Transitioning from Knowledge to Synthesis - Reflection
What does it mean to be literate in today’s classroom environment? The exposure of technology has transformed the definition of traditional ideas of being literate in the past and expanded the ideas of being literate to include digital skills found in our classrooms today. When learning about these new literacy skills throughout this course one of the most noteworthy elements I became aware of in teaching these skills is the importance students becoming more fluent in developing strategies to read, write, evaluate, and communicate in the new digital environment technology has offered (Hartman, 2009). The new knowledge and experience using these new literacy skills will influence my ability to implement a more meaningful and useful lesson that will support 21st century fluency skills for my students.
Much of the information our students read is through web-based resources in today’s society (Hartman, 2009). It has become evident how students today learn differently due to the advances in technology. However, throughout the course I was surprised at how much the ideas of literacy have changed due to technology. The students of today have been noted as digital learners since they have been exposed to technology at an early age. I believe often educators take for granted that they are more literate in regards to their technology skills. The fact even though these students have some basic knowledge of how to use the web they are unaware of many features that would require them to be literate outlined in the new literacy standards. The knowledge I gained from this course allowed me to become more aware to implement 21st century fluency skills in my lessons. Skills especially in reading, searching, writing, evaluating, and communicating with digital formats are crucial areas that teachers need to model and guide our students though in order for them to develop and build upon 21st century fluency skills to be viewed as literate (Jukes, . Inquiry-based projects are valuable tools for students to collaborate, thinking critically, creatively, and responsibly during the learning process while applying 21st century learning skills (Armstrong, 2009). In fact I believe strategies I was introduced to in his course such as the “Quest” process. This strategy is useful in having students apply new literacy skills when reading and writing in a digital environment in order to gain new knowledge. They will also learn to choose the best format to share this new knowledge by constructing an artifact using a multimedia tool or another form of communication in both a verbal or non-verbal format (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007).
As a result, one professional development goal I would like to accomplish is to share the knowledge I have gained through these new literacy skills to enhance my instructional practices. I intend to provide more instructional opportunities for my students to use new literacy skills. To achieve this goal I would implement more inquiry-based projects within my lessons. These activities would allow my students to apply the “QUEST” strategy so they will be better able to read, write, search, locate, evaluate, and transform information found on the web in order to develop new knowledge (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007). These are the same skills they will need to communicate and function in the workplace of today and that of the future. I believe in achieving this goal I will be better able to prepare my students for any future endeavor that they might pursue.
Armstrong, S. (2009, July). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom,. “Inquiry-based Projects”. (Laureate, CD-ROM, 2009 release).
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry.New York: The Guilford Press.
Hartman, D. (2009, July). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom,. “Developing Students’ Digital Literacy”. (Laureate, CD-ROM, 2009 release).
Hartman, D. (2009, July). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom,. “New Literacies”. (Laureate, CD-ROM, 2009 release).
Jukes, I., & Macdonald B. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Retrieved from http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca.pdf
