New+Literacies+Practices



Multiliteracy is a term that is constantly being developed, shifted, updated and so forth.With the continuing advancements in technology students can no longer be just “literate” but need to be “multiliterate” with the ability to communicate and make meaning from a variety of different modes such as through using the computer, understanding visuals and making meaning out of gestures, all of which were observed in the classroom observation exercise. Multiliteracy ‘expands our view of reading, writing, speaking and listening to include the various multimedia symbol forms,’ (Hill 2012, p. 361) therefore bringing technology into the classroom opens another element for literacy teaching to be implemented successfully.

//** MULTILITERACY IN THE CLASSROOM! **//

From the six classrooms that were observed within in our group the use of media within the classroom varied from non-existent, minimal and high. The use of multiliteracy within the classroom has been observed and questioned by each team member who has then put forward its importance in schools and how this aspect intertwines with the schools values and beliefs.

One member witnessed no evidence of technology and no plans for future implementation, within this specific classroom. The teacher had a strong background in children’s literacy and the literacy plan that was being used has been heavily tailored to the teacher’s approach and beliefs to literacy as well as having positive feedback and working well prior years. The school itself had some use of technology, with the adjoining classroom having a smart board. The two classes on occasion combined to use the smart board thus it was something the children had some understanding of. For those other team members who did experience some form of technology in the classroom the following forms of equipment were prominent within the school and/or classroom; smart boards, desktop computers, laptops and iPads.

The most common form of technology within the classroom was the use and presence of the desktop computers. Independent work was common across the group and primarily used for research or activities that correspond to the literacy lessons and literacy books, ie. Soundwaves. Two team members noted that although the use of computers was identified it was not the main focus or resource for that particular lesson and that the teacher does use them frequently for teaching literacy. When questioning the benefits of using desktop computers in the classroom one teacher explained that the intention was to further develop skills in alphabet recognition, speed and accuracy as well as computer keyboard speed, which are skills that are necessary in the future.



The following data further represents the use of new literacies within the classroom as additional data that has been collated from our professional experience placements to provide as an additional resource. An example of the smart board, noted on placement was a simple and effective tool that was used to display a timer for the grade 3 class in preparation for NAPLAN. The teacher used previous years NAPLAN reading comprehension, spelling and language analysis test papers alongside the smart board. The tests were able to be uploaded to the smart board allowing the teacher to cross out incorrect answers and write down the children’s strategies for solving the question. It worked particularly well as a whole class activity and gave each child a chance to contribute their personal strategies and tactics as well as decipher, where they went wrong and what they can do to avoid making the same mistakes.

One member of my group was given a specific website from her supervising teacher exemplifying the use of multimedia in the classroom. The site http:reading.ecb.org/ allows access for both teachers and students as shown below. The student site also allows children to bring literacy home with them and complete further activities outside school hours. The strength of this particular literacy program enabled formations between the book and website as well as further developing text to text, text to word, text to picture abilities. The teacher noted that this program was used at lease once per day in groups allowing her to visit, help, assess other groups within the classroom. The aim of this site is to draw connections between hard copy materials and the corresponding online format. In the ‘teacher area’ a wide variety of teaching support is provided and the use of this is to make the literacy more meaningful for the child which in turn is an excellent example of how new literacy can be used simply and effectively in the classroom.



__ [|**http://reading.ecb.org/**] __ [].

//** DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AT HOME! **//

Another benefit of modern technology within the classroom and its contribution to literacy is it often plays a continuing role at home and sparks children’s intrest. In comparison to prior modern technology homework was quite bland and failed to be stimulating to a wide variety of learners. Being able to make homework interactive is exciting and challenging, which is why learning basic computers skills within school encourages children to continue these study habits outside of the classroom and prepare them for the future.

An example a team member noted from observation was the use of a program called 'Soundwaves', a program created from the Firefly Education group. This program allows children to have access at and complete revision from the current week in conjunction with mini tests. It allows the teacher to view each child’s participation in the program outside school hours as well as the progress they are making each week. The program also generated weekly achievement certificates, which from observation worked as a strong positive reinforcement. Certificates started at encouragement to gold and using a program such as Soundwaves gave the children a reward for the effort they put in outside of school. The teacher noted that the use of this program also helped teach the children about their responsibilities outside school and time management. It is to be noted it was the first year the school had used this program and overall the feedback has been excellent from the teachers, parents and students.

__ [|**http://tlc.fireflyeducation.com.au/program/soundwaves3/unit5/learningobject/3**] __

__ [|**http://tlc.fireflyeducation.com.au/program/soundwaves3/unit5/learningobject/568**] __

There are several positive aspects of using technology in the classroom, with one being it keeps children up to with technology. It allows children to learn a set of literacy skills that may present more meaning for the individual. Becoming interactive is exciting for children and provides opportunity for growth especially for those children who are weaker at learning from conventional teaching methods. Technology as indicated above can keep a whole class working and learning whilst the teacher can work one on one with a small group or individual, therefore essentially enabling frequent reviewing of a child’s literacy development.

Each school however doesn’t have the same access to technology due to funding, allowances etc. How can we evenly weigh out the pros and cons if the sample of schools is so varied?  Price is a major downfall of new technology which is a primary threat when it comes to purchasing new media equipment and in reality given a schools status acts as an indicator as to the amount of equipment that school owns. Another questionable flaw to technology is the amount of time used on equipment, and the focus of the activity. To much time spent on a computer may stray a child to move away from the task at hand and act as a distraction.

Whichever way you argue for or against new literacies practice in the classroom we must accept its existence and the power it holds to successfully teach literacy. This study shows varying results however with the majority of observations witnessing some form of technology present.