When the word was first used, ‘literacy’ had a very traditional meaning: the ability to read and write (“Literacy,” 2011). Being literate was the norm, it was required for all and it distinguished race and class. However, as times change and culture emerges and grows, people acquire new knowledge, such as technology, that can very well be identified as literacy, or media literacy. As technology leads the 21st century, students are now expected to excel and master media literacy as well textual literacy (Jenkins, Clinton, Purushotma, Robison & Weigel, 2006). This is because the meaning of the word ‘literacy’ evolves into “the set of abilities and skills where aural, visual, and digital literacy overlap” (New Media Consortium as cited in Jenkins et al., 2006, pg. 19). Not only do students need to master reading and writing, they now have to acquire media literacy skills such as technical skills, or research skills (Jenkins et al., 2006). They must also understand how media constructs our views of the world, and the economy, culture, and motivation behind the media production (Jenkins et al., 2006). In order for students to master the mentioned skills, teachers and educators need to be convinced that these skills are necessary to keep students up to standard of new literacies. There is a division among adults and educators about what counts as literacy. All educators understand that as technology advances, they must re-evaluate their curriculum to include these new literacies. However, they do not agree on the extent of media that needs to be incorporated in the classroom. Some adults believe that traditional media is sufficient for the classroom context, while others understand that new media literacies in the classroom must be ta... ... middle of paper ... ...ducators to ensure our students’ learning and success will be worthwhile as long as we put our students and their achievements first. Works Cited Boyd, D. (2008). Why youth [heart] social network sites: The role of networked publics in teenage social life. In D. Buckingham (Ed.), Youth, identity, and digital media, pp. 119-142. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Jenkins, H., Clinton, K., Purushotma, R., Robison, A. J., and Weigel, M. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Chicago, IL: MacArthur Foundation. Literacy. (n.d.) In Cambridge dictionaries online. Retrieved from http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/literacy?q=literacy Maloy, R. W., Verock-O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S. A., and Park Woolf, B. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.
Finding a definition of literacy is not as easy as it sounds. The Webster definition says that to be literate is to be” able to read and write.” But to some researchers, this definition is too simplistic, leading to multiple models of literacy. Most Americans adhere to the autonomous model, which falls closest to the standard, dictionary definition. Believers in this form say that literacy is a cognitive activity that students learn like any other basic skill. It has a set of proficiencies that one must master in order to be capable of decoding and encoding text (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). A competing theory is the ideological model, which claims literacy is intrinsically linked to culture, and therefore what constitutes a “literate” individual is ever-changing. Society is the largest influence on literacy, according to this thought, and it is affected by politics, religion, philosophy and more (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). These two are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, some studies recognize “literacy as competence,” which is a “measure of competence to do a given task or work in a given field,” (SIL International, 1999) such as being computer literate. Although more researchers are recognizing and exploring multiple literacies, the one that most influences American schools is the autonomous, cognitive model – the ability to read and write. For many, it seems a simple task, but millions of adolescents are struggling or reluctant readers, and there are many reasons why young readers have difficulty with reading. XXXXXX------NEED HELP WITH THESIS STATEMENT HERE PLEASE—(This paper will focus on the effects of low reading skills, some of the possible causes of reluctant and struggling readership...
There are numerous studies on the impact of advancing technology on adolescents, usually leading to the conclusion that social media networks often take part in creating the teen to isolate themselves from anything other than the internet. Social media however, does allow anyone to connect to the people living on the other side of the world. It is a way to keep in touch with old friends, and meet new people no matter where they live. Social media is often used to keep up with the latest news and often informs users of what is going on before the news channels catch it. It is obvious that social media has various positive uses. While these points are important, the fact that the younger generation spends most of their time with their heads down looking at a screen rather than engaged in conversation takes precedence. An article by Morgan Hampton states that,“children and teens spend 75% of their waking lives with their eyes fixed on a screen.” Social media connects people through a screen, but cannot excuse the fact that people are being disconnected from what is right in front of
It is our duty to students to provide them with the skills to be literate in an increasingly complex world. The skills we teach must build a foundation for not only reading and writing, but literacy in media, science, art and history as well. We are teaching future generations the skills that they will need to grow and thrive in their time, not ours, and so we must prepare them for the next 100 years, where things will be growing and changing in ways that we could never predict. This is why literacy is important, and why it is even more important that we inform student’s sensibilities and ability to make informed decisions based on available facts. Perkins (2009) suggest that literacy is key to the development of life-long learning skills, and so it must be said that developing these “literacy” skills at a young age will lead to more successful learning all through life. It has never been our duty to predict the future, just to equip students with the tools to best work in the
In Austin McCann's Impact of Social Media on Teens articles he raises that "social networking is turning out to be more than a piece of their reality, its turning into their reality." Teens grumble about always being pushed with homework, however perhaps homework isn't the fundamental wellspring of the anxiety. Ordinary Health magazine expresses that, on insights, a young person who invests more energy open air is for the most part a more content and healthier child. Be that as it may, since 2000, the time adolescents spend outside has diminished altogether bringing on more despondency and heftiness. Not just does it influence wellbeing, social networking denies folks from having an intensive discussion with their youngsters without them checking their telephone. Despite the fact that the constructive outcome of having an online networking profile is to correspond with companions/family, they don't even have the respectability to lift their head and take part in a discussion. Appreciating the easily overlooked details around them turns into a troublesome errand to the normal adolescent when they're excessively caught up with tweeting about it. The repudiating impacts of it goes to demonstrate that social networking is not all it is talked up to
Looking back over the course of the semester, I feel that I learned many new and interesting uses for technology within the classroom – both for classrooms that have a lot of technology and for classrooms that are limited with technology. For the majority of the class, we utilized William Kists’ book The Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the New Media Age (2010), which provided multiple modes of instruction that both utilized and/or created technology. One of the first things that I remember, and consequently that stuck with me through the course’s entirety, is that individuals must treat everything as a text. Even a garden is a text. The statement made me change the way that I traditionally viewed Language Arts both as a student and as a teacher, as I very narrowly saw literature and works of the like as texts only; however, by considering nearly anything as a text, one can analyze, study, and even expand his/her knowledge. Kist (2010) states that society is “experiencing a vast transformation of the way we “read” and “write,” and a broadening of the way we conceptualize “literacy” (p. 2). In order to begin to experience and learn with the modern classroom and technologically advanced students, individuals must begin to see new things as literature and analyze those things in a similar manner.
According to Ministry of Education’s Resource Book “Media literacy is one of the few instruments that enables teachers and students to challenge the great inequalities in knowledge and power that exist between those who manufacture information in their own interests and those who consume it innocently as news or entertainment.” Media literacy is a course to help students separate fantasy from reality in the media. Media literacy is a set of skills that enables people to critically analyze messages in the media. By using an inquiry-based instructional model, media literacy encourages people to ask questions about what they watch, see, and read.
...ila. "Youth And The (Potential) Power Of Social Media."Youth Studies Australia 32.3 (2013): 69. Advanced Placement Source. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.v
Most common among young adults and teens, social networking plays a significant role in the social lives of adolescents. The teenage years are “a time of identity formation and role development” (Pew Internet and American Life Project 11). Online identity among friends and peers has now become as significant as one’s own personal identity, in that online information can be seen by many and online interactions have become a primary source of communication. As a result, teens tend to concentrate greatly on social life and now a majority use social networking sites and other social media as an outlet for this personal growth.
The correlation between the development of youth and social media has become blatant. Although few of the consequences are favorable, the majority have displayed a negative impact. The drive social media can implement on youth is exceptional. The pressure and strain social media can place on our youth is an enduring force which leads individuals to question themselves as a person and feel inclined to fit a norm expressed in media and social media of our society. The underlying force social media can play in the lives of the youth is astonishing and is a force that must be dealt with and controlled, for it not only holds the power to give an individual strength, but also to break them down.
Media literacy gives us the ability to understand the information and process the underlying meanings within. According to the video “Media Literacy in the 21st Century Classroom” (2009), media literacy is defined as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in all its forms. The video “Media Literacy in the 21st Century Classroom” (2009) refers to media literacy as a skill that allows people to be critical thinkers, which makes it more difficult for others to influence a person’s thoughts and ideas. With the massive amounts of media available, we need to be able to decipher the meanings beneath the messages. Media literacy is more important than ever in today’s society because of the advancements in technology and the increase of all forms of media. In today’s society, we should make an effort to change our ways and use a culturalist approach to media literacy. “A culturalist approach to media literacy education views mass media as an integral part of the cultural lives of youth, not an outside force to be resisted or overcome” (Mittell 391). With the amount of media we are all exposed to, we need to give our younger generation the appropriate education on how to analyze and evaluate the media that they will be bombarded with. With the evolution of technology and media, it is absolutely crucial that we include media literacy in the education process for the sake of the younger
If one asked “What is media literacy?” a majority of people would be puzzled. Some would say that it is the ‘written’ part of media that is not usually seen or a written layout of how media should be produced. The bulk of people would say they have no idea what media literacy is. People in today’s society should be informed about media literacy. Society should be informed of what media literacy exactly is and how it applies to the field of communications.
Media literacy is defined as "the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate messages in a variety of forms" (Know TV). In more practical terms, media literacy means questioning the media and interpreting its many messages accordingly. Students are exposed to mass quantities of media on a daily basis. They watch television and movies, read books, newspapers, and magazines, listen to music, and in more recent years explore the Internet. This extreme exposure to media outlets leads to the need for education about the media. Media literacy is one way to help educate students about issues in which they are already actively engaged. Media literacy should be implemented into school curriculums as a beneficial learning tool for all students.
Literacy, what is it? When this question was asked, my immediate thought was being able to read and write, duh. But as I sat back in my chair and tried to come up with something to say to the class, I realized literacy is not truly defined by that short definition provided when looked up in the dictionary. Literacy has been an important part every civilization, enabling the recording and sharing of history, thoughts, and ideas. It has a place in every aspect of society. From cooking, to science, to religion, literacy knows no bounds. Although literacy is often thought of as the ability to read and write in an academic setting, to me literacy is more beneficial when used outside of an educational context. Literacy in its most significant form is being able to decipher emotions and feelings, finding productive solutions to the problems, and sharing with others.
With the birth of the Internet roughly twenty-five years ago, came a new medium for language use; and, thus, a new public for sharing and exchanging information. In a society that is largely information and technology driven, new communication and screen-based technologies have become the culturally diverse ways of acquiring knowledge and developing cognitive styles through literacy around the world. Meta-communicative technologies, like popular social media sites and other virtual communication platforms, are the contemporary institutions of the public sphere where people navigate social relations, exchange information and construct competences by participating in different forms of literacies.
Writing Prompt: In an age of information, are Americans more or less literate then they used to be? Persuade the reader to agree with the paper's position while exploring the consequences of this trend. With advances in technology, more and more people are becoming digital literate. What is "digital literacy"? Research and define this term, and decide whether or not this is a necessary skill in today's society. Be sure to support your opinion using researched facts and thought out reasons