My new definition of “good” literacy and language education As the world changes, so do the inhabitants of that world. In our ever changing society we find the students no longer fit into the small box that was considered to be language and literacy education. We must now recognize that students are multi literate and that modes of communication, understanding and expression are not what they have always been. Not only are computers becoming an incredibly strong presence in our everyday lives but images and video are growing in their influence as we can see in things such as graphic novels, 3D movies and cell phones. As Janet Evans discusses in her text ‘Literacy Moves On’, “there are many dimensions to representation and communication.” (pg. 13) Texts incorporating these new dimensions are labeled as multimodal texts and have expanded to include graphics, film, text and even interactive media. Through my work in a Kindergarten classroom this year I have seen the impacts of these new medias and the immense understanding of these modes of which even young children are capable. I have had the opportunity to spend time working on the computers with these students and have witnessed their abilities to quickly grasp concepts of computer uses and techniques. As the job markets are quickly becoming increasingly dependent on computers and technology, I find it of the utmost importance that we develop these already burgeoning computer skills in this new generation and equip them with the skills necessary to succeed in what will become their new world. I believe that a good literacy program in today’s society will include many opportunities for students to look critically at and to work with many of these multimodal texts.
While images and graphics are not the only new aspects of multimodal texts I feel that I must pay them some extra attention at this time. This stems from my very recent work with children whose primary form of communication is images. While I see in my aforementioned kindergarten class that our primary form of assessing the students’ knowledge and of having students communicate is images, I don’t feel that we are properly developing the students’ ability to communicate in these modes. I found that Horn and Giocobbe’s book ‘Talking, drawing, writing: Lessons for our youngest writers’ really addressed this dilemma for me and provided me with many ideas to help combat this issue in the classroom. I really enjoyed the book's emphasis on the importance of teaching young children to be effective communicators through art and pictures while still developing their writing skills. This book points out that if we expect young students to communicate through drawing why do we not work to develop their drawing skills like we do the writing skills of older students? I feel that a child's development in literacy, even in small increments, is something that should be celebrated within the classroom. (Lindfors, ch. 1)
I believe that through these multidimensional forms of literacy, the act of differentiation and incorporating students' interests and individualities we will be at the very least one step closer to creating literacy and language education that is good for all students. I have also come to believe, through the course readings (Miller, ch. 1-4) and my work in several early years classrooms (including Ecole Constable Edward Finney School,Ecole Riverbend Community School, Ecole James Nisbet School, Linwood School and Buchanan School) that the physical classroom layout has a large impact on the classroom environment and should be arranged to engage students in their learning. Debbie Miller sums up my beliefs well when she says "I believe that classroom environments are most effective when they are literate and purposeful, organized and accessible, and, most of all, authentic" (pg. 23).
For ideas on how I intend to turn these beliefs into action click here.
As the world changes, so do the inhabitants of that world. In our ever changing society we find the students no longer fit into the small box that was considered to be language and literacy education. We must now recognize that students are multi literate and that modes of communication, understanding and expression are not what they have always been. Not only are computers becoming an incredibly strong presence in our everyday lives but images and video are growing in their influence as we can see in things such as graphic novels, 3D movies and cell phones. As Janet Evans discusses in her text ‘Literacy Moves On’, “there are many dimensions to representation and communication.” (pg. 13) Texts incorporating these new dimensions are labeled as multimodal texts and have expanded to include graphics, film, text and even interactive media. Through my work in a Kindergarten classroom this year I have seen the impacts of these new medias and the immense understanding of these modes of which even young children are capable. I have had the opportunity to spend time working on the computers with these students and have witnessed their abilities to quickly grasp concepts of computer uses and techniques. As the job markets are quickly becoming increasingly dependent on computers and technology, I find it of the utmost importance that we develop these already burgeoning computer skills in this new generation and equip them with the skills necessary to succeed in what will become their new world. I believe that a good literacy program in today’s society will include many opportunities for students to look critically at and to work with many of these multimodal texts.
While images and graphics are not the only new aspects of multimodal texts I feel that I must pay them some extra attention at this time. This stems from my very recent work with children whose primary form of communication is images. While I see in my aforementioned kindergarten class that our primary form of assessing the students’ knowledge and of having students communicate is images, I don’t feel that we are properly developing the students’ ability to communicate in these modes. I found that Horn and Giocobbe’s book ‘Talking, drawing, writing: Lessons for our youngest writers’ really addressed this dilemma for me and provided me with many ideas to help combat this issue in the classroom. I really enjoyed the book's emphasis on the importance of teaching young children to be effective communicators through art and pictures while still developing their writing skills. This book points out that if we expect young students to communicate through drawing why do we not work to develop their drawing skills like we do the writing skills of older students? I feel that a child's development in literacy, even in small increments, is something that should be celebrated within the classroom. (Lindfors, ch. 1)
I believe that through these multidimensional forms of literacy, the act of differentiation and incorporating students' interests and individualities we will be at the very least one step closer to creating literacy and language education that is good for all students. I have also come to believe, through the course readings (Miller, ch. 1-4) and my work in several early years classrooms (including Ecole Constable Edward Finney School, Ecole Riverbend Community School, Ecole James Nisbet School, Linwood School and Buchanan School) that the physical classroom layout has a large impact on the classroom environment and should be arranged to engage students in their learning. Debbie Miller sums up my beliefs well when she says "I believe that classroom environments are most effective when they are literate and purposeful, organized and accessible, and, most of all, authentic" (pg. 23).
For ideas on how I intend to turn these beliefs into action click here.