Programming: The New Literacy

This article began by asking what the definition of literacy actually is. Some people believe that literacy is the ability to read and write a spoken language. While other people expand the definition of literacy to include multimedia skills as well as the ability to read and write. I agree that literacy includes all of these things. With the impact and importance of technology in society today, it is important that students are able to use multimedia technologies. The author, Marc Prensky, takes the definition of literacy one step farther to include programming. He defines programming as.. “the ability to make digital technology do whatever, within the possible one wants it to do—to bend digital technology to one’s needs, purposes, and will, just as in the present we bend words and images” (Prensky,2008, 2). Programming is becoming more relevant today, and it is important that not only do the students realize its importance but teachers as well. You may not realize how much programming that you are actually doing. According to Prensky, whenever you search the web, check your Facebook, download a ringtone, or buy something on eBay, you are programming. These are things that I do regularly without much thought, and so will many of my students. Some students may be more "literate" than their teachers according to this article. Teachers need to be informed and up to date with the latest technology trends students are pursuing. Prensky ends the article with a question “If programming is indeed the key of literacy in this century, how do we, as educators, make our students literate?” (p.6). He states that the answer is not that clear yet but I think that there are several possibilities. Educators should make sure to come up with creative lessons incorporating these new programming skills. Include technology don’t avoid it. If using new forms of technology actually engages our students, why would we want to avoid it?

The Classroom Web Page: A Must Have in 2008

“Every American Educator needs to build and maintain his or her own teacher Web Page” (Moulton, 2008, 1). This article was about the importance of including teacher web pages in a classroom and gave several reasons supporting the previous quote. Moulton stated that by creating a teacher web page, it will allow the students to see the teacher as more connected and up to date with technology. I think this is a very valid point. I think back to some of my professors or high school teachers and think of how outdated they seemed or how confused they were by technology. Students are using the internet all the time and it is becoming a daily part of their lives. This is why I think it is important for educators to incorporate the internet into their classrooms and show students how the internet can be used for educational purposes. By creating a teacher web page (and making it the homepage for the classroom computer or lap tops) with hyperlinks, it will allow the students to easily locate the activities or sites the teacher wants located. I remember when I did a lesson using the computer lab when I student taught, and it took forever to get all of the students at the same webpage. I like the idea of having my own webpage with links to websites that I want the students to go to because it could potentially save so much time. I also like the idea that I could post weekly newsletters, homework assignments, schedules, upcoming events, etc, for parents and my students to see when they are at home. I think it is important to be connected with the students and their families which is another benefit of a teacher web page. I think that more and more teachers are beginning to create their own web pages, and I plan to utilize this form of technology in my future classroom.

Multiliteracies, E-literature and English Teaching.

This article discussed many different types of E-Literature and online literary resources. In the article, it was discussed how teachers should not have to choose either physical books or media literacy, but that the two types of literacies should work together as a partnership. I really liked this statement because I think that many people do not think of the two types of literacy as a partnership. I think that by using both in the classroom it can expose the students to the new technologies of the world but will also instill the use of physical books and their value as well. Students need to see the importance of both literacies, which is why a partnership of the two in the classroom is essential.

The article also discussed several different types of computer based literacy text. I had never realized how many different forms of digital media were actually available to be used in the classroom. The digitally originated texts are texts that have been published in digital format only and are usually on the internet or on a CD Rom. I think that these types of texts would be very easy to use in the classroom and I plan to incorporate some of them into my future lessons.

Lastly, the article discussed different types of websites available on the internet that are literacy based. I found the “fan” sites to be interesting because these sites were created based on a persons love for a particular book, such as Harry Potter. The creators of these sites want to share their favorite books with the world, which is so exciting to see. I think this is something that I could incorporate into my classroom by possibly having my students create a website about a book that they truly loved.