Literacy Networks and New Skills

Read this story about from danah boyd's Apophenia about a mother's experience going shopping for a homecoming dress with her teenage daughter:

"Using Google and a variety of online shopping sites, Mary researched dresses online, getting a sense for what styles she liked and reading information about what was considered stylish that year. Next, Mary and her friends went to the local department store as a small group, toting along their digital cameras (even though they're banned). They tried on the dresses, taking pictures of each other in the ones that fit. Upon returning home, Mary uploaded the photos to her Facebook and asked her broader group of friends to comment on which they liked the best. Based on this feedback, she decided which dress to purchase, but didn't tell anyone because she wanted her choice to be a surprise. Rather than returning to the store, Mary purchased the same dress online at a cheaper price based on the information on the tag that she had written down when she initially saw the dress. She went for the cheaper option because her mother had given her a set budget for homecoming shopping; this allowed her to spend the rest on accessories."

While I often spend too much money on clothes, this story struck me as being about much more than shopping. It is about literacy, social interaction, networking, and tech skills. The kids who come to my class often feel they are very knowledgeable about technology. Many of them have their own laptops. They have had an email address for several years and have been downloading music, using an IM program, and playing Flash based games online for some time. Unfortunately, when it comes to using technology for learning, for accessing information in new ways and from new places, they are novices and need to be taught many information access, evaluation, and representation skills.

But as a teacher, I need to recognize both their weaknesses and their strengths.

I am often curious about what kids do when they are online and listen carefully as they tell me about the latest hot new YouTube videos they have found in their hours of surfing. I hear about their exploits in World of Warcraft and abut their ways of staying in touch no matter where they are traveling.

Then I try to build on this.

I try to take their ability to try new things into areas of academic work and problem solving. I try to lead them into new spaces where they can expand on the skill base they come with. The story from Apophenia is one that we need to be aware of. Using those skills and building upon them in the classroom is a completely new challenge in education. Compared to learners in the past, they are already experts in so many ways.

 

   

Tags: danahboyd, apophenia, literacy, technology, networks

Comments

[Luke]

Regarding the disconnect between possession of, and immersion in, technology, on the one hand, and lack of sophisticated information literacy, see this study from the UK that came out recently: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/Home/news/stories/2008/01/googlegen.aspx
The PR title, "‘Google Generation’ is a myth, says new research", is a bit of an exaggeration, but it gives a rough idea of the findings.