Theory Reading 4
Once upon a
time, ‘literacy was pretty much summed up by the 3 R’s. Some would say that this is still true today
– that talk of digital, critical, and social literacies is beside the point and
harmful to the ‘core values’ of education.
What do you think?
Brunner &
Tally, Tyner, and Cummins & Sayers all argue that students need to be
presented with a ‘critical literacy” that goes beyond indoctrination in
established social norms. What do you
think of this idea: Where, if at all,
is the line between social values and critical values? What do you think of the idea, implicit in
these readings, that access to educational technologies like the Web can lead
students to become more critically literate?
After reading other classmates
theory reading on this segment, I find how similar the views of the elementary
teachers are. We are certainly on the
road of the information highway.
Bruner
& Tally state in Technology for change: A new vision of teaching and
learning, that “Helping students move from relatively passive absorption of
information to habits in which they are able to frame arguments, consider
evidence, and apply judgment creatively is key if we are to develop powerful
and flexible thinkers capable of communicating about and solving difficult
problems.”
Core
values in education are a hot topic today.
Where should critical literacy actually begin? “Still students need the basic skill and cognitive abilities to
use technology in cutting ways.” Even
though there is a need for “critical literacy,” somewhere, students need to be
taught these basic skills (Bruner & Tally). Computer software is available to assist even the very early
learner (starting at ages 1 ½) to acquire comprehension. Another required skill is critical thinking. Now more than ever, students are required to
evaluate material, sources, and information on the World Wide Web. Learning to distinguish fact from opinion
and fiction is another required skill.
Technical skills for finding sources, judging their value, and citing
them are additional required skills.
Reading and tracking on a monitor is different from reading and tracking
from a printed page, the same is true for writing on a word processor versus
writing on paper. Since the real
question is, which skills provide for the most productivity, which skills are
necessary and in what priority? One
cannot think that reading from the printed page and reading from technology as
two different sets of skills. The
skills of the two interact too much for such definition, especially considering
critical literacy. Although some would
rather stay in the dark times without the tools technology provides, technology
itself will pull them into more advanced thinking. Unfortunately, many may go kicking and screaming, but rest
assured, they will go.
Bruner
& Tally, and Tyner, also state, ‘‘The texture and rhythm of learning when
mediated by electronic resources is in sharp contrast to that which occurs in
the environment of the printed word. …teachers
try and too often fail to teach ‘electronic tradition’ students.” They state that today’s youth is wired. Digital tools are an everyday feature of
nearly every social institution.
Students who do not have computers at home encounter them through
friends, stores, libraries, etc. If
they are not in schools, then this is oddly out of step. A 1994 study by the Educational Testing
Service found that students used computers to play games (87% of
kindergarteners through eighth graders) and to “learn things (82%.) They believe students should have access to
communication opportunities, as well as the quality educational resources. The concept of computer literacy has not yet
had its day. “A lack of access to
technology and information resources continues to reflect and underscore
inequities in society and is therefore an entrenched and complex problem.”
“Whether or not access to digital
technologies can actually redress social inequity remains to be seen. Will providing more access to technology to
poor schools level the playing field and answer the question of technology benefit
across wider social strata?”
“ Still students need the basic skill and
cognitive abilities to use technology in cutting ways.”
As described above, integration of
all of these skill lessons are essential.
Delineation of instruction of the various skills indicates that the
decision makers have no concept or view of the outcome. We are behind at this time and matters are
getting only worse as the debate rages on, ad infinitum.
Brunner
also states that in order to have critical literacy schools must provide
teachers with ongoing professional development opportunities. This is where one of the more serious issues
occurs. Teachers who lack exposure to
the technology of the digital age will have a natural affinity to resist
learning technical skills necessary to teach.
Being a guide instead of the head is a hard adjustment for many teachers. Educators at all level are resisting the
change because of their beliefs and these proposals seem so drastic. Even school systems go back and forth on
technology. Should young students have
access to technology, or should they be learning the basics skills of reading
and comprehension? Money for technology
first goes to the high schools, then middle schools, and lastly the
elementary. The fallacy here is that
one teaches technology as a language and language training is most effective at
the elementary levels. Mandates to
retrain teachers follow the same order, but many are not willing to accept
retraining. Why should they? There is no compensation for their time and
efforts. Considerable training efforts
are very necessary. Time for
collaboration and exploration of new techniques is essential, but the
requirements go unrecognized. Teachers
sabbaticals, a year out of every six, to update and hone their skills in
technology, familiarize themselves with new software, and update their
philosophy of teaching procedures is evermore an abject requirement. In time, the digital/thinking teachers will
exist and remain embedded in the classroom and there will be a natural change
in “literacy.” Look at all that suffer
in the interim, though.
“Small
wonder then that schools should have become the battleground for competing
visions of that collective future”
(Cummins).