I like that chapter five began with information about the
various types of literacy that teachers must cultivate in their students. As much
as many of us dislike the many changes that are taking place in the way
students are brought up, we are entering a world where, as University of
Wisconsin professor James Paul Lee said, “print literacy is not enough.” The
so-called “21st Century Literacies” such as designing and sharing
information, as well as proficiency with technology, must be a focus of ours if
many of our students are to succeed in the future.
Although print literacy is extremely important, many jobs entail
the use of a computer and thus need employees who are IT literate. Skills
dealing with the evaluation of online resources are of paramount importance. Despite
the fact that many if not most of our students will be capable of finding
information online, teachers can really come into play when they need to defend
their sources. I thought the book did a great job summarizing the criteria for
evaluating web resources. Asking students to analyze the accuracy, authority,
objectivity, currency and coverage of web materials will force them to make
more informed choices on the internet and in all other media as well. Such critical
thinking skills will not only benefit students in school – they will be able to
use them for the rest of their lives.
I do have one issue with this week’s reading, though. On
page 118, Seymour Papert discusses “IT Fluency and FITness,” where he states
that fluency is obtained “by performing important-to-the-learner,
technology-based activities in real-world settings where a person’s actions
have meaningful consequences.” Shouldn't such instruction be the goal for all
education, no matter if technology is involved or not? Why is it that the focus
is on relevant education only when we begin to incorporate technology? Shouldn't teachers always strive for this high level of engagement?
I definitely agree with you that the kind of learning described on page 118 /should/ be the goal of all learning institutions, but I believe that this goal is a relatively new idea that hasn't been adopted universally yet. In much the same way that those schools which thoroughly adopt technology are seen as 'ahead of the curve', schools that adopt such a model are fairly ahead of the curve, too.
ReplyDeleteTraditionally, schools have existed to prepare people for the work-force, which meant preparing students for a very particular set of skills. Those more 'important-to-the-learner' skills were left to be developed on their own time, because that wasn't seen as the purpose of the classroom. Today, though, the roles seem to be flipping. Still, you provide an interesting summary and analysis of the chapter here.