The ad said “Download the eBook NOW!” - Struggling with important insights about Teaching and Learning Literacy in the Digital Age

By Mark Gura and Dr. Rose Reissman


"Download the eBook NOW!"

Perusing the old In Box, my usually jaded eyes came to rest on yet another email from SmartBrief.  I was hooked from reading just its subject field  shouting the question “How has literacy changed in the digital age?”

With anticipation I clicked and opened it!

After the obligatory “This is a paid advertisement… does not necessarily reflect the view of…” in hyperlinked text “Find out today with an eBook from literacy experts.” A bit further down…  “Technology has transformed the classroom extensively in the past few years. With these changes come new questions: How can we incorporate education technology in literacy lessons? What does literacy mean in this age of new media? Explore these questions with literacy experts in the eBook Teaching K–12 Literacy in a Digital World… Discover new strategies for teaching literacy in this digital era.” And finally… “Download the eBook NOW!” And, well, who am I to argue with such a sensible, straightforward suggestion? So I did. What follows here are my reactions, as well as those of a respected colleague. By the way,  I’m considered by many to be an expert in the use of digital resources for instruction, in fact I’m the editor/contributing writer of the ISTE Book “Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age” And my colleague, Dr. Rose is a former President of the NCTE NYC affiliate, a licensed NYS literacy educator and prolific author/coauthor in the literacy field (Teaching with Author Websites, Corwin and Project Based Literacy, Information Age). By the way, we both fully appreciate the gutsy ambition of the producer of this publication, who has assumed the difficult posture of posing a few of the most far reaching questions in contemporary education: How does technology impact learning literacy? And, What should literacy educators know and understand to take full advantage of technology’s very profound capabilities? We, however, see additional facets to this crucial variety of understanding. For one thing, the need to make technology part of literacy education in order simply to keep it relevant to the ways people are literate NOW. In fact, we see the powerful impacts of technology as having transformed Literacy itself, something that must be accounted for in this new understanding of the world in which today’s students learn to be literate. Distractions or Assets? At the foot of the book’s introduction is the statement “Literacy in our digital world involves videos, sounds, ads, blogs, and much more. It’s up to us to show students how to navigate through endless distractions to arrive at the trove of infinite information, stories, and resources available to them.” But, we ask, is it accurate and insightful to consider these new developments in communication as “distractions?” We think not and feel that it’s up to us to establish these for students, as media that partner with text, offering a way to consume and access content through a broad package of means as one navigates toward that ultimate destination: Meaning and understanding! Early in to this read we are quickly offered a segment on Reading: Teaching K-12 Literacy in a Digital World and already our brows furrowed a bit. Does Reading perfectly equate with Literacy? We see it as a component, an essential dimension yes, but not the absolute definer of Literacy. And if the evolution of Literacy in a digital world has changed anything, it’s that Media Rich content provides students with alternate and additional ways to access and understand content. More ways than just the traditional, narrow field of possibility of accessing content via text alone.  Our disagreement with the book deepened as we read Why and How Reading Is in Crisis. That jumps off the page, true, but we see today’s Literacy Learning Landscape as revealing that Literacy is alive and well, and more accessible for students than ever. However to see this one must make the essential shift to understanding Literacy through the lens of its contemporary incarnation and not falling into the appealing trap of comparing the ways that today’s young people are literate to the goals of Literacy Instruction of years gone by;  before the advent of Information Technology. We see the act of  accessing and comprehending content as, of course, involving its most salient element, Reading, but not being exclusively defined by Reading in an age in which other elements have emerged and been embraced strongly. The Oxford Cambridge Dictionary defines “Reading” as “the skill or activity of getting information from written words.” This, however, comes from a time in which written words were the only way of recording and disseminating thoughts, feelings, and reportage of developments and events.  We now have other ways to accomplish these things (e.g. recorded audio, video, a variety of ways of presenting still photography, and others). To favor the traditional, original way of consuming content (Reading) and consider it the exclusive method, everything else ancillary or supplementary, makes little sense as it is out of step with the world in which we live. For an example of the way content is currently consumed, visit the New York Times, which by the way has been a bastion of Literacy for adults since 1851. Yes, the paper is produced in print for those who, for a variety of reasons want it that way, but the online version is the format of choice. Back in 2011, Business Insider ran the article “A Print Reader Is Worth 228-Times As Much As An Online Reader -- And Other Fun Facts About The New York Times.” What does the “reader” find on visiting the day’s Times? Text, yes, tons of it alongside photos (singleton photos, animated photos and drawings, and slide shows of photos); video and audio players; hyperlinks galore, inviting readers to click them to find and explore more content than is displayed immediately; links that take the reader out of the Times to ancillary publications that support the Times’ own content; interactive info graphics, and more… This is the way the 21st Century readers consume content. And importantly, it is an additive experience in which the various forms of content consumption support one another. Does it not follow that this sort of text rich, but not text exclusive, media enhanced content represents a powerful opportunity for students to consume content and find its meaning. And, germane to this discussion, students may learn to decode and comprehend text especially well when confronted with this sort of mixed content? Thus, by imagining the “either/or” proposition that children either learn to decode text and comprehend printed passages of it – or they learn to access content in digital media format, and extract the ideas and feelings communicated by it, we are setting up an artificial duality that in effect takes students away from real world literacy. Teaching K-12 Literacy in a Digital World The Publication is titled “Teaching K-12 Literacy in a Digital World” a perfectly framed focus for educators to try on and wear for a while in order to get a good understanding of the current state of Education, as well as an important indication of where it will be going next as of its evolution continues to unfold influenced by the increasing availability of technology. Unfortunately, from the ‘get go’ this eBook seems to be hampered by an appreciable amount of ‘Old Think.’ Just one sentence into the introduction we are presented with the question (alluding to technology integration) “How do we adapt lesson plans to keep up with the newest developments?” This seems to us to be somewhat akin to asking “how do we steer our new fangled motor car on the old horse path?” The point is that technology enables students and their teachers in new ways, opening up possibilities for new types of learning.  Searching for ways to “Adapt” traditional teaching in order to find a place for technology is a very short sighted view of a very broad horizon looming ahead. However, a bit further in, the publication asks “How will literacy evolve in this digital landscape?” We applaud that question, an important one that is right on target. We agree, too, that in a technology saturated environment students will read and write differently and that we will have to guide them as they develop their Literacy in it. Again, we cheered when we read: Could it be that focusing on what students should know and be able to do has caused us to lose sight of what we want students to be—readers and writers who can and do read and write?.. The tail, however, has begun to wag the dog. Instead of providing a map of the skills required for literacy, standards have themselves become the goal… Everyone would agree that the goal is to help children become confident learners who can read and write and choose to do so. Too often, practicing discrete skills in isolation consumes instructional time better spent reading. We fully agree with that, of course. Our concern is that it doesn’t go far enough in expressing an understanding of how literacy has evolved under the influence of the new, technology-borne possibilities in human communication. It’s been said many times in recent years that our schools are irrelevant because they seek to prepare students for a world that no longer exists and don’t prepare them for a newer one that is increasingly coming into sharper focus. And so we ask “Which era’s literacy are we teaching currently?” Included in the publication are some supporting statistics. We won’t argue with their accuracy, but feel that their very inclusion is an indication of a disconnect with actual, current literacy learning needs. Below, our reactions: “NAEP Survey Data Eighth-graders who read for pleasure almost every day scored higher than those who read for fun less frequently. Twelfth-graders who read for pleasure almost every day scored higher than students who never or hardly ever read for fun.” Scored higher than? OK, but how well prepared are students to function in the real world? If the understanding of Literacy itself, on the part of those who formulate standards and tests, is not yet fully reflective of the ways that it has evolved over the past few decades, embracing and reflecting the emergence and deep impact of digital media, then isn’t the pursuit of scores that show standards-based learning, accepting the tail, as evidence of success, instead of the dog that wags it? HMH Into Reading | 6 The implications of these NAEP findings are clear. If we hope to see improvement in reading achievement, students will need to read significantly more in many different contexts for a variety of purposes including their own pleasure. We should be every bit as concerned about the large number of students who don’t read as we are about those who can’t. Volume matters. The above is well said, but needs to be tempered, however, with the further question of “what is it that will bring students to reading in volume? “ And, as we are asking this, let’s keep in mind all of those talk show appearances captured and revisited over and over again on YouTube, of today’s top authors – the websites that their publishers put up to tease and please their readers into engaging with them – those sites the authors themselves put up to deepen their relationships with their audience by providing ancillary information about their lives and works.. and on and on… If educators are to teach Real World Literacy, then it follows they must observe how current Literacy shows up in the real world, acknowledge its current ways of being, and shape their practice to reflect those truths. ........................................................ Mark Gura - a native of New York City, Mark Gura taught in public schools in East Harlem for two decades. Afterwards, he spent 5 years as a staff and curriculum developer for the central office of the New York City Department of Education. Eventually, he was tapped to establish the Department’s Office of Instructional Technology, where he held the position of Director for 7 years, supervising professional development in the use of technology, citywide. After retiring, Mark joined Fordham University’s Regional Educational Technology Center, organizing citywide education conferences and events. He has taught Instructional Technology courses for both Fordham and Touro College. Mark has written books and created  materials for ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), Information Age Books, Scarecrow Books, Corwin, and Teacher Created Materials. He has been an education writer for the New York Daily News and contributed numerous articles to Converge, T.H.E. Journal, and EdTech magazines. He was the co-producer of the popular podcasts The Teachers Podcast, Talking Financial Literacy Podcast, and host/producer of Literacy Special Interest Podcast. Mark has spoken on the subject of Instructional Technology throughout the U.S.  Visit: http://www.markgura.blogspot.com/ Write to: markgura@verizon.net

Dr. Rose Reissman is the founder of the Writing Institute, now replicated in 200 schools including the Manchester Charter Middle School in Pittsburgh. She is a featured author in New York State Union Teachers Educators Voice 2016 and was filmed discussing ESL student leadership literary strategies developed at Ditmas IS 62, a Brooklyn public intermediate school. roshchaya@gmail.com