I have been thinking about copyright and safety issues since I completed my presentation on Hicks’ chapter 5. I wanted to know if Leu (2000) discussed this and reread his chapter in the Handbook of Reading Research.
Although Leu (2000) did not specifically talk about internet safety and copyright issues, he discussed very important ideas about literacy and technology I found more interesting. So....I have abandoned my search for safety and copyright issues for right now.
Leu (2000) discussed an issue about technology that I never considered before. He stated if literacy learning becomes more dependent on collaborative learning, students who prefer independent learning would be at a disadvantage compared to students who prefer and enjoy working with others. Leu was referring to the idea that technology is changing so quickly students and teachers cannot know everything about technology at one time. Student and teachers will be required to share information in order to successfully navigate the digital world. Leu provided the example of one person only having knowledge of web page construction and another person only knowing how to edit video clips. These people can trade knowledge and learn more about literacy together. Leu believes that these “social learning strategies” (p. 762) will be even more important than they are now, if technology continues to change so rapidly. I know that students depend on each other when working with technology. When I created my iMovie, my entire class worked collaboratively, sharing tips and knowledge about the software we were using. Students that are shy or introverted may not experience this same exchange of knowledge, leaving them at a disadvantage to others.
Leu (2000) discussed how technology is making literacy more deictic. Leu stated “For the first time in our history, we are unable to accurately anticipate the literacy requirements expected at the time of graduation for children who will enter school this year” (p. 760). Leu raised an excellent point that most of our policies, research, and instruction assumes the literacy of today will also be the literacy of tomorrow. I wonder if it is possible to “keep up” with technology or is it enough to anticipate the changes that will take place as we teach children the essential literacy skills of their time?
Leu (2000) discussed technology requiring different critical thinking skills because textbooks and traditional materials provided by a teacher are thought of as accurate and correct. When students enter the digital world, they are faced with websites created by people with specific objectives. Students must know how to decipher between contrived and misleading information. Students must be taught how to recognize respectable websites and websites that are designed to promote specific ideas. Teaching students how to access acceptable references and how to cross reference information will be increasingly important.
As I was writing about Leu’s (2000) ideas I was thinking about the sociocultural dimension of literacy (Kucer, 2005). If becoming a literate person requires membership to different groups, does membership to online groups count in the same way? How will a family’s use of a computer impact a student’s literacy skills? Will students be at a disadvantage and struggle with literacy because their parents don’t use a computer? I love all the questions that are coming to mind right now but I don’t think we will know the answers for a long time!!!
Kucer, S. B. (2005). Dimensions of literacy: A conceptual base of teaching reading and writing in school setting (2nd ed). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Leu, D. J. ( 2000). Literacy and technology: Deictic consequences for literacy education in an information age. In M.L. Kamil, P.B. Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, & R. Barr (Eds.), Handbook of reading research: Volume III (pp. 743-788). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
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