Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practices Chapter 4:
"The lengthy apprenticeship in learning to read and write in order to access information is linked, in this view, to maturation and the path to adulthood."(Carrington, p. 67).
I do agree with this statement to some degree. Learning to read and write is a lengthy process and continues well into adulthood but I don't think that it is the path to maturation. Being able to read and write is critical when it comes to holding a job and supporting yourself. Some people never truly "grow up" and become a mature adult. Maturation is more a state of mind, to me, than it is a learned skill.
Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practices Chapter 5:
"We therefore believe it is useful for teacher to accommodate this notion of multiple literacies and to understand texts as constructed differently when literacy is used to perform different functions in our everyday lives."(Davies & Merchant, p. 83).
Teachers should absolutely accommodate multiple literacies within the classroom. As we look at online texts, such as blogs and social media sites, we can make those connections to the social aspect of things. We can incorporate a classroom blog or a classroom Facebook page (if allowed by your school) as a way to have the students to communicate with other students and share information. I love the idea of being able to have " electronic pen pals" with other students from other schools. I think this would benefit our students and have them to develop those multiple literacies.
Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practices Chapter 6:
"The whole concept of gameplay, and the notion that students might actually learn in game-like environments, contrasts with dominant interpretations of the curriculum." (Merchant, p. 103).
Chapter 6 was a little bit confusing to me. I don't really understand the concept of gameplay within the classroom. Are they talking about a virtual world where the students communicate with one another and role play? I don't know if this would be something that I would consider trying this in my classroom. I don't think that the students in my area would be able to handle that type of learning without taking advantage. There are still some forms of technology that I am uncomfortable with and this is one of them.
As I have previously stated, I do like the idea of blogging in the classroom. I think it would be nice for the students to keep an online notebook to write down their ideas and discussions and have other students leave feedback. I am not a fan of Wikipedia. The fact that anyone can log in and change the information makes it a very unreliable source for information. I have always been told to never use information from Wikipedia because you never knew if it was true or not. Our students need to know where to find reliable and trusted information. And I have also said that I probably would not try the virtual world gameplay. I don't think that the students in my district could handle that type of activity without constant monitoring and proximity control.
I am not sure about the CCSS for the blogging and the Wikipedia because I do believe that we are moving away from these standards. The only reason I say this is because I am currently at a workshop and we have discussed the shift in the Common Core Standards. Topics that we used to teach in third or fourth grade are now being shifted into fifth or sixth grade.
Illuminated Text:
Illuminated Text from Chapter 6
I was confused with that part in chapter 6 as well. I read over a few sections 2 or 3 times and still didn't quite know what they were referring to. When I was a long term sub last year, my 2nd graders loved going to the computer lab to play on Cool Math and other educational sites. I was amazed at some of the games; the students were really involved and actually had to use their prior knowledge. Some games are good for kids, while others aren't (in my opinion). I also spoke about using blogs in class. I think the students would enjoy it!
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