In my previous post I realize now (thanks to my professor and classmates) that I failed to define what exact type of literacy I was focusing on as it pertains to virtual school English/Language Arts learning. So, I am seeking here to clarify what I mean and support my ideas further.
Being aware that there are many different types of literacy (computer, math, science, business lingo, etc.) the kinds I am focusing on are mainly the traditional forms of reading and writing (and all subcategories), but because of the unique opportunities presented in the virtual school using digital tools, I am also including information and communication technology (ICT) literacy. I believe that the virtual school offers an opportunity for its learners to become literate in the 21st century sense, which includes all of the traditional expectations of a literate person and adds the ICT literacy. However, while virtual school develops these skills, for (quick) success I believe it also requires students to have a minimal amount of preexisting abilities/knowledge.
According to Gabriel (2005), online learning environments allow for students to engage in interpersonal sharing activities, problem solving and information collection and analysis. In order to successfully use the virtual environment for these activities, however, she notes that students must utilize both traditional literacy and that of ICT. All of these activities, she says, involve communication and information sharing, hallmarks of any literacy.
Gabriel notes that the International Reading Association, International Society for Technology in Education and the National Council of Teachers of English, all call for integration of ICT literacy standards in the classroom today. But because teachers are already hard-pressed to cover existing standards and material, she says the best way to accomplish this is not to tack on ICT literacy to the existing curriculum, but rather, integrate it into learning activities. For example, rather than write a brief reading response to a literature selection, the student could send the teacher and e-mail instead, or post to a blog. This would allow the student to engage both in the traditional forms of literacy and ICT.
Now, you can do this in the traditional classroom and all teachers should if they're able, however, the very nature of the virtual school English class environment requires that it be already integrated in this way. Further, Gabriel calls for a constructivist approach to this type of integration. Again, this is the nature of the virtual school, where it "builds on students' capacity to learn independently and to create their own understanding within a context" and "the teacher acts as a guide who organizes and facilities learning experiences within the classroom" (p. 97).
Additionally, Gabriel posits that learning in the online environment supports literacy skills development because students: Read text in various forms (hyperlinks, images, interpersonal communication); "write" text in responding to communication and assignments, writing notes in a word program, inputting/writing data on Web site designs or blogs; design and present written and visual communication for an audience.
Once more, from what I've learned about the virtual school high school English classroom, these are the types of learning activities that are taking place. But rather it be in a traditional school where the teacher is stretched paper thin to design and implement learning activities, it can be difficult to integrate digital tools into learning activities on a regular basis. Also, to support literacy skills, both traditional and ICT literacy, the teacher must have access for his/her students to digital tools and in many classrooms this is still not a reality. For the virtual school, everything is already created in and designed for use in the digital realm and must be accessed in this way. It is made for 21st century literacy.
Reference:
Gabriel, M. (2005). Developing literacy with online learning environments. In Asselin, M. & Doiron, R. (Eds.) Literacy, libraries and learning: Using books to promote reading, writing and research. 97-106. Available at: http://www.stenhouse.com/pdfs/8196ch08.pdf
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I agree that students who have some preexisting ability to comprehend and communicate effectively via the written word will be at an advantage on an online course. Consider how much we have to write and communicate clearly within our own online educational experience. It's an interesting chicken and egg question. Does the online environment facilitate better literacy skills or do better literacy skills facilitate more effective online learning? Of course it seems like the two views are complimentary, but it would be interesting to learn to what degree one effects the other and through what means.
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