Anonymous

University of the People

Written Assignment

EDUC 5271: ADVANCED PRACTICES FOR TEACHING ELEMENTARY AND

MIDDLE SCHOOL LITERACY

“High schools—even when they're working exactly as designed—cannot teach our kids what
they need to know today.”
-Bill Gates (2005, p.2)

This assignment will unpack the first two principles of Richards and McKenna’s (2003) Central

Principles that facilitate an understanding of the new literacies of the Internet. The assignment will

draw connections between the two principles before providing an indication as to what this means

for classroom practice including what needs to be considered and implemented in order to prepare

learners for their future.

Principle One:

“The new literacies of the Internet have initially emerged as a powerful force because of

globalization, restructuring, and the changing nature of the workplace” (Richards and McKenna,

2003, p.26).

As Richards and McKenna (2003) stated, understanding the context in which the new

literacies of the Internet are emerging from is essential to identifying the benefits and limitations

they offer. According to Milliken (2004), the big transition of society, specifically with regards to

the globalization of economic activity, political relations, information, communications, and

technology has a major implication for the profession of teaching and the associated educational

systems.

There is a stark contrast from how the educational world traditionally viewed literacy to

how it views it today and this has impacted the practices that educators integrate into their

classrooms. Rapid technology advancements in education have occurred and this constant
development has informed a series of decisions that lead to schools and educators taking the

informed step of integrating technology into classroom practices. As Henson (2012) stated,

technology forces education to keep up in order to prepare learners for a constantly changing world

that is increasingly dependent on technology. This ‘keeping up’ inevitably starts with the

classroom and the strategies educators use to integrate technology into learning experiences.

Principle Two

“Our limited focus on traditional literacies in the classroom must change to include the new

literacies of Internet technologies” (Richards and McKenna, 2003, p.28).

According to Richards and McKenna (2003), the Internet has charged its way into

classrooms with some researchers highlighting its benefits whilst others highlight its limitations.

As Colburn (2000) stated, although research has offered vital knowledge with regards to effective

technology implementation, additional research needs to be conducted to pin-point factors that

facilitate effective technology integration in the educational context of the classroom. As Richards

and McKenna (2003) stated “the lack of teachers who can effectively teach the new literacies of

Internet technologies is also due to the failure to adequately prepare new teachers” (p.29).

Additionally, as Oblinger and Oblinger (2005) highlighted, the learners of today process

information differently from the generations before them and thus educators ought to focus their

attention on improving the 21st century skills of learners which are centered around high-level

thinking skills and the technology literacy of students. According to Partnership for 21st Century

Skills (2008), the 21st century skills are cognitive or high-level thinking skills used to solve new

problems of the new world. Such skills include information and communication skills which serve

as an umbrella for media literacy skills and communication skills.

 Whilst bearing such skills in mind, educators need to also provide learners with choice in

classroom practices so that they are able to complete literacy tasks in the format and method that

best suits their needs and thus leads to better learning outcomes. Evidence has shown that more

learners are able to pass literacy assessment tasks when they utilize technology as part of the

assessment (Russell & Plati, 2000 cited in Richards and McKenna, 2003).

In conclusion, the two principles are related as one gives reasons for the integration of new

literacies of the Internet whilst the other highlights the responsibility of educators to change in

order to reap the benefits of integrating such new literacies of the Internet into classroom practice.

As the IB (2007) Mission and Strategy statement states, the central goal of the IB is to develop

autonomous lifelong learners. Principle One and Principle Two form two of the strands that will

facilitate the achievement of this end-goal.

References

Gates, B. (2005, February). Prepared remarks at National Education Summit on High Schools.
Available: www.sde.state.ok.us/hssweb/docs/GatesNGA.pdf

Henson, A. (2012, May 1). Why Technology is Essential in Curriculum and Content Alignment.
Retrieved from http://www.internetatschools.com/Articles/Editorial/Features/Why-
Technology-Is-Essential-in-Curriculum-and-Content-Alignment-5bAvailable-Full-
Text2c-Free5d-82253.aspx

International Baccalaureate Organization. (2007). Mission and strategy. Geneva, Switzerland:

Author. Available: www.ibo.org/mission/

Milliken, J. (2004). Postmodernism vs Professionalism in Higher Education, Higher Education in

Europe, Vol. XXIX, No. 1, April, pp9-18

Oblinger,D.G., Oblinger,J.L.( 2005). Educating the Net Generation. Retrieved from

http://www.educause.edu/educatingthenetgen/

Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2008). A Report and Mile Guide for 21st Century Skills.
Retrieved from: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/downloads/P21_Report.pdf

Pedro, F. (2006). The New Millennium Learners: Challenging our Views on ICT and Learning,
OECD-CERI. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/1/1/38358359.pdf

Richards, J. C., & McKenna, M. C. (2003). Integrating multiple literacies in k-8 classrooms:
cases, commentaries, and practical applications.
file:///C:/Users/eosman/Downloads/Integrating_Multiple_Literacies_in_K-
8_Classrooms_..._----_(Part_I_Theoretical_Perspectives).pdf