The Visual Generation

The knowledge that we are preparing our students for jobs and sometimes whole occupations that do not currently exist has been around for some considerable time now.  The educational philosophy that has emerged as a result is that we need to teach our students to be independent learners, to be fluid and flexible, and to work collaboratively and co-operatively.  This is a high ideal but one that as teachers we can work towards incrementally by considering the ‘changing landscape of communication’ (McDougall 2007) particularly in regards to literacy for the ‘visual generation’.

 

The current Critical Literacy approach to teaching English emphasises skills in both appreciation and expression.  Our students must be able to identify linguistic techniques and evaluate their effectiveness and then judiciously apply them to their original texts.  Consequently, we need to provide our students with a variety of learning opportunities to analyse and create meaningful and effective texts. Inherent in this approach is an acknowledgement that as teachers we won’t have all the answers and that we won’t always agree; however our goal is to explore what being literate means for our students in recognition of the multimodal nature of communication and texts in today’s learning environment.

 

McDougall, J. (2007). Engaging the visual generation: some Queensland teachers come to terms with changing literacies. Screen Education(46), 130-137 

New Literacies

Learning in the 21st century requires both teachers and students to reflect on a changing mindset towards technology as it permeates all areas of life and learning. New literacies require educators to broaden their perspectives on what is significant and how learning is to be transferred using technologies that reach beyond the classroom to bring the world and all its possibilities back in. New literacies are based entirely on the  sharing of information through endless linkages and possibilities for learning. The interconnectedness of these new mindsets require educators to re-examine current curriculum practices but at the same time to also be ever vigilant in questioning the relevance of sources. New literacies are about continually exploring the world from the personal to the local to the global. 

Callow, J. (2008). New literacies, New York & Web 2.0: a little knowledge is a helpful thing! SCAN, 27(4), 13-16

Illusion or Dellusion

Hoax websites such as the "Great Lost Tree Octopus" bring to light the frightening facts of unreliable resources being used and left unquestioned by a large proportion of critically unaware students. Educators are calling for more support to develop students' critical digital literacy since students are increasingly unable to decipher which online resources are accurate or reliable. Reading on the web is unlike reading in print and students have no critical literacy for determining what information is relevant. Educators need more development on how to assess students critical literacy of digital media. They need to know how to develop students ability to ask critical questions when researching online such as what are the underlining values of what they are reading, who is the intended audience and who has ownership over such information? New technologies have managed to create classrooms connected to the world however not all of these virtual environments are positive learning avenues for teachers and students alike.