Module 4: Learning from Multi-modal Texts: A Look at New Literacies

How would you approach bridging the gap between print texts primarily used at school and the digital literacies students are inundated with at home (blogs, Snapchat, YouTube, Twitter, video games)? Do you feel that social media apps, such as Snapchat or Twitter can be used constructively in the classroom setting?

I think that as teachers in the 21^st century, it is important for us to bridge the digital gap at school.  BC’s new curriculum focuses on the 21^st century learning and inquiry as mentioned below.

Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum-updateson

Thus, it is important to integrate digital literacies from home with print text at school.  By integrating with what the students are interested in and different modes of learning, it will engage the learner more and make learning more meaningful.

Frank Serafini’s article, “Reading Mulitmodal Texts in the 21^st Century” stresses the importance of developing “as many skills and strategies for interpreting visual images and design elements as they develop for making sense of written language.” (Serafini, 2012)  We live in a global world where there is a vast amount of information readily available in different forms at a finger tip.  It requires using many different skills to make sense of it all.  Here is Frank Serafini talking about teaching and students that is retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBhmkGv17lM:

This YouTube video below is retrieved from Miss Alexis' classroom at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se3G8LV40gg.  I think the video above is a good visual way to explain multi-modal texts and how we can integrate print with digital literacies to transcend learning.   

The choice of digital literacy has to be critically evaluated by the teacher and what would be beneficial for the students.  Also, it is important to teach our students about internet safety and protect their privacy on-line.  It is also crucial to have the students learn to be critical thinkers and evaluators of on-line resources for credibility and accuracy.

Blogs are a great way to help student writing and reflect about a print text that they just read.  Links and videos can easily be added to blogs to scaffold learning and provide deeper understanding.  They can also read the blogs of their favourite author or inquiry topic in print.  

YouTube is also a great resource to inquire about a particular topics.  Many authors have their own YouTube videos so that can link the print and digital literacies together.  It brings the book to life and adds more meaning by hearing the author read the book or talk about their rationale for writing the book.  For younger students, there is YouTube Kids that has videos that catered to children and are family friendly.  I am also quite a fan of listening and watching TedxTalks on YouTube.   

Video games can also be utilized in the classroom if selected appropriately.  They can use Scratch to make digital stories of the printed resource that they read and also learn to code their own video game.  Minecraft is another creative, innovative, problem solving, and cooperative video game that can link print together.   Students have used it to build collaboratively their own virtual Rome back during the early days of the Roman Republic.  Minecraft also a series of printed books and how to books that can be used together with the video game.  Coding can be learned on Minecraft at https://code.org/minecraft.  They also off an offline version if the user does not have internet.

Retrieved from https://code.org/minecraft

In response to the second question, I did an inquiry search online about social media and school.  I decided to look for both the positive and negatives of using social media.

There are a wealth of information on the internet that offers suggestions on using social media positively such as:

Matt Miller’s article, “15 Ways to Use Snapchat in classes and School” that can be found at http://ditchthattextbook.com/2016/04/11/15-ways-to-use-snapchat-in-classes-and-schools/

Rusul Alruball's article, "An Academic Use for Social Media" that can be found at
https://www.edutopia.org/article/academic-use-social-media

Samantha Miller’s article, “50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom” that can be found at http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom

Another positive aspect of social media is that it builds connections and the students can learn and follow experts for their inquiry need.  Cath Post has a list of "Twitterpated Kids:  Safe Twitter Feeds for Kids to Follow" that can be found are https://geekdad.com/2014/02/safe-twitter-feeds-for-kids/

There are also negative aspects of social media such as cyberbullying, fake accounts, and links to inappropriate pictures.  The following articles list some pros and cons of social media in schools:

https://www.teachthought.com/technology/6-pros-cons-social-media-classroom/

https://www.schooliseasy.com/2014/02/social-media-in-the-classroom/

Social media can be used constructively in the classroom but there are many factors to be considered and decided as a school community.  Such factors are the needs of the school community (students, teachers, parents, administrators, district), age appropriateness for the learners, school policy, privacy issues, safety issues, teacher's understanding of technology, and equal access.  It is our responsibility to evaluate and select what would be beneficial to our learners and how best to support learning/literacy that will meet their 21st century needs.

If the teacher is going to use social media in the classroom, it is important to keep it a private group and to teach them how to stay safe on social media.  Carleton University offers "10 Tips to Stay Safe on Social Media" that can be found at https://carleton.ca/its/2016/social-media-safety/ and Tanner Higgin's article, "Protecting Student Privacy on Social Media",  that can be found at https://www.edutopia.org/article/protecting-student-privacy-social-media

Essential Questions:

How does a LC lead the way into the 21^st century learning and encourages a participatory school culture so that it is equitable for all and meets all learning needs?  What are the best teaching practices and pedagogy for a LC that integrates multiliteracies and multimodal ways of learning?

References:

5 Pros and Cons of Social Media in the classroom. School is Easy Tutoring.  Retrieved on September 30, 2017 from https://www.schooliseasy.com/2014/02/social-media-in-the-classroom/

10 tips to Stay Safe on Social Media. (2016).  Information Technology Services, Carleton University. Retrieved from https://carleton.ca/its/2016/social-media-safety/

Alruball, Rusul. (2017).  An Academic Use for Social Media.  Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation.  Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/academic-use-social-media

BC's New Curriculum. Retrieved September 30, 2017 from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca

Got a Minute: Frank Serafini on Teaching. (2017).  Arizona State University, Tempe Campus. [YouTube].  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBhmkGv17lM

Hosler, Aimee. (2013)  6 Pros and Cons of Social Media in the Classroom.  Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/technology/6-pros-cons-social-media-classroom/

Higgin, Tanner. (2017).  Protecting Student Privacy on Social Media.  Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation.  Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/protecting-student-privacy-social-media

  

Miller, Matt. 15 Ways to Use Snapchat in Classes and School.  Ditch that Textbook.  [Blog].  Retrieved September 26, 2017 from http://ditchthattextbook.com/2016/04/11/15-ways-to-use-snapchat-in-classes-and-schools/ 

Miller, Sarah. 50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom.  Teach Hub.com.  Retrieved September 26, 2017 from http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom

Multimodal Texts. (2014).  Miss Alexis' classroom.  [YouTube]  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se3G8LV40gg

Post, Cathe.  (2014) Twittered Kids:  Safe Twitter Feeds for Kids to Follow.  GeekDad.  Retrieved from https://geekdad.com/2014/02/safe-twitter-feeds-for-kids/

Serafini, Frank. (2012).  Reading Multimodal Texts in the 21st Century. Mid-South Education Research Association.  Research in the Schools. Vol. 19, No. 1, 26-32

Serafini, Frank.  Southwest Educational Consultants Inc.  Retrieved September 30, 2017 from http://www.frankserafini.com

YouTube Education.  Retrieved September 30, 2017 from https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3yA8nDwraeOfnYfBWun83g

Youtube Kids.  Retrieved September 30, 2017 from https://kids.youtube.com.