Technology and Literacy

Faster computers with accessible broadband connectivity and expanded memory chips have made creating and viewing of multimedia compositions a more enjoyable and easier process. Many people, particularly teens, listen to podcasts, view video clips on blogs, or preview screencasts on a daily basis. They tune in for news updates, favorite music, or stories from their friends, family, and other interesting people, among many other things. Moreover, today’s youth are not only consumers of multimedia texts. They are also their producers. Good examples of student productions are a series of podcasts—book talks—on young and adult literature by college students, a Youth Radio
Atlanta series, a broadcasting news series by 4th graders, and 2nd graders’ book in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Please note how all these students’ unique voices shine through their multimedia compositions. They also have something important to share with us all about their personalized content featured in their productions.

Podcasts, screencasts, and blogvideos have just begun to evolve as new genres. Let us stop to think rhetorically about podcasts for a moment.

• What are they?
• How do we compose a podcast?

Please join in me in this exploration.

Writing still is the most neglected “R” throughout the school and college years in American education (The Neglected “R”: The Need for a Writing Revolution, 2003), particularly amidst the pressures of standardized testing and teacher accountability associated with it. Not surprisingly writing has become the most feared activity among many students in English classrooms. Newer technologies offer the possibilities for personal expression and reflection that may bring back passion for writing in our students’ hearts and minds. One of such possibilities is composing with digital photography/images. While digital technologies allow composing content other than text, text can be easily added to augment digitally created content. Richardson (2006) shares his excitement about this approach in classroom teaching:

What if you could invite other people from around the globe to have discussions about those images?

What if you and your students could annotate them with your own descriptions and observations?

What if you become a part of a community that contributes images of similar topics for you to consume? (p.102)

The Disappointment Turned Great or the Half Fun Day are good examples of students’ composition and publishing with digital images. Their posts also bring joy to the reader and their authors. Digital stories by students in the Scott County Schools will leave you with awe and smile too.

Also, have a look at how Barbara Gangley uses digital images to illustrate and to a push in new direction her reflection about important events in her professional career. A good example of this is her post, Heading Home from ELI–Lessons and Learnings. In her writing, digital photos become an inherent part of her narrative, can you see that too? Her images are also fun to watch. I invite you to contribute ideas to this reflection on fun writing with digital images by either addressing the questions posted below or by coming up with a question of your own.

What English language arts content, topics, and skills can be introduced to students with digital images and publishing?

What kind of teacher support will students need to be able to compose successfully with digital photos/images?