New Media & New Literacies

The two additional readings that I selected were Improving Digital Practices for Literacy, Learning, and Justice: More Than Just Tools (ILA, 2018) and Digital Literacy (Vanek, 2019). I found both of these readings expanded on areas of New Media and New Literacies that I had not yet considered.   Improving Digital Practices for Literacy, Learning, and Justice: More Than Just Tools (ILA, 2018) I found many parts of this text interesting, and thought provoking. One of the biggest takeaways that I had from this resource was the emphasis that the author placed on the need for literacy learning to be driven by good lessons and the development of literacy skills, no matter the medium being used. Within the text, it states “the digital tools are secondary to the teacher’s literacy and learning goals”(ILA, 2018) The reason that I found this to be so thought provoking was that it served as a necessary reminder that even though New Media and New Literacies involve new technologies, the techno...

At its core, literacy skills are fundamental to our understanding and functioning in the world we live in. The years that we spend in school as students are supposed to provide us with the knowledge and skills we need to meet the demands of the world in our adult lives. The development of our literacy skills in school should facilitate that ability to interpret and understand information presented in all areas of our lives. Because we live in a world where there are always new and improving technologies to disseminate information, our  schools must evolve and adapt to include the teaching of literacy through these new modalities. As stated by Sang in Expanded Territories of “Literacy”: New Literacies and Multiliteracies, “ New Literacies and Multiliteracies both suggest that literacy practices are no longer restricted to reading and writing printed and written texts in one official and standard form” (Sang, 2017) . While the old standard literacy skills through printed and written ...