Information Technology, Literacy, and Digital Media (Post 2)

As a high school English teacher, the notions of literacy, technology, and digital/media

quite literally intersect on a daily basis. My students are ninth and tenth graders in a rural

South Carolina high school, and they are routinely charged with using technology to research, filter information, and cite responsibly to complete assignments. We are a 1:1 district, and these are

digitally native kids. They Google like they breathe, often and deeply. 

I generally choose to begin with research before a big unit. It helps with mindset, background knowledge,

and “hooks” as students dive deeply into the Salem Witch Trials while simultaneously noticing that McCarthyism looks a great deal like the Puritans. As hysteria and herd mentality prevail, students

must navigate an admittedly choppy ocean of information. My pleas to use Discus databases and

avoid Wikipedia often fall on deaf ears. Or worse, students fall into a pit of Prezi presentations

created by students much like themselves, and thus, the blind lead the blind. I spend months

(MONTHS) teaching citations, and have yet to discover why (like grammar) the formulas are just

not sticky enough to remain firm in the collective teenage conscience. It is difficult.

As I thoroughly enjoyed listening to The LIturgists’ podcast on Fake News and Media Literacy,

their tongue-in-cheek rap (“1. Who wrote this S***,  2. Who published it?”) has run through my head

nonstop for two days. It made me laugh, if a bit ruefully because I may get in trouble if I taught it to my
freshmen, fresh out of middle school, whose mothers still put their hands over their mouths when a

curse word flies by. But the podcasters are right. People need to consider the source, look for dates,

and look for the sensationalization of material. I appreciated the list of questions to ask which were

practical and song-worthy. Combating “Fake News” is, as we are all seeing play out on the larger political

field, more important than ever. Discernment is the watchword of this age. We would do well to gain this

critical skill.

In the Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education  (2015),  I really appreciated the

“Dispositions” section which stated

Learners who are developing their information literate-abilities:

• respect the original ideas of others;
• value the skills, time, and effort needed to produce knowledge;
• see themselves as contributors to the information marketplace rather than only consumers of it;
• are inclined to examine their own information privilege (p. 7).

Indeed, these are lofty standards to achieve for any student, and worthy goals for teachers to ingrain

into the minds of every student. Information is powerful, but it is not free. It is created on the sweat and

genius of everyone who has endeavored to learn something valuable, and who deserves respect and
reflection in addition to credence and credit.

I am on my school’s STEAM Leadership Team, which initially has focused on the 4 C’s, (also found in

the P21 Framework for 21st Century Learning) and these too intersect with literacy, technology, and

digital media. While certainly it is possible to think critically without technology, 1:1 devices have made

Web 2.0 tools the go-to choice for education. They are engaging and collaborative, stretching students

beyond their initial skills into a world-wide web of creativity and connection. The critical thinking this

involves to navigate these spaces is vast, but ultimately it will prepare students for what is to come

in the future.

My own information diet involves an embarrassingly large amount of podcasts, a Feedly stuffed to the

max with edtech and English teacher blogs, many professional development books, and a vast array of

fiction and non-fiction. I have become an information junkie, always listening to audiobooks or podcasts

while I drive, cook, or clean, and reading in my “spare” time. I notice lately that there just isn’t enough

time in the day, and I may need to slow the stream somewhat to allow time to reflect on and implement

the myriad of ideas that invade my consciousness on a daily basis.

As for the information diet of a librarian, I imagine that it would be much like my own, except to include

more professional materials that cater to librarianship. Journals and selection materials will need to be

added to my diet of daily reading, as will newsfeed about ALA-related issues. I imagine teacher blogs

may be replaced by librarian blogs, but then again, I may not need to compromise, as my new role

of teacher-librarian should be able to synthesize the material.

References

American Association of College and Resource LIbraries. (2015). Framework for information

literacy for higher education. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

Gunger, M. & Johnson, C (Hosts). (2017 March 7). The liturgists [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from

https://theliturgists.com/podcast/2017/3/7/fake-news-media-literacy

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. 21st century learning skills. Retrieved from 

https://www.apple.com/education/docs/Apple-P21Framework.pdf