Education Week - November 9, 2016 - 1
Maddie McGarvey for Education Week T here has never been a generat ion of young people more immersed in digital me d i a t h a n t h i s one. From computers to smartphone apps to e-books, electronic media has permeated the lives of many of today's students since babyhood. A survey from Common Sense media, a research and advocacy group, finds, in fact, that 72 percent of children ages 8 and younger have used a mobile device to play a game, watch a video, or use an app-and that's from a survey conducted three years ago. The proportion of children using mobile has undoubtedly grown since. The ubiquitous use of digital technology raises important questions for educators, especially those charged with preparing students to be literate in modern society. Of course, students must know how to read and write text, whether on a computer screen or on paper. But do they also need to learn to be "digitally literate?" And what does that mean? In this report, "The Changing Face of Literacy," Education Week explores those questions and attempts to show how the digital revolution is transforming literacy instruction throughout K-12. As it turns out, experts and educators define digital literacy in various ways. (See Page 4.) For many, though, the term encompasses a wide range of skills beyond reading and writing, including reading on an e-reader, assessing the credibility of a website, or creating and sharing YouTube videos. As Audrey Church, the president of the American Association of School Librarians, notes in this report, "children are digital natives, but they're not digitally literate." (See Page 25.) Experts do agree, however, that even the youngest children should be learning literacy with a mix of print and digital texts. (See Page 6.) The Common Core State Standards, now used by 39 states, also give teachers a gentle nudge toward teaching digital literacy. Yet, while some of those standards explicitly call for technology use, others still leave it to teachers to decide whether to incorporate electronic media. (See Page 13.) Some teachers have stepped up to that challenge, including one high school teacher in Mineola, N.Y., who is using 21st century technology to teach "Macbeth," a play written nearly 500 years ago by William Shakespeare. (See Page 17.) "My sense is that we're not going to lose Shakespeare," remarked another educator, a literacy coach in Revere, Mass. "He'll remain forever young because of technology." -the The Changing Face of Literacy 5 Digital Literacy: Forging Agreement on a Definition 8 How Should Elementary Schools Teach Reading in an Age of Computers? 13 17 A Small Nod for Digital Skills Teaching Shakespeare the 21st Century Way 21 Digital Generation Eschews E-Books for Pleasure Reading 22 Startup Aims to Customize Classroom Book Selections 25 As Media Landscape Changes, Librarians Take on New Roles Web Extra: Video Mineola High School teachers Al Cavalluzzo and Cynthia Lombardi both want their students to love Shakespeare, but they have different philosophies on using technology to make that happen. www.edweek.org/go/shakespeare-video Web Extra: Twitter Chat Teachers around the country share stories, tips, and ideas for teaching Shakespeare in today's digital age. www.edweek.org/go/shakespeare-chat editors Left: A 3rd grade student reads online at Indian Run Elementary School in Dublin, Ohio. The school integrates tablets, laptops, and print books into reading time. The Changing Face of Literacy / www.edweek.org/go/changing-literacy |1
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