Blog #2 Challenges Ahead
Challenges Ahead
Technology and the new literacy practices are great, if you know how to effectively use them to get your curriculum thru to students. Sticking a laptop in front of a student and expecting them to engage in learning is the same thing as throwing a book in front of them and telling them to read. The content is relevant but useless if the teaching strategy is outdated. Garcia (2018) states that “digital tools are secondary to the teacher’s literacy and learning goals”. As the technological world evolves, we must adapt with it. Our biggest challenge as educators is finding the balance between integrating new methods with our old. We almost have to become students with new literacies and media practices.
My attitudes and beliefs as a teacher have always been to prepare students for the next phase of life. “Classroom technology uses should more clearly mirror the kinds of work environments that we expect students to eventually encounter” (Garcia, 2018). We shouldn’t be using outdated methods in physical education like whiteboards and projectors to convey our message. Instead, we should still be preaching the same literacy goals through technology. When demonstrating a game or activity, we should be posting links on a google classroom and then following up with a live demonstration to further convey our message. Transferring this use of technology into the real-world mirrors translating video and audio recognition into the workplace. An example is watching a training video before starting a job.
With all the positives that come along with utilizing new media and forms of literacy, the technology gap in this country is very real. There will be situations where not every student has a laptop, Wi-Fi or a phone. This is the biggest challenge when it comes to promoting technology in the classroom. “Make use of the devices that learners own so that they can develop comfort in using them in new ways.” (American Institutes for Research) Sometimes as educators we are challenged with unique scenarios and diverse populations. Equity is vital in promoting equality. Providing resources, alternative options, extra time and communicating with home can all bridge the gap in technology until equity is reached.
I believe we are on the doorstep of a major challenge in New York State. The proposed cell phone ban could hinder progress and create a major barrier in moving forward. I understand the notion that students shouldn’t be on their phones in class. However, I believe our society is nearly reliant on them. For education, communication, expression and socialization, students lean on their phones. I think you will see an outpouring of opposition to it from teachers and parents. It is our job as educators to monitor it from class to class. In Physical Education, I have students track their step count in class, research strategies for games and use random generators to choose games and teams. I will adjust if phones are banned but they have never been a problem in my class. Feel free to comment your thoughts!
American Institutes for Research. (n.d.). Digital Literacy. https://www.air.org/sites/default/files/TSTMDigitalLiteracyBrief-508.pdf
Garcia, A. (2018). Improving digital practices for literacy, learning, and Justice. International Literacy Association. https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-improving-digital-practices-literacy-learning-justice.pdf
Blog Post 2 Reply #2 -
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your assertion that technology and new literacies are only great if we, as educators, know how to use them. You discuss the very real problem of misusing technology to replace instruction rather than enhance instruction. There is a very crucial need for teachers to change with technology and find ways to help it push learning forward rather than remain stagnant. I really enjoy how you discuss the uses of technology in a physical education class. During my k-12 education there was no technology in physical education until we went virtual as a result of COVID. Even then in our virtual state the only thing we did for physical education is upload a photo of us doing some sort of physical activity once a week and even that was very limited in terms of supporting new literacies. You reference a very real problem, the technology and resource gap. This gap can be address in one individual classroom by only using resources that all student have access to, however looking at the holistic needs of education it is unfortunately true that some schools have extremely unequal access to resources. This perpetuates the systems we already have in place meaning that at times the use of technology becomes more damaging to already marginalized groups. To promote new literacies in a competent way throughout the whole country there are systematic changes that must occur. You have raised a plethora of fantastic points regarding the integration of technology in ways that progress learning, as well as the barriers that need to be overcame in the pursuit of promoting new literacies.
Sonny, I enjoyed reading your blog. I think you bring up many good points about using technology in schools. The world is constantly evolving causing us to adapt to the new changes in technology. As I have seen in my district, there is a technology gap. My students are given laptops from the school to use during the school day. At most schools this is not the case. I also mentioned something similar about the cell phone ban. If we start teaching our students the correct skills and share the knowledge and excitement for students to learn through these digital literacies starting at a young age, will we see a decrease in these technology conflicts?
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ReplyDeleteYour insights on effectively integrating technology are spot-on; merely providing devices isn't teaching. The challenge of balancing innovative methods with established goals resonates deeply, as does preparing students for a digital future while navigating the real technology gap. I particularly connect with your concern about the proposed cell phone ban potentially hindering progress in New York. Theres are definitely concerns that lie ahead within the digital era in schools.
Sonny- I encourage you to think about how digital literacies are now a part of modern physical activity. For example, I wear an Apple Watch. I use Apple Fitness, an app, to guide me through workouts. This app also tracks my workout frequency, and communicates my body statistics to Apple Health, which tracks indicators of health. All of this requires me to employ a level of data literacy in order to understand what the statistics are telling me about my own health. Additionally, at times, I share these statistics with medical providers to facilitate conversations about my own fitness. If I wanted to, I could join social communities where I might discuss my experience with others. Our students enter a world where these practices are part of every physical activity (including sports, outdoor hobbies, nutrition). How might phy ed engage that reality productively in school?
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