We all learned in school that the purpose of reading and writing is to inform, persuade or entertain. This is one thing that hasn't changed, although we are more likely to be informed, persuaded or entertained through the medium of a screen and internet access via computer.
According to Gillen & Barton, (2010), writing is currently being affected by four factors:
1. Texts are becoming intensely multimodal, that is, image is ever-increasingly appearing with writing, and, in many domains of communication, displacing writing where it had previously been dominant.
In other words, graphic images are either replacing text and create meaning and learning experience on their own, or work within a combination of text to do the same.
2. Screens (of the digital media) are replacing the page and the book as the dominant media.
Just yesterday, I realized how much space I could save in my house by getting rid of books and keeping an electronic library instead. Books seem suddenly unnecessary, except for a treasured few.
3. Social structures and social relations are undergoing fundamental changes, as far as writing
is concerned, predominantly in changes of structures of authority, and in the effects of changing
gender formations.
Woo-hoo! It's about time that individuals have a voice in their communities, the government and the world. We are all authorities about the subjects we write about; we don't need to consult the "few" who are considered experts. Gender roles are changing, diversity is becoming more embraced, and attention to equalizing the system of education and closing the educational divide are hot topics in the field of Education.
4) Constellations of mode and medium are being transformed. The medium of the book and the
mode of writing had formed a centuries-long symbiotic constellation; this is being displaced by a
new constellation of medium of the screen and mode of image. The consequences of this shift are
profound.
The authors also state that , "those who have grown up in a world where the screen and its potentials have already become naturalized, are taking as natural all the potentials of the screen, including its social potentials and consequences – in terms of action, agency, modes to be used, modes which are focal, forms of production and reading" (Gillon & Barton, 2010).
The English language, and other languages, are all changing and evolving into a world of shorthand acronyms that must be learned in order to participate in much of the existing and emerging technologies. The authors caution that traditional schools must become familiar with "the potentials of the screen in order to begin to take advantage of the potential of the screen in education." (Gillon & Barton, 2010). Schools are behind in this area, and are still operating under old beliefs and assumptions about best practices in education.
Wilbur (2010), offers several Key concepts in literacy studies:
- There can be different literacies in different domains of life.
This reminds me of the old, but true adage, "when in Rome . . .. Just as speech differs between an employee and a boss, a mother and child, a teacher and student, and among peers, there will always be a dominant literacy in effect depending on need and location. An individual would most likely use a completely different language when updated their linked in profile in contrast to chatting with friends on Facebook.
- A focus on people’s everyday activities includes their vernacular ways of learning.
How are people using language differently between tasks?
- Institutions are important in shaping, sponsoring and supporting people’s practices.
How can we assure that education is equitable, and high quality? Who is paying for online learning experiences? Who are the stakeholders and whom do they serve the most?
- Other people, in the form of brokers, mediators and scribes, can provide networks of support.
Mentors can be found on forums, posts and other social media. Once online learning skills are developed, the student often become self-directed and self-motivated in their learning.
- Any literacy practice involves issues of access and power.
There continues to be an issue of inequality in education, where those with access to the Internet and the knowledge to use it are at a great advantage compared to those who lack hardware and skills.
As "more and more technologies become available, they are increasingly deployed in working and playing with texts, in the practice of new and different literacies" (Literacy and the new technologies in school education, 2014). The authors continue, "Meeting the challenge of new forms of textual practice and media culture and new relations between literacy and IT is likely to play an ever-increasingly significant role in teachers' professional lives, as indeed in society more generally" (Literacy, 2014). The authors explain that teachers and educational institutions need to find ways of reframing existing ideas about text, language and literacies in order to keep up with the new ways that young people are learning today.
Reference
Gillen, J., & Barton, D. (2010). Digital Literacies. Technology Enhanced
Learning. Retrieved from http://www.tlrp.org/docs/DigitalLiteracies.pdf
Literacy and the new technologies in school education: Meeting the l(IT)eracy challenge?.
(n.d.) >The Free Library. (2014). Retrieved Sep 21 2014 from
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Literacy+and+the+new+technologies+in+school+education%3a+Meeting+the...-a063132991
Wilbur, D. (2010, May 31). Special themed issue: Beyond ‘new’ literacies - Digital Culture & Education. Retrieved from http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/uncategorized/dce_editorial_vol2_iss1_2010/
Mary this is a most excellent,detailed and post which clearly demonstrates your understanding and critical analysis of the reading. You also have connected it nicely to the contemporary world of today.
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