Reflections on 21st Century Learning-LIBE 477B Reading Review Part C

In the classroom and the library, it is clear that teachers need begin to address allthe digital literacies outlined by the British Columbia Ministry of Education’sDigital Literacy Framework. However, as an educator who is not the “digital native” our students are, it was intimidating to think about incorporating these into my teaching practice all at once.  I chose to focus on Research and Information Literacy, as well as Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making.  With these two digital literacies, students “apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information” and “use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.” The importance of thinking critically about online information has been made more essential given increased prevalence of “fake news” and misinformation and its impact on our cultural and political landscape.  

A literature search for “media literacy” on the UBC database will produce an overwhelming number of books and articles, not to mention the sheer amount of blogposts and videos made available by an online search.  This further confirmed for me that educators, like our students, must have adequate digital skills to navigate what Will Richardson called an “abundance” of information available online. While many experienced educators may be apprehensive about their own digital prowess, there are numerous books and articles that offer practical ideas for teaching media literacy and the digital skills needed to navigate the online world.

Another aspect of the BC Ministry of Education’s digital literacies I am interested in are Creativity and Innovationas well as Communication and Collaboration, in which students “demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology” and “use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.”  Both these digital literacies seem to fit well with the use of digital or electronic portfolios in the classroom. For teachers interested in implementing “e-portfolios” there are a great number of books, articles and dissertations that offer suggestions on how one can use them to encourage metacognitive/self-reflective learning, as well giving students an authentic audience for their work. One aspect of the use of digital portfolios that I did not see widely addressed in the literature was the issue of equitable access to technology for disadvantaged students. While research shows that e-portfolios can certainly showcase students’ skills and encourage “deep learning” through self-evaluation and self-reflection, where does this leave students who lack adequate access to technology?  Not only do many schools lack adequate technology (my own inner-city school had only two computer labs for 1700 students), but the movement toward BYOD or “bring your own device” is also problematic as it assumes that all our students have the funds for personal smart devices.  I feel that further research on the impact the lack of access to technology on socioeconomically disadvantaged students needs to be conducted.

The question of equitable access to technology also emerged in my research on “flipped” and “blended learning.” As with e-portfolios, these types of learning rely on access to smart devices, either in the classroom or at home.  While the blogposts of advocates for flipped/blended learning such as Larry Cuban and Catlin Tucker certainly highlight the many benefits of technology, including increased personalization and differentiation of learning as well as student engagement, I didn’t see many posts that addressed how students who were economically disadvantaged may lack access to necessary smart devices. If a school lacks funding for “1:1 classrooms” in which schools provide each student with a personal smart device, how do socioeconomically disadvantaged students find the means to access technology? Again, the big question that emerges for me is: How do we as educators ensure that students who may lack home access to technology can still develop 21^stcentury literacies?  

While no educator can be in doubt that our students need to develop digital literacy in order to be successful for the future, it seems that we need to further consider how to ensure equitable access so that no student is left behind.  

Bibliography

Alvermann, D., Moon, J., Hagwood, M. (1999). Popular Culture in the Classroom. New York: Routledge. Retrieved from https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.4324/9781315059327

      

Baker, F. (2018). Close Reading the Media. New York: Routledge.  Retrieved from https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/books/9781315443041

     

British Columbia. (2015). Ministry of Education, and British Columbia Government EBook Collection. BC's Digital Literacy Framework. Ministry of Education, Victoria, B.C. Available at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/teaching-tools/digital-literacy?keyword=digital&keyword=literacy&keyword=standards[Accessed 17, Jan. 2019].

Cuban, L. (2019).  Technology | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice. [online] Larrycuban.wordpress.com. Available at: https://larrycuban.wordpress.com/tag/technology/page/1/ [Accessed 17 Jan. 2019].

Jagman, H. and Swanson, T.A. (2015). Not Just Where to Click : Teaching Students How to Think About Information. Association of College and Research Libraries. Retrieved from EBSCOhost, ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1057103&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Johnson, L., Adams, S. and Cummins, M. (2019). NMC Horizon Report K-12. [online] Nmc.org. Available at: https://www.nmc.org/pdf/2012-horizon-report-K12.pdf [Accessed 17 Jan. 2019].

Johnson, R., Mims-Cox, J.S., & Doyle-Nichols, A. (2006). Developing portfolios in education: a guide to reflection, inquiry and assessment. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.

Kaklamanos, A. (2009). Language Arts with a Focus on Media: Facilitating Students’ Entry in the World of Literacy. English Language Teaching. v2 n3 September 2009. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1083091.pdf

Richardson, W. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere [Kindle Single]. TED Conferences.

Schiebe, C. and Rogow, F. (2012). The Teacher's Guide to Media Literacy: Critical Thinking in a Multimedia World. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.  

Tosh, D., Light, T., Penny; Fleming, K., Haywood, J. (2005). Engagement with Electronic Portfolios: Challenges from the Student Perspective. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, v31 n3 Fall 2005. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1073734

Tucker, C.  (2019). Catlin Tucker. [online] catlintucker.com. Available at: https://catlintucker.com/ [Accessed 17 Jan. 2019].