New Literacies

New technology is changing literacy in so many ways that it is almost too overwhelming to think about. After reading the article, it is clear that with the the introduction of the Internet and other information and communication technologies, the world has been forever changed. In the article, it stated that students entering school now will have a completely different experience in the beginning of their school career than by the end of it. This article has a copyright of 2004, and I started my undergraduate studies in 2002, and I must say that so many new technologies were introduced to me during my undergraduate experience. I can remember still using a disposable camera instead of digital, listening to Cd's before I was able to download music from the Internet, and reading the paper instead of looking news up online. By my sophomore year, I was introduced to Direct Connect (a place to download music), digital cameras, mp3 players, among other things. Only a year ago I was introduced to Wikipedia and ever since, I use it to find information on almost anything. I feel that during my few years in school, my ability to maneuver these various technologies has greatly increased and in addition, the improvement and innovations that are being made and that have been made, have come at a increasingly rapid pace.

In terms of the effects that the Internet and other ICT's have had on literacy, I think there are many. I feel that, for one, there has been a whole new sector added to literacy. I mean by this that being literate is just as much being able to use the computer as it is being able to read and write. In order to fully function in society these days, a person needs to know how to email and go to various websites. A person needs to be able to go onto the Internet and extract necessary information for a project, whether it be a project for school or for work. Cyber space really is an entirely different world that requires constant visitation. In addition, the article discusses how students and people need to be taught how to "critically evaluate that information, sorting out accurate information from inaccurate information...(on the) Internet where anyone may publish anything". I think this is an extremely vital skill that must be taught to everyone, especially young students. Growing up, I really believed that anything I read in a text book or newspaper was factual. While I now know that that might not have always been the case, I feel that the Internet poses a much larger problem to young students today than I ever had to deal with, in terms of deciphering which information is truthful. Students must be taught to be skeptical of what they read and see on the Internet.

Also, the article states, "We need to support the development of effective collaboration and communication skills using new communication technologies if we wish to prepare our children for their futures in a world where these skills are so important." I definitely agree with this statement. Being able to communicate with these new technologies definitely affects our being literate human beings. In today's world, we need to know how to email and use instant messenger, and even blog! I am so glad that this class has taught me how to use a blog because I feel that this form of posting and communicating ideas in large groups might become a major way to communicate with our peers in the future. Also, since we know that our society is evolving in this way, we should be teaching children how to communicate in this way in school, so that they are prepared to function in the world around them. I think that it is wonderful that so many nations across the globe have made an effort to develop children's abilities when dealing with ICT's and I think that more strides should be made in this direction and that it should definitely continue to be focused on in every country.

Also, the article talks about hypermedia and how basically there can be many things going on in only one web page and people need to know how to navigate on the computer and on web pages to make sense of what they see and be able to "read" what they see. I think this is very true as well because if you do not know how to navigate once you are on a page, you can become extremely lost and not get information you might need. Comprehension definitely takes on a whole new meaning when looking at it in regard to the Internet because there are many different ways to comprehend just one web page.

Additionally, I agree that literacy is deictic and that new technology is changing it, I also agree that in order to tackle new technology, people need to have a firm foundation in traditional literacy. This new literacy or new literacies we are producing stem from and use traditional literacy as a foundation.

Finally, the idea that teachers will need to be aware of all new technologies and fully comprehend them does, to be honest, make a little nervous. I am definitely aware of new technologies and understand a lot, but I know that I do not have a firm grasp on everything and the fact that this area is expanding at such a rapid rate makes me a bit nervous. I definitely think that there will need to be a lot more professional development for teachers in this area, if we as a society are to fully support new literacies and give our children the best advantage.