and negotiating students' individual and collective interests and capacities, whether technological or not, to support their academic and holistic growth over time.” (Phillip & Garcia, 2013) Examples, discussions, class discussions, are all necessary for helping students understand and use new medias.
In my readings this week, as I consider how to best implement new media into my classroom, I thought about two equity and engagement issues that I need to be able to address and strategize for. Online work as previously mentioned can be beneficial as it offers feedback and connections with others. In “Affinity spaces, literacies and classrooms: tensions and opportunities” by Magnifico, Lammers and Fields, they state, “When online creators connect to each other, social interactions motivate them to continue learning, sharing and developing valued expertise”. Which is exactly what educators want - students to be motivated and involved in their learning. However there are some drawbacks to using affinity spaces - “interest-based spaces that focus on creating and sharing self-made content”. (Magnifico, Lammers & Fields, 2018) “As literacy educators consider how to connect their classrooms to affinity spaces, it is important to consider this range of perspectives, from the available possibilities to the inconsistent quality and potential reluctance by students to contribute to these online spaces”. (Magnificio, Lammers & Fields, 2018) Where in analog assignments students are given instructions and a rubric, affinity spaces lend themselves to varying degrees of participation. Which is hard to quantify. Instead, when using affinity spaces, the intention may change from assessing students’ work, to understanding and focusing on the process. “While few of the compositions were ‘finished’, and students took no single trajectory of participation, focusing on process helped everyone realize new possibilities for expression and future teaching. (Magnifico, Lammers & Fields, 2018) When most educators are used to using standards and rubrics to access students' learning, using affinity spaces lends itself to a different approach, one where process and understanding are the end goals. Affinity space learning is different, but not bad. Students need the opportunity to try something new in the safety of the classroom. In terms of dealing with equity and online spaces, I simply love what the University of Washington’s iSchool Master of Library and Information Program did. In the face of wanting to offer a summer program for students based on the Harry Potter series, but also challenge the clear exclusion of BIPOC characters in the series, they created an online program. This summer programming was offered during COVID. There were so many great aspects to this program that not only encouraged participant involvement but also gave great emphasis to the exclusion of BIPOC characters in the Harry Potter series, and how to include representation in the real world. Some of the discussion questions, “Based on the books, which casting choice was your favorite in the movies and why?Which casting choice did not match your expectations? Do you think the characters are more diverse or less diverse in the movies than in the books?” (Martin et al., 2020) After each session, they gained valuable feedback, which prompted organizers to change up the format and give the discussion questions ahead of time so participants could prepare ahead of time, as well as focusing on the technical aspects. “We also learned that we needed to pay attention to both verbal discussion and the chat, since the chat can be both rich and quite different from what is happening verbally”. (Marin et al., 2020) This summer program was such a rich experience that gives great examples of how to use an online space effectively and how to make something that is exclusive and use it for an event that is inclusive. In any space, online or analog, educators need to be mindful of equity, inclusion and engagement. New medias offers educators a space to work these issues out in new and exciting ways. We can be equitable, inclusive and engaging, if we are purposeful in our endeavors.
In conclusion, one way that I leverage analog and digital learning in my Language Arts classroom is through “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl. Students are given a hard copy of the text or they may read it online on commonlit.org. As a class, we listen to an audio version of the text read by Roald Dahl. Students complete comprehension questions on a worksheet to check for understanding. Then we discuss the pros and cons to leaving a story with an ambiguous ending. Next we watch, “Tales of the Unexpected: The Landlady”. In the video, viewers are given more of an idea of what really happens to the visitors of the landlady. Students fill in a Venn Diagram comparing and contrasting the written version to the video. Lastly students then write their own ending to “The Landlady”, all starting with the last line of the text,”No my dear, only you.” (Dahl, 1959) Then I would have students write their stories into myshortanswer.com where students are able to respond to a writing prompt (in this case, the one previously given), then students are given two other students work to read and compare, they then vote on which one best answers the prompt until everyone has voted for all the stories and one winner remains. This lesson incorporates analog and digital learning in a variety of ways, from written text, to audio, to video to creative writing, to comparing text online. This lesson meets NYS Next Generations Standards 7R7: Compare and contrast a written text with audio, filmed, staged, or digital versions in order to analyze the effects of techniques unique to each media and each format’s portrayal of a subject. Students love seeing the video interpretation of the story as well as being able to create their own ending for the story allows for agency and creativity. I love finding new ways to incorporate new medias into my Language Arts class, to enrich students' reading and writing as well as helping them use new medias in their real life.
Aguilera, E. (2017). More than bits and bytes. Literacy Today, 35(3), 12-13. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Ftrade-journals%2Fmore-than-bits-bytes%2Fdocview%2F1966006470%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D8067
Bowden, M. (2017). Customized tech. Literacy Today, 35(3), 26-27. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Ftrade-journals%2Fcustomized-tech%2Fdocview%2F1966005922%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D8067
Dahl, R. (1959). CommonLit | The Landlady. CommonLit. https://www.commonlit.org/texts/the-landlady
DavidBray170. (2016). Roald Dahl’s - Tales of the Unexpected - The Landlady [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWhBej5r07o
Garcia, A. (2017). Nondigital skills. Literacy Today, 35(3), 24-25. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Ftrade-journals%2Fnondigital-skills%2Fdocview%2F1966005428%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D8067
Hernandez, M. (2017). Reframing the medium. Literacy Today, 35(3), 16-17. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Ftrade-journals%2Freframing-medium%2Fdocview%2F1966007223%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D8067
Jacobson, L. (2017). Assessing new literacies in the 21 century. Literacy Today, 35(3), 18-22. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Ftrade-journals%2Fassessing-news-literacy-21st-century%2Fdocview%2F1966007432%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D8067
Jones, K., & Storm, S. (2022). Sustaining Textual Passions: Teaching With Texts Youth Love. Journal of Literacy Research, 54(4), 458-479. https://doi-org.sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/1086296X221141393 (Original work published 2022)
Magnifico, A. M., Lammers, J. C., & Fields, D. A. (2018). Affinity spaces, literacies and classrooms: tensions and opportunities. Literacy, 52(3), 145–152. https://doi-org.sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/lit.12133
Martin, M. H., Romeijn-Stout, M., Beran, E., Stetson, J., Poirier, J., Rea, J., Harris, R., Breiner, N., Foglesong, A., Ching, J., Riddle, C., & Davies, C. (2020). Harry Potter in the 21st Century: Leveraging Problematic Fiction to Infuse Social Justice into the LIS Curriculum. In Alki The Washington Library Association Journal Conference Issue. https://wala.memberclicks.net/assets/Alki/Alki_December_2020.pdf
Moorman, G., & Pennell, A. (2017). PLAGIARISM IN THE DIGITAL AGE. Literacy Today, 35(3), 14-15. https://sunyempire.idm.oclc.org/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Ftrade-journals%2Fplagiarism-digital-age%2Fdocview%2F1966007393%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D8067
New York State Education Department. (2017). English Language Arts Learning Standards. https://www.nysed.gov/sites/default/files/programs/curriculum-instruction/nys-next-generation-ela-standards.pdf
Philip, T., & Garcia, A. (2013). The Importance of Still Teaching the iGeneration: New Technologies and the Centrality of Pedagogy. Harvard Educational Review, 83(2), 300–319. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.83.2.w221368g1554u158
Hi Jenn,
ReplyDeleteYour initial connection to students' relations with media (both social and literacy) is a consistent reminder within my classroom. Shortcuts are the new "fad". However, my students who are in sixth grade need to be taught simple tools such as copy and paste. I have noticed my students will not complete any work unless given step-by-step, explicit modeling and instruction. At this point, my students are essentially plagiarizing my work. Working on my students' abilities to think critically for themselves is an essential skill we will need to practice this year. Allowing students to absorb new material through multimedia is the best way to spark individualized conclusions.
Hi Jordan, my students may claim to be tech savvy, but they also don't know how to capitalize or use punctuation when typing! We've just started doing typing.com to work on our keyboard and typing skills. You mentioned that your students are basically plagiarizing your work. After COVID, I found that students have had a very hard time creating writing of their own.The first half of the year is spent holding their hand as we work on writing, then the second half of the year, I try to have them be more independent, but I hear you!
DeleteHi Jenn,
ReplyDeleteThe lesson you chose is diverse because it can be modified to fit other age groups. It reminded me of an activity we completed in my classroom (1st-3rd grade), where students wrote their own narrative of "The Fisherman and his Wife" after being read an e-story. Building off some of your ideas, in the future I would add a part where students collaborate and share their stories to evaluate their writing and then answering prompted questions through the website myshortanswer.com. Thank you for sharing such an amazing idea!
Hi Sarah B.! I love that you had your students write their own narrative. It's so fun building off each other's ideas! We don't have to reinvent the wheel, we have each other!
DeleteYou hit the nail on the head. Teaching students to navigate technology is the easy part. I often see little babies in strollers with ipads, tablets, or smart phones, scrolling from one source to another. It is as if we are giving them these resources at a younger and younger age; but what background knowledge are they really receiving? Are they being taught to distinguish the real news from the fake? They are more than often not. They are posting and reposting with little to no thought about plagiarism. It is evident in their copy and paste methods. We as teachers really have our work cut out for us.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Evans, I'm guessing you see the "copy and paste" methods too?! My colleagues and I have gone to a lot of written essays for that very reason. We teach them how to research and cite sources online. But when it comes time to write, to have them use pen and paper to hopefully curb the plagiarism. Have you found any methods that foster and encourage writing without "paste and copy?
DeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! I like how you connected the use of new media to critical thinking and creativity, and I think your example with The Landlady is a great way to show how students can engage with text in multiple formats. I also agree with you that teaching students how to responsibly use media, from avoiding plagiarism to analyzing sources, is so important—it’s not just about consuming information but about understanding and creating it thoughtfully. I especially liked your points about equity and engagement in online spaces; it’s a good reminder that we have to be intentional about making learning accessible and meaningful for all students.
ReplyDeleteThanks Julie! Appreciate your comments! I know sometimes I forget that not every student has access to the same things, so I have to try to make our class time, where we do have equitable access, that much more richer with the new medias I use in the classroom!
DeleteHello Jenn,
ReplyDeleteWow, I really enjoyed reading this! You hit on something so true and relatable. Most students are experts at using tech for entertainment, BUT NOT when it comes to using it for learning, research, or creating. In my classroom, they too need a lot of guidance. I liked how you connected plagiarism with digital shortcuts like copy/paste. This is such a big issue, and framing it as an opportunity to teach authentic writing is smart.
Your Landlady lesson example is awesome, too. I love that you used multiple media forms (text, audio, film, creative writing, peer review) to give students a fuller experience. That’s exactly the kind of engagement that shows students how flexible and powerful media can be beyond just scrolling social apps.
I also thought your point about equity and inclusion in digital spaces was super important. The Harry Potter program you mentioned is such a great example of how educators can reimagine popular culture in a way that makes all students feel represented.
I am curious, how do you or do you balance letting students explore new media freely while still guiding them to think critically and use it responsibly?
Hi Laura! Thanks for your comments! To answer your question about letting students explore new media freely while still guiding them to thinking critically and use it responsibly is a work in progress for me! One thing that I've done the past two weeks is on Mondays for our bell ringer, I use the NYT "What's Going on in This Picture", where they look at a picture the NYT has posted and they free write about what they think is going on in the photo. Then on Fridays we "get the answer" from the NYT about what the picture is really about. This past week was so powerful because it ended up being about homeless kids getting to go to summer camp. It was a picture of kids playing in a grassy area. We have a powerful discussion about stigma and what life might look like for a kid in 7th grade who is homeless and why this summer camp is so powerful. This is working, but I'm always looking for new ideas! Especially when a student tells me they spent 10 hours on a Saturday on tiktok!
Delete