From Papyrus to Cyberspace in a Primary Classroom
CC image courtesy of Rutt, Dave. Screen Technology. 18 May 2007. Online image. Flickr. 17 Sept. 2015.
From Papyrus to Cyberspace in a Primary Classroom
In “Democracy and Education: The Missing Link May be Ours”, Willinsky (2002) states that the internet is “providing more powerful public access to information” (p.367). Indeed, the internet and electronic media platforms are transforming the ways in which we view academia, knowledge and how we engage in scholarly discourse. The increased access to information is an undeniable benefit. However, as Dr. James O’Donnell (1999) notes, how are the benefits afforded by technology balanced by the losses to the ways in which we communicate? This is especially evident to me when I view education as a primary teacher. In particular, there is a race to acquire and implement technology into the elementary classroom. As many scholars argue, literacy has changed to encompass a new and more important meaning. Literacy is now an all inclusive term that encompasses traditional concepts of print literacy, but must also include digital literacy. If students are to be successful in a world that thrives on technology and communication using digital media, then they must also learn how to navigate and read the forms of text available in the digital space. The issue and question then, is how do primary teachers introduce technology in a meaningful way in the classroom? What are the benefits and losses and do these gains and losses balance each other out?
Often, primary teachers resist introducing technology into the classroom because they feel that students cannot utilize these new forms of communication in any true, meaningful way. Certainly, establishing strong foundational skills such as decoding text, reading sight words and sentence construction are crucial if students are to be successful in their later school careers. Students who cannot read at the end of grade 1 are most likely to struggle in the intermediate grades. Thus, developing students in the traditional skills of reading and writing cannot be sacrificed for the gains of technological literacy. Navigating the iPad and game based learning cannot supplant traditional literacy learning. However, teachers can begin to use technology to enable students to share their learning in other ways. In other words, the ways in which students share their learning can be transformed.
Rather than foregoing foundational literacy skills, technology can become a new way for students to apply their language learning in real life contexts. The cyberspace world provides students with a forum to use their oral language skills and their developing written language skills. For example, students can use iPads to create videos and publish them on YouTube for a wider audience. Likewise, emergent writers can use their skills to publish their writing in classroom blogs. Thus, students are provided with an arena to apply their learning and an actual audience to view their finished work. Technology also provides an additional support for students to use their language skills and understanding of text to communicate in a meaningful way. As a classroom teacher, I have witnessed how students love to share their writing aloud with the class. The additional benefit of technological communication is that students can share their learning with their families outside of the classroom. Whereas published works were once mediated by editors, magazines and publishing houses, the common voice can find a platform on the internet.
As Dr. O’Donnell (1999) notes in his talk on the Cambridge Forum, “The power of the spoken and written word to be disseminated to the world” is a powerful motivator. When young children realize that their writing has a purpose outside of the classroom, they begin to understand that they can make a difference and that their learning within the school environment can be applied in the real world. The role of students becomes multi-faceted as they become not just learners but publishers, commentators, writers and responsible digital citizens.
References
Engell, J. & O’Donnell, J. (1999). From Papyrus to Cyberspace. [Audio File]. Cambridge Forums.
Willinsky, J. (2002). Education and democracy: The missing link may be ours. Harvard Educational Review, 72 (3), 367-392.
“Rather than foregoing foundational literacy skills, technology can become a new way for students to apply their language learning in real life contexts.”I totally agree. Your statement made me think about this very simple, yet very effective initiative:
What do you think?
Wow! This is an amazing example of how technology can be used to connect people! It looks like the students were able to use their language learning in an immediate, meaningful way. Students may learn how to speak a second language in the classroom, but using it to connect with English speakers in the US was another layer of their learning. I think a good example of this was when the woman told the girl that she could tell her brother’s age in a different way. I loved this video!