Cont. Part 1

In his second post part of three part series dealing with technology and the classroom, Gorman provides a list of websites for teachers to use as resources to help them teach their students reading skills. One of my favourite websites is Simple English Wikipedia which translates Wikipedia articles into ‘simple’ English that can be easily grasped by younger students and adults alike.

After reviewing the website, however, I wonder if it incorporates the ‘spirit’ of the literacies. On one hand, it makes information more accessible by providing articles in an easy to follow format. On the other hand, this easy to follow format comes at the cost of quite a bit of valuable information which is taken out in order for the article to read easier. The ‘critical’ aspect of Wikipedia articles are eliminated on this site; reducing them to a set of historical facts.

As a future teacher, I’m split on whether to incorporate this website as a resource for my students. Aside from Simple English Wikipedia, this discussion raises the broader question about using Wikipedia as an accepted resource within the classroom.

 From: http://www.slideshare.net/jasonhoradam/using-pb-works-in-the-classroom

Pretty much everybody already uses Wikipedia, however when I was in school, we were told never to cite it because the facts were not validated. Recently, I’ve heard that Wikipedia has endeavoured to legitimize their citations. Nevertheless, rather than using Wikipedia as a resource,  which in itself is demonstrates a type of technological literacy, I plan to teach my students how to properly use search engines and databases. By dedicating a few lessons to teaching students how to use search engines, I give them the ‘conceptual’ tools for fostering their development of all the literacies. Search engines and databases allow students to explore diverse fields on knowledge, in turn promoting their capacity to access information pertaining to the literacies.

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Rather than finishing up Gorman’s series, I wanted to move to a more recent post of his in which he discusses Sugata Mitra, a leading educational scientist, whose research advocates the simple, but powerful message: participation is preparation. Gorman discusses how the modern educational paradigm assumes that learners need to be prepared before they can participate, and that preparation is based on learners following a plan, and for teachers to measure the outcomes of that plan.

I liked reading Sugata Mitra’s mantra because it seems like the model I want to base my classroom off of. Participation is the vehicle in which all the literacies are expressed. If students are not given the chance to participate, or feel uncomfortable participating, the incorporation of the literacies is futile. Without students have the ability to voice their opinions, the literacies are reduced to empirical categories of knowledge which hold no significance. It is through student voice that the literacies take on an intrinsic value.  

Sugata Mitra discussing self-teaching 

From: http://twbonline.pbworks.com

In my discipline, English, I believe fostering participation starts with the classroom layout. No one wants to sit in individually because it feels isolating and unfriendly. I envision my classroom as a gigantic circle, with my desk included, or as a round table. The spatial arrangement of the room always sets the tone. Having an inviting, and open space, provides the basis for a democratic classroom, which translates into a seamless incorporation of the literacies.

Discussion and participation are the main vehicles for the literacies to be taught. One practice that I enjoyed as a student was having mock debates about issues because it developed my critical literacy by looking for the shortcomings in my peers arguments, and it also gave me an appreciation for my classmates opinions. Mock debates is a great way to incorporate the literacies because it provides a democratic avenue for participation, while also giving rise to new insights. Debates about financial decisions, multiculturalism, and environmentalism would be interesting to watch unfold in the classroom!