With the advent of the internet and other communications technologies the traditional idea of literacy has been challenged and stretched in ways which have resulted in new ideas of what literacy means. This conversation has lead to the idea of “new literacies”, encompassing multimedia such as: search engines, websites, games, and instant messaging (Coiro et al., 2009; Coiro & Dobler, 2007).
Scholars are required to both contribute to the research community and communicate knowledge in their field to students. A variety of old and new literacies are required to function well in both of these environments. Some literacy tasks required of researchers include the ability to locate research articles virtually, read complex texts for meaning, and synthesize information across multiple sources. One new literacy skill necessary to successfully navigate the search for relevant articles is the metacognitive strategy of managing the tension present between the efficiency of searching and finding articles, with the slow and methodical reading necessary to glean understanding (Coiro & Dobler, 2007).
As a teacher it is necessary to help students become proficient at using new literacies. The Coiro et al, (2009) study states that there is a concern that schools are not adopting the teaching of new literacies, and are instead stuck teaching old strategies which are not appropriate for the way information is communicated in the modern world. While these skills are still necessary, they are not longer sufficient to function optimally in a technologically connected society which disseminates much information by technological means (i.e. internet).
Matthew,
Your mention of the tension between searching and retrieving sources and slow, methodical reading for understanding really resonated with me. With the enormous amount of information available at our fingertips via the Internet, it’s easy to focus on the skill of bringing information together; indeed, this is where I focused my response. But balance with knowing when and how to dig deeper is really important, as well. I’m often overwhelmed by the amount of information available and struggle with knowing when my searches have been exhaustive enough. You’ve made me think about a set of several mutually dependent literacies: (1) efficient searching; (2) evaluation of sources; (3) knowing when to stop searching; (4) thoughtful and critical reading of chosen sources; and (5) synthesis.
I agree, about the collection of metacognitive strategies needed for effective searching. I especially think that coming into a new field in which one is unfamiliar can be particularly overwhelming, and may take a significant amount of time and reading just to orient oneself to the literature. Although purely based on personal observation, I think it is interesting to note that many of the older articles I have read from before the internet (1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s) seem to have a significantly shorter reference list than newer articles. I feel this is due to the ease with which current researchers can access decades of articles with the click of a button.
Hi Matthew, your note of how effective digital research/source evaluation includes some “slow and methodical” literacy skills not often associated with the internet made me think of my teaching experiences. Students had deficits in different areas: perhaps they excelled at exploring search terms but could not evaluate an article for relevancy; or perhaps they got stuck reading articles too thoroughly instead of efficiently managing the large pool of resources. I was intrigued by Rich’s (2008) idea that “Neurological studies show that learning to read changes the brain’s circuitry. Scientists speculate that reading on the Internet may also affect the brain’s hard wiring in a way that is different from book reading.” My experience tells me this must be true, and I eagerly await future research that will detail these differences.
Matthew, you bring up a good point that new literacies seem to place a greater demand for metacognitive processes and strategies– navigating through texts on the internet, for instance, involves the ability to bend both quick, dynamic processes for searching and locating relevant information as well as the ability to read deeply.
In your reply to my post, you posed the question of how the barrier between effective practice and implementation could be bridged. In my opinion, these “new literacies” should be integrated with teacher education courses; ideally, teacher education and the school environment should support and provide opportunities for teachers to use these literacies in the context of teaching and lesson preparation. The most effective way to become “fluent” in these literacies is to gain experience and familiarity with implementing these literacies (design, non-linear reading, etc) in day to day teaching practices, as we have seen from the McRory Wallace article.
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