Reflection on New Literacy Skills

Reflecting on the New Literacy Skills

I think the most striking revelation that I had about teaching new literacy skills to my students was how ill-prepared we ourselves are as an institution to really teach these new skills effectively. Throughout our discussions it is apparent that many districts are simply restricting or blocking access to the tolls necessary to meet this challenge. Instead of sheltering the students from the evils of the internet, we should be teaching them how to use their new skills and judgment to weed out the bad from the good. If they are not exposed to and given guidance on using these new literacy skills they will not know how to deal with it when they do have to put their knowledge to the test in the working world.
With the knowledge I have gained from this course, I intend to expose my students to the internet at a younger age than I currently do. Having them practice inquiries that meet their needs. That is of course, if I still have a job teaching computer lab. If not, I feel that I am much better prepared to utilize these new literacy skills in a self-contained classroom environment.
I would like to learn more about using Wikis and blogs to work with other students around the country and the world to collaborate on projects that affect the students’ communities. I feel that these are the skills that the students will need in the future and the best way to acquire these skills is to practice them. I would also like to share what I have learned this term with the other teacher’s in my school, so we can begin to build a network of collaboration and cooperation within our building. We could start small by having the grade levels work together creating Wikis that they can use throughout the year. We can them connect with other schools in our district and around the world so that our students can practice their newly developing literacy skills.