Literacy and the Digital Brain

Christine CosentinoYork Catholic District School BoardSt. Jean de Brebeuf C.H.S.

A typical day at St. Jean de Brebeuf…

Something to chew on…

• Recent research has revealed that students, in the span of a typical semester, will generate approximately 42 pages worth of work for all classes, whereas they will produce in excess of 500 pages in email and text messages.

The 21st Century

Learner…

DIGITAL-AGE LITERACY

-basic, scientific, economic and technological literacies

-visual and informational literacies

-multicultural literacy and global awareness

INVENTIVE THINKING

-adaptability, managing complexity and self-direction

-curiosity, creativity and risk-taking

-higher-order thinking and

sound reasoning

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

-teaming, collaboration and interpersonal skills

-personal, social and civic responsibility

-interactive communication

HIGH PRODUCTIVITY

-prioritize, plan and manage for results

-effective use of real-world tools

-relevant, high-quality products

The “Net Generation”

• Also known as MillennialsMillennials– School has always involved access to

computers, the Internet– Daily communication involves email,

text messaging, blogs and cell phones– Academically diverse– Consumed by extra-curricular

activities– Thrive in group settings– Tinkerers– Ethnically and racially diverse

Millennials Want to Learn…

• With technology• With one another• Online• In their own time• In their own place• Doing things that matter

•Multitasking / toggling

•Multimedia learning

•Online social networking

•Online information searching

•Games, simulations, creative expressions

Digital Learners Engage By…

Your Brain on Google…

Your brain on video games

According to Gee (2000):

• “The New Literacy Studies are based on the view that reading and writing only make sense when studied in the context of the social and cultural (and we can add historical, political and economic) practices of which they are but a part.”

Literacy is:

• Social practice• How we use language through

different media• Oral communication• Reading• Writing

Two Basic Categories…

• Tool Literacies–refers to emergences of new technological tools in society

• Literacies of Representation–analyzing information and understanding how meaning is created

This was revolutionary…

• Efficient and uniform dissemination of knowledge

• Fueled scientific, political and social change on a scale unlike any other invention in history

Web 1.0 Web 2.0

Today’s Revolution…

• Social affiliations and networking

• Being online vs. going online

• The web as an application platform

• Digital self-expression; defining and claiming of one’s voice

A New Paradigm!

Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy Supported by Web 2.0 Applications

Creating Opportunities

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG0wi1m-89o&feature=related

The Total Brain Experience!

Blogs

Blogs are powerful communication tools. Blogs are powerful publishing tools.

But blogging (the verb) is still much more than

that to me.

Blogging, as in reading and thinking and then

writing, is connecting and learning.

Will Richardson 2006

Limited Only by Your Imagination

• Teachers– Content-related blog as

professional practice – Networking and personal

knowledge sharing – Instructional tips for

students – Course announcements

and readings – Annotated links

• Students –Reflective or writing

journals

–Assignment submission and review

–Dialogue for groupwork

–E-portfolios

–Share course-related resources

Why should students blog?

• Encourages students to write• Communicate through an exciting

medium that engages the learner• Contribute to collective knowledge • Construct knowledge• Use a tool that studentsknow how to

use

Blogging as Participation…

• Format encourages participation• Creation of community• A new cultural form of expression• Not the norm• Hybrid journaling

Logistics

• Send a letter home to parents/guardians informing them about the class blog; secure permission to post photos and videos of their children; reassure the security of the site

• Inform school principal and department head; forward blog URL

• Email addresses are not exchanged or collected

Blogger

• Free blog creation site• Upload videos and images in

postings• Embed widgets and gadgets• Users need a pre-existing email

address that is registered as a “Google Account”

SlideShare

• SlideShare is a free service for sharing presentations and slideshows

• Register to use with an email address• Users can upload PowerPoint, OpenOffice,

Keynote or PDF presentations, tag them, embed them into blogs or websites, browse others' presentations, and comment on individual slides

• Transcripts of presentations will be indexed by internet search engines and show up in search results

http://www.slideshare.net

Keepvid

• Online video converter– Select from various formats and save

video files to your desktop/portable drive

• Free to use• No registration required

Why would we do this?

• A way to differentiate instruction• Promote engagement using various Promote engagement using various

mediamedia • Free! (so these applications fit

everyone’s budget…)• Students ALREADY know how to use Students ALREADY know how to use

these applicationsthese applications

Modelling is Key

• Ethical and responsible use of technology

• Time and place• Appropriate

language• Rules of

engagement

For more information and resources:

• Visit the session blog!– Today’s power point presentation– Web 2.0 tip sheets– Sneak a peek at my class blogs– Helpful websites– Professional reading

http://literacyandthedigitalbrain.blogspot.com