Weekly Reading 2

1. How have these readings changed, confirmed, or complicated your thinking about the effects of digital media on young people's abilities to read and write?

The readings confirm for me that digital media helps students ability to read and write. Kids take more time to think about well-constructed tweets or Facebook updates than they do on any writing assignment.  I feel that the more exposure to reading and writing the better. A child in school cannot freely think and write like they do through digital media. We constrict their creativity by making them write research papers (although they do need to know HOW to write one) or “read the following excerpt and write a summary about what you read”.  I completely agree with the NCTE’s view that when a child who comes from a home where school is not a primary focus, out-of-school writing may change their attitudes towards school. Students are drawn to technology and express themselves without realizing they are practicing writing skills.

1. 2.   How have these readings changed, confirmed, or complicated your thinking about the effects of school-based writing instruction on young people abilities to read and write?

I do not feel like we focus on writing enough in school but how do we cram it all in?  I love the Scholastic’s article that has fun ways to promote digital literacy in the classroom.  The entire article is how I view the use of phones in class. I am not bothered by a student who sends a text every now and then or looks at their phone for whatever the reason. If a child cannot read, how can a child answer a text message? The lingo that students create is thinking outside the box.

1. 3.   What changes do you think educators need to make so that reading and writing in school have a more positive effect on children's abilities to read and write?

I think that educators need to ‘loosen’ up when it comes to adhering to strict guidelines. I think sometimes we all fall into the trap of “you must write a five paragraph essay including the following…” This inhibits the students’ ability to challenge them into expressing ideas differently. There are so many different avenues we can explore when we have a student write. Create a web page, complete PowerPoint presentations (which also help with public speaking), create cartoon strips, make MP3’s of a student’s work, or picture collage. A lot of times teachers feel as though they do not have time to create such elaborate lesson plans but the information is on the Internet yet some still refuse to broaden their horizons.

 I chose this image as it represents the way the world is becoming. Children are growing up with technology that is only now becoming readily available to just about everyone. I have watched two year-olds grab their mother's cell phone, open it up, and then switch the pages to find the app they are searching to play. 

The YouTube video below has a mixture of students and educators talking about digital media in general. The students are saying that they use it everyday, why buy textbooks when they are online, and the way they communicate and write is done digitally. The educators are saying that we need to have a serious discussion on how we can use media to enhance the learning. We are two steps behind the kids!

Works cited:

Can Texting Help With Spelling? | Scholastic.com. (n.d.). Scholastic Teachers. Retrieved May 30, 2014, from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/can-texting-help-spelling

dot.Momming. (2011, August 21). : Part 2: Digital Literacy and Learning to Read. Retrieved June 1, 2014, from http://dotmomming.blogspot.com/2011/08/part-2-digital-literacy-and-learning-to.html