791 BLOG #6 TRANSLITERACY and how it relates to your experience as an educator or provided learning for others around this concept? Heidi Julien, professor of Information Science at SUNY, Buffalo, stated at an Information Innovation conference, that perhaps “we should not get too fussed over the labels that we use but we do have to understand that contemporary understandings of literacy have expanded from our traditional understanding of reading and writing ... but these days we also talked about interpretive and a creative abilities or competencies across a range of text both written and multimedia.” Transliteracy does have a lot of labels and definitions. In today’s world educators and students are able to get and give information in so many different ways. When I began my career in education I was using textbooks, lab experiences, and verbal instruction as my main vehicles for delivering instruction. Science videos were an extra treat and often outdated. Today in my classroom my students gather information from a wide variety of resources besides me. They are confident using online simulations of science concepts, science websites for researching, I have them watch Youtube videos in Edpuzzle for some lessons, we use digital articles from science websites and Newsela and they annotate them in Kami. Students collaborate on projects using Google docs and Google slides. Demonstrations of science activities are submitted using Flipgrid and TikTok. In order to participate in class they have become experts at Zoom, clicking from one tab to the next, and accessing Google Classroom to get assignments and submit them. If they have any unanswered questions, their first instinct is “Let us go to the Google,” as the Amoeba Sisters (science youtubers) would say. This is just the tip of the transliteracy iceberg because they are also using social media apps for communicating with friends, finding out about news events that concern them, shopping online, accessing music, movies, and other entertainment. Many of them use apps for transportation, directions, ordering food, and seeking online help with medical or emotional needs. In our digitally connected world it is actually important for students to grow these transliteracy skills. Soon enough they will need to do online banking, apply for colleges, pay bills, plan travel adventures, and probably network with future employers or co-workers. The power of Transliteracy is exciting to me because it gives young people a voice that can be heard around the world easily and quickly, compared to more traditional literacies. I think of the voices of Malala Yousafzai, fighting for education equity for young women, and Greta Thunberg, demanding we take action to stop climate change. Because these young people have access to new forms of literacy and digital media, they are changing the world and helping to solve world problems in a new and innovative way. Photo credit Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
4 Comments
Jamie Lutz
11/15/2020 09:11:14 pm
I love that you started with "we should not get too fussed over the labels". Transliteracy definitely has a lot of labels & sometimes labels are good, but we often get caught up in the labels too. Wow, our students sure are doing a lot with technology these days! I am constantly amazed at all that technology can do! However, I am also so glad that we have technology right now with COVID. Can you imagine how we would be teaching if we didn't have the technology that we have available today? Would we even be able to teach? It is really exciting to think about what our students will be able to do with their transliteracy skills as they grow even more! Thank you for your thoughts!
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Abie
11/16/2020 03:24:10 pm
Powerful last paragraph Betsy! "It gives young people a voice that can be heard around the world." Love it!
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Kimberlee Nelson
11/17/2020 05:46:42 pm
Isn't it amazing how much we have all grown in our transliterate world? I especially enjoyed your comment, "It gives young people a voice that can be heard around the world". This is so true. Students have resources at their fingertips. They also are more connected to the world through the internet than we ever were as young students. It makes it difficult to fathom what more is waiting for us in the future. Thanks for your thoughts!
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Amy Bardwell
11/17/2020 07:04:28 pm
I agree with all of our comments and thoughts; I wonder what will these students look like in three years time. Thank you for your wonderful thoughts.
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AuthorHello! Welcome to my blog! This will be a fun place to share thoughts about teaching and learning. I am a middle school science teacher at Redwood. When I'm not teaching, I'm hanging out at home with my family or enjoying nature somewhere in the valley. Archives
March 2021
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