How digital and media literacies are woven into a fourth grade class room
As the Internet continues to change and grow, new literacies have emerged which involve the use of digital and media technologies. It is crucial that students are able to comprehend and adapt to these literacy requirements if they are to become successful, productive members of society.
Part of the problem is that many teachers themselves, particularly the older ones, may not have experience with the new literacies that are out there, and thus they are unable to lay the groundwork for their students to transition. Their skills may still be rooted in the old style of literacy teaching which focused on the use of paper and pencil. In order to teach effectively in
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We assume that they know all about it, but the fact of the matter is that two thirds of teachers feel that they themselves are not experienced enough to use the technology they are to teach to their students. There are many other difficulties which teachers must cope with too.
Things such as lack of resources, their own lack of knowledge and the necessary skills (which stems from being underprepared by the schools in the technological fields they are supposed to teach), failure of school leadership, teachers' own opinions towards new technology, and evaluations (which fail to take into consideration new expectations. Here are three essential items to consider before attempting to introduce new literacies to classrooms:
1. The mere use of software programs on computers is not enough to ready students for new literacies' experiences.
2. New literacies are great, but they are also in an unending state of flux, or change and necessitate that teachers accept and promote these changes regardless of how they actually feel about them.
3. New literacies are a must in all classrooms in order to ensure that equal opportunities are available to all students and that they are able to take advantage of