Osler writes about the new definition of what being literate means, how it is continually and rapidly evolving, but how digital literacy is at the core of what students are going to need. Participatory or social media is at the hub of the collage, and means that everyone now has the capacity to be a creator as well as a consumer, everyone can be a writer. Teachers have the responsibility of promoting the skills associated with the new forms of digital literacy, and Osler offers eight guidelines for how this can be facilitated.
I was especially struck by the second of these, how we should value reading and writing now more than ever. This seems to negate my fear that the old skills of being able to communicate in written form on paper will simply be unnecessary in the future, because those same skills are required to write both essays and blogs in the digital world. Blog writing requires both brevity and clarity, two skills I constantly stress, while essay writing allows for more detailed exploration of themes and ideas. Both will remain relevant in the 21st century.
Osler believes that teachers will become guides, and will still be needed by students (fortunately!). We will not have to be complete experts, but instead will be managers and arbiters of standards of quality. The skills we are facilitating will last our students for a lifetime, even as technology continues to evolve, and we are helping our 21st century students tell their stories - which everyone wants to do. Teaching is going to change along with the digital landscape, but teachers themselves will not have to become purely technicians, and there will still be room for the craft of the profession to thrive.
No comments:
Post a Comment