Widzinski - New Literacies

1. Your conceptual understanding:
My ideas and thoughts of literacy has changed and enhanced dramatically over the 10 weeks in this class. What I am realizing more and more, and especially with this project, is that literacy is all around us. The thing that is so great is that we have the means to take the world around us, the literacy around us, and teach it in awesome, hands-on ways. I have also realized that there are so many forms of technology that I don't know how to do. I explored Julia's page and when I talked to her, she didn't even know how to use glogster, she just figured it out as she went along. This is something I need to take the time to do - explore different technologies so I feel comfortable one day incorporating them in my classroom. At the beginning, I was aware of cultural literacy and the basic definition, but after completing this project, I realized the depth of the literacy. It was awesome to find the resources that are available for teachers and students on cultural literacy. What really got me to this point in thinking about literacy was through our class discussions, and exploring this project.

2. Classroom Implications:
Providing effective literacy instruction to diverse learners will be a struggle. I believe that as each year passes with new diverse students, the ways in which I teach literacy will have to change to cater to each student. This is the big thing- to teach literacy effectively, you must know you students and their strengths and weaknesses. With this you can tailor the lessons to their developmental level and to their interests. In exploring cultural literacy, it has given me insight into knowing that I will be supporting all different cultures in my classroom, and that I will need to teach and represent them all in a positive manner. I want my students to explore digital literacies and try out different things with them. I plan to help them do this by providing them with all the resources I possibly can. I can do this by exploring different technologies on my own, teaching with them, and then giving the students the tools to use these digital literacies. For students to develop cultural literacy, I believe they need to go into each culture and idea with an open mind. This will also help kids start to recognize their own biases which is important to know as an adult, while teaching them and opening their eyes to different ways of life. I hope to provide support in teaching children about many different cultures in any way that I can. I hope to make my students as well rounded as possible by using cultural literacy in the classroom.