Week 2- Chapter 1 & 2 Reflection

Week 2- Chapter 1 & 2 Reflection

     After I finished reading chapters one and two I found myself going back and re-reading the classroom studies in chapter one with a better grasp of the ways multimodal text can be used in conjunction with new media for the purpose of literacy. The example I liked best was Mr. Cardenas’ class which “employs the pedagogy of play,” (Lankshear et al., 2013, pg. 26) in his New Media Journalism class. Students Play the role of journalists complete with all the necessary props like cameras, notebooks and press passes which give them access to move throughout their school in order to create stories that they deliver in a variety of forms. Students learn how to use different digital software to make meaningful multimodal text be that in the form of a video podcast, or traditional print publication.      

    One of the techniques used in Mr. Cardenas’ class is teaching ways to compose using new forms of online literacy practices. Instead of attempting to incorporate online social networks to make the academic content more engaging, his class content is structured around using those new media to create multimodal texts and evaluating them for their inherent academic value. This works to engage those students who are proficient at writing but disengaged from traditional classroom curriculum in other classes which “is mandated and designed primarily to prepare students for the state standardized test.” (Lankshear et al., 2013, pg. 27)     

    Chapter Two largely explored the topic of digital literacy itself. The author draws special attention to the way web 2.0 and content production has caused traditional media to shift and remix itself to meet the expectations of a modern audience and suggests educators likewise should remix their approach to literacy. “An important point is that literacies change over time due to socio-cultural processes.”(Lankshear et al., 2013, pg. 40) This opens up the larger question we must ask ourselves as educators who are interested in understanding literacy; What counts as literacy today? Also, understand that it may change tomorrow. This was eye-opening in the sense that the goal is not a singular redefinition to include modern forms under the umbrella, but an understanding of literacy as a fluid concept that changes with culture, technology, and society.

References: 

Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2013). A new literacies reader: Educational perspectives. Peter Lang.