Literacy

Before beginning this class, this is where I was when I started and what I believed literacy to be:

• Reading, Writing or viewing some sort of literature
• Books, newspapers, print on posters
• Mainly reading or writing something of interest

Here is where my literacy beliefs are now:

• Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, Viewing
• Viewing literature written in books, newspapers, posters, signs
• Literacy is involved all over technology...must have components to view & create literacy for others
• Ability to read and write
• Literacy involves all cultures
• Literacy takes on many, many forms and almost everything includes some

Readings/Events/Experiences that got me to believe what I believe:

• Multiple articles, books, lectures about multicultural literacy
• Participating in hands on language arts field placements where literature is represented in multiple ways
• Experiencing literature beyond just reading and writing
• Reading about cultural literacy to see that literacy not only takes on many forms, it also takes on many diverse groups of society
• Reading about cultural literacy to find that literacy also involves the ability to understand and appreciate the similarities and differences in the customs, values, and beliefs of one’s own culture the cultures of others http://www.metiri.com/WebInvestigation/Stuff/rubric.doc

Exploring blogs

The new literacy that I chose to explore is an online blog. So far I have begun to explore the website and what each component has to offer. When I began to make this blog, I logged onto the website, made an account and then followed the prompts. This was actually much easier to create than I had imagined. In the past, I have heard of many people who decided to create blogs as a sort of journal or diary, for the public to read. I have also in the past read other people's blogs, and actually were very intrigued by what the authors had to say. The thought of me creating my own blog had never really crossed my mind. For one, I have never truely been that great or up to date with technology, so frankly I just figured it would be took complicated and time consuming...not worth all the effort. So, therefore I never created one of my own. Now that it had become an option in class, I figured I would give it a try and potentially consider using it again in the future. Now that I have gotten a little bit familiar with the blog process, I realize that once you have set up your blog, all you need to do is log on and post whenever you feel like it. I am starting to play around with some ideas about how to make this look more exciting or creative but I think the key to a blog is poking around the website to see what is offered and then practice testing some of the features out. Once you have yours created, it has really proven to be quite simple from here. You can also look at all of your posts once you log in, change your background, edit your profile, change your font and font color, and it seems as though you can add websites as well as pictures to your blogs. We will see what is still to come.

New Literacies Introduction

The New Literacy
Which type of literacy will you explore?
I am planning on exploring Cultural Literacy as well as Visual Literacy

What prior experience, if any, do you have in that area?
I have had some prior experience talking about diverse literature and the importance of including these types of literature a classroom library. As for Visual Literacy, it is obvious that it is all around us so I have seen/viewed it but as far as analyzing the significance of it, I have never really had a chance to dig through it.

Why is this area of interest to you?
For one, I am a huge believer of the importance of including multiple types of diverse literature in a classroom environment. I believe that students need to see something that they are able to connect to, to gain a full understanding and appreciation of the material. I also realize that each student learns differently and I believe it is important to scaffold learning to meet the learning needs and styles of each and every student. Visual Literacy gives us the opportunity to learn in new ways.