Digital Literacy

Here is Professor Guy Merchant's definition of Digital literacy. Guy works at Sheffield Hallam University. The definition is contested as the, soon to be defunked, Primary National Strategy was introducing more screen texts and digitally generated texts into its curriculum.

You may find it interesting.

Guy blogs at http://myvedana.blogspot.com/ if you want to read more.

"My basic standpoint that digital literacy is best described as digitally mediated written communication (literacy qua literacy) remains unchanged. Unchanged for the reasons I’ve put forward elsewhere and synthesized in this piece. It seems to me that there are two substantive criticisms of this position. The first is that digital communication has become such a densely textured multimodal affair that it is unrealistic, reductive or somehow artificial to regard the different modes as separately functioning entities. They make meaning in and because of their interaction. The second criticism flows from this first one and suggests that that a literacy purist’s definition of the digital reduces literacy to letter-acy or basic alphabetic decoding and is therefore old-school. My counterargument is that literacy has always described the production and consumption of written language in a way that includes everything from the simple, perhaps unattractive but nonetheless essential, act of decoding letters, right up through comprehension into the critical reading of literature, media texts and so on in the various and diverse contexts in which it occurs. The fact that many texts are complex multimodal constructions does not undo the fact that we read different semiotic systems differently in order to build our various holistic meanings (that point follows on from Kress). In other words digital literacy has its origins in print literacy but reaches out and beyond the confines of bookspace. And this, I think, is the point at which digital literacy gets interesting; the very point at which the written word starts to take on new appearances, to perform new functions, to interact with new media, to connect different ideational and relational resources, to mutate, hybridize and so on. When we apply this sort of view of digital literacy to education it gets even more interesting! We are forced to re-evaluate the curriculum (what is literacy and literacy learning, how does it develop, where should it be placed in an education of communication etc etc) and our pedagogy (who learns what from whom and what, as well as how and when). I suspect that these are thoughts that will get developed in later posts!"

The Primary National Strategy is Dead: Hoorray for Diffendoofer Day...?

The Primary National Strategies are going. The strategies came and were enforced by agents of the government with a ferocity never seen before. Some will say, they were responsible for many good teachers leaving the profession, as they perceived their own personalities, professionalism and knowledge being no longer valued.

The pedagogy of 'Flobbertown' (to draw on the wonderful 'Hooray for Diffendoofer Day' by Dr Seuss and Jack Preluksky), where everyone does everything the same, was its aim. Incidently, I would like to remark on what a comfort Seuss and Preluksky's book has been over the years of the strategy. The message it gave through the actions and principles of the central character of Miss Bonkers will never be forgotten by teachers and educationalists around the country. It was Eve Bearne who introduced me to this book - thanks Eve!

Does this mean a new freedom for teachers to concentrate on the local needs of their children in learning literacy and numeracy? Well, one must not forget that freedom in a market economy has its own meaning. Drawing on the work of Stephen Ball, the privatisation of schooling and the invasion of the market into schools has already taken hold. Its continued advance is inhibited by any form of centralised and prescriptive state intervention in teaching like the strategies if schools are to compete for children in a marketised educational environment. If you are a member of the 'freedom' loving half of the Conservative Party, or follow Neo-liberal policy in education - The Primary National Strategy must die...now!

Professor David Crystal At Canterbury Christ Church University

Professor David Crystal, one of the the most important linguists of our time will be speaking at Canterbury Christ Church University at 4.30pm in the Powell Lecture theatre this Thursday 25th June.

The title of his lecture is: 'New Discourses in Electronically Mediated Communication'

The lecture is free. Don't miss this event. I shall be rushing back from the University of Greenwich that day to hear him speak.

Tories to abolish SATS!!

The Conservative party have said that if they win the next general election they will abolish SATs at the end of Key Stage 2, replacing them with an entrance exam at Secondary.

What can we conclude from this? This is the party that gave Chris Woodhead real Power as head of Ofsted; believes in selection and has a tradition of being the 'natural' party of the market economy.

It strikes me that that primary teachers may have seriously mixed feelings about this. The test the children will be given as they start Secondary school will be like a Key Stage 2 Sat after a five of six week break; will children need to revise over the summer? Will there be 'summer schools' run by teachers? How will the Government continue to test the effectiveness of primary schools? Hmm, watch this space...

Glogging...yes, glogging

Have you ever thought of 'postering' yourself? This site tells you how. http://www.glogster.com/ It has a multi-modal approach to communicating messages on a range of subjects. People are posting their glogs!

Bologna Process

I've been reading about the Bologna process for Higher Education. The stated aim of the Bologna process, when first announced in 1999, was to create a common market for European education. The idea was that there would be a standardised system of qualifications throughout the continent making it easier for students to work and study in foreign countries.

As the Economist reported in April 2009, the governments of Europe embraced the Bologna process as a way of bringing in shorter and more work-related degrees. In Spain, the government used the process to introduce fees for MA students and France called their change of funding circumstances for Higher Education 'Bologna'.

The stated aim of Bologna is a good one. It's the way Higher Education appears to be seen by governments across Europe as a way to prepare students for work (produce specific forms of Labour Power) rather than provide a personally enriching intellectual experience for people that worries.