"Much as we may embrace the affordances offered by changes in technology, we must also acknowledge that the school discourse is not only rooted in traditional construction of literacy (Marsh, 2003) but that it is also responsible for shaping children's perceptions of aspects of literacy (Levy, 2009b). "
My reaction to this quote is one of agreement. Of course new technologies are making things simpler in general. This includes schooling, in my opinion. Teachers can use many online resources to teach their students and have the students use them as well. This will prepare them for life outside of school such as the workforce, which is much more technological than past years. However, we can't abandon the traditional sense of schooling, either. I think a good mixture is a great solution to educate children with traditional aspects- such as textbooks, writing skills, and reading on physical text, as well as using digital tools to 'revamp' education in a sense. New tools such as smart boards, Ipads, and online games or programs can help students learn from a different perspective.
Chapter 11:
"Research focusing on what seem to be highly developed skills, such as information seeking, go further to demonstrate the dangers of assuming that everyday skills are a sufficient basis for making claims about educational skills. For example, many young people may have the ability to find information using digital technology but lack the information literacy skills to make effective decisions about the information sources they find (Coombes, 2009, Singh, Mallan & Giardina, 2008).
This excerpt from Chapter 11 is very relevant to my personal experiences. I remember in high school writing papers and having to do 'research' but using sources like Wiki. After college, I obviously now know how important it is to have reliable sources of information. I think that these skills should be taught earlier than college age students. Although some sources seem legitimate, they are often not true, or unreliable when compared to scholarly, peer reviewed articles and journals.
Chapter 12:
"First, is there a generational break that divides older and younger people by how each group uses technology? The answer is 'no'."
Chapter 12 really made things clear when it came to the term 'digital natives'. This quote stuck out because I think older generations are learning, too, what it's like to use all these new digital tools and resources. They may have to take a little more time to understand or not grasp the ENTIRE concept of some things, but there are also children out there who do not have the digital literacy tools that we commonly think this generation does. I think things even out in the long run of who contains digital literacy concepts.
Learning Literacy Skills
This meme represents the idea that when teaching digital literacy in schools, all aspects should be taught or touched upon. Students need to learn not only how to use these new skills, but what they should be looking for, as well. There is so much on the Internet and students need to know what is reliable information and what is garbage. It helps to know what to look for.. or what not to look for.
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