What has been most memorable in this course for me has been learning about digital literacy and multimodal composition, and how they are slowly changing the way we teach our students in the 21st century. Because I am both a student and an educator, these concepts are really relevant to me. As a student, I spend a ridiculous amount of time online dedicated to social networking and conducting research. As a teacher, I use the internet on a daily basis to research teaching practices, educational resources and communicate with others in my field to trade points and opinions. In fact, my classroom has an up-to computer system completely equipped with a document camera, Smartboard and printer. It is the only teaching style I am accustomed to because from the moment I started teaching, this technology has been available to me and I rely on it all the time. I cannot imagine teaching any other way, especially in our world, which is constantly connected online and exposed to tons of information. It was refreshing to see writers such as David Warlick, Bronwyn Williams and Cynthia Selfe advocate digital literacy and recognize that our teachers should be providing students with opportunities for multimodal composing.
Having to write an essay on my literacy learning experience was particularly meaningful for me because I really had to think back about the literacy practices that I underwent as a student and how they have shaped who I am as a student today. At first, this assignment seemed relatively easy. I figured it would be easy to sit and recall these memories, and when I did, I began questioning the literacy practices that my teachers we taking and wondering what kind of reader and writer I would be if I had had different experiences. I began thinking about how my literacy experience has influenced my own teaching practices. What similar methods do I use that l learned from my teachers? How has education and curriculum changed over the years? In what way am I sponsoring my students' learning? Finding the answers to these questions did not prove to be as simple as I had anticipated. But taking the time to reflect on my literacy past turned out to be very significant for me. I learned that my literacy sponsors had a great deal of influence on who I am as a reader and writer today.
When I would think of literacy, the first image that would pop into my head would be a hard cover textbook. I think that image speaks volumes about what constituted as literacy in my world. But after taking this class, my views have changed dramatically. Literacy is a much more complex idea and one that comes in many forms, genres and modalities. I am also more open to expression through literacy, and seeing how my students' work can blossom by embracing this idea. I want to continue learning more about digital literacy and the methods I can follow to support this concept. Like the scholars I read in this course, I believe in preparing my students for the future and without technology, I can't imagine doing that.
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