Hudson (2013) reports that children are now spending significant amounts of their time gaming, and research suggests that this time is almost equivalent to the amount of time spent in school. As a result of this, these games can be incorporated into the classroom to support and enhance learning, as makers of the game ‘angry birds’ claim that the characters and their worlds in popular games enjoyed by children, can inspire and motivate them (Hudson, 2013). This supports Marsh and Millard (2006) who argue that popular culture can be used to motivate and engage children with things that interest them.
A further article on the matter, written by Ward (2013) suggests that games can prepare children for the future in this rapidly changing world, as by playing the game ‘minecraft’ children are learning and developing their basic computer navigation skills, as well as how to save data and use email to set up sessions with their friends. The article written by Turnbull (2010) suggests that by using new technologies in the classroom such as weblogs, children make greater advances in Information Technology (IT) as well as in literacy, and consequently a difference is shown in day-to-day IT lessons.
In school I have witnessed and been impressed
by the ease of which children navigate around websites, and the competence they
have when logging on and using a computer. In one school I visited, the children
have the use of ipads, and when I asked how they knew exactly how to use them
they replied with “it’s the same as mummy’s iphone” or with “we have one of
these at home”.
Evans (2010, pp. 1)
argues in his article that digital literacies such as the use of blogs, can
offer more to children allowing them ‘to express themselves in ways that simply
aren’t possible without access to a computer.’ Teacher’s opinions included in
the article suggest that blogging motivates children to make their writing the
best they can be as they are aware that their blogs could potentially be read
by a large audience.It also states in this article that such technologies encourage collaborative working as children find it easier to share their work on screen (Evans, 2010). During my experience of working with children on ipads, I noticed how keen and willing children were to help a friend when they were unsure where to find a certain programme, or of which button to press next. This behaviour is a very positive impact of using new technologies in the classroom.
Hudson (2013)
acknowledges that there is still a need to learn in the traditional way,
however a different dimension to education can be approached by the way new
technologies can be used. To summarise, the articles offer a range of potential
benefits of using new literacies, suggesting that teachers should take interest
in children’s latest passions, using them to motivate and engage learning
within the classroom. They suggest that the amount of which we use digital literacy
in the classroom will inevitably increase and that we should embrace this
change and use it for its full potential. Having taken into consideration what
I have read and what I have discussed in seminars, I share this view and
believe that in moderation, new technologies offer opportunities which could not
be provided for children using just traditional literacy alone.
Articles:
Evans, A. (2010) The
Joys of text (TES Connect)
Hudson, A. (2013) Angry
Birds game fires into the classroom (BBC News Technology)
Turnbull, G. (2010) The
seven-year-old bloggers (BBC News)
Ward, M. (2013) Why
Minecraft is more than just another video game (BBC News Technology)
Marsh, J. and Millard,
E. (2006) Popular Literacies, Childhood
and Schooling Oxon: Routledge
Palfrey, J. and Gasser,
U. (2008) Born Digital: Understanding the
First Generation of Digital Natives New York: Basic Books
The articles you read all raise very interesting and valuable arguments Anna. Interestingly, have you noticed they all pose different sides to the national debate on digital literacy and childhood? I would agree with the Hudson (2013) reading that you discussed, while digital literacy and technologies are an element of primary education that we clearly cannot ignore, they must be taught alongside traditional methods. It is evident, from practice and reading, that current society is regarded as the ‘digital age’, that is technologies and digital narratives are interlinked into everyday life. However, children still need to learn fundamental skills such as reading and writing in a traditional method do they not? After conducting the survey in week one, it is evident that many parents are more than happy for their children to engage in new technologies. However, many parents stated they want their children to stick to traditional methods and learn fundamental skills as opposed to engaging in digital literacy because they often sit and watch telly or play on their latest gadget at home. Dean (2010) raises some key issues to support this argument also – it is worth exploring!
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DeleteI have noticed this, and I find it very hard to decide which side of the debate I would agree with. On the one hand there are arguements for increased digital literacy in the classroom which I think are highly valid such as Evans (2010), who believes that these literacies offer children ways to express themselves that they could not do without access to a computer. However this also raises concerns for me that Christina highlighted in her blog post this week, about the increased risk of children being exposed to things unsuitable for them to see through advertising online and on television.
DeleteI agree that Dean (2010) raises some interesting and relevant points to this discussion. He highlights that there have been many allegations against new literacies, deaming them responsibly for failing literacy standards in the past down to their capability of distracting children from their classroom studies. From personal experience I believe that to an extent this is true, for example younger family members of mine will come home from school and reach straight for their tablet or ipad, claiming that school work can be done later. It could be argued that because of the popularity of these new technologies now, childhood in the digital age in itself is undermining the concept of traditional literacies, and so in answer to your question- yes, it is very important that children still learn the fundamental skills of reading and writing, and that they are encouraged to use them both inside and outside of school!
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