Mass Keynote Final

How Does Reading and Learning Change on the Internet? … Ideas for Responding to New Literacies Across Massachusetts Julie Coiro - University of Rhode Island Don Leu, Ian O’Byrne, Lisa Zawilinski, and Greg McVerry University of Connecticut

Visit the Blog for this talk: http://newliteracies.typepad.com/mass_ssr/

The New Literacies Research Team Supported by: • • • • • • • • • •

Ray and Carole Neag The Carnegie Corporation of New York U.S. Department of Education The National Science Foundation North Central Educational Research Lab PBS The Annenberg Foundation William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation http://www.newliteracies.uconn.edu Australian Council of Educational

Goals for today’s conversation Define a “new literacies perspective” of online reading comprehension Propose a new way of thinking about reading, writing, and communicating Spark conversations and reflection about new ways of teaching and learning with the Internet

Welcome to REALITY …

Literacy through the ages…

Internet 

  40,000 BC­ 10,000 BC

1,000

2,000 BC

8,000

2,500 1,000 BC 1500

 300

165   20

1800 1965

1985

Weblogs

  7   5  4 1992 1997 2010 Wikis WWW 

More recently… Podcasts

Vlogs

RSS  Newsfeeds  Open source technologies Data  Mashups

Tags

A New Literacies Perspective considers the Internet as this generation’s defining technology for information, communication, and especially for learning.

Globalization and The Internet are Changing Literacy, Learning, and Communication 1 billion readers and writers are now on the Internet (de Argaez, 2006) The online population has tripled in the past 5 years (Evolution of Online Linguistic Populations, 2005).

94% of online teens use the Internet for research (Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2005)

We live in an ever-changing global information economy “To thrive in the global knowledge economy, it is  going to be important to change the whole  educational system to ensure a wide base of  knowledge workers who understand and use  information technologies” (Riley, 2005)  Today’s graduates need to be critical thinkers,  problem solvers, and effective communicators  who are proficient in both core subjects and new,  21st Century global information skills (ETS, 2007;  ISSN, 2007; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2007; Time, 2007).

We live in an ever-changing global information economy “Other countries are racing us to the top” (Friedman,  The World is Flat, 2005).    The first international assessment of online  reading comprehension will take place in 2009,  but the United States, so far, will not be  participating (PISA, 2007).  Likewise, NAEP excluded  online reading comprehension from their 2009  reading framework.  

The Greatest Irony of NCLB

Students who need to be prepared the  most for an online age of information  are precisely those who are being  prepared the least (Leu, 2007).

A New Literacies Perspective of Online Reading Comprehension 1.

Students require additional, new skills to read and  effectively comprehend information online. 2. Students are sometimes more literate than their  teachers with certain aspects of using the Internet.  3.    The Internet is a READING and WRITING issue  (not a technology issue) for every content­area  classroom teacher, reading educator, and library  media specialist.

But what are “new literacies”? Some define new literacies as… New social practices (Street, 1999) or new Discourses (Gee, 2003) that emerge with new technologies New semiotic [sign systems] or cultural contexts (Cope & Kalantzis, 2002; Kress, 2004) made possible by new technologies A construct that cuts across many of these ideas (Lankshear & Knobel, 2003)

What are “new literacies”? A common set of assumptions 1. 2. 3. 4.

New skills, strategies, dispositions, and social  practices are required by new technologies for  information and communication These new literacies are central to full participation  in a globalized community New literacies regularly change as their defining  technologies change New literacies are multifaceted and benefit from  analysis from multiple points of view (Handbook of Research on New Literacies Coiro, Knobel, Lankshear & Leu, 2008)

The new literacies of online reading comprehension: How does reading and learning change on the Internet? You begin by identifying an important question New ways of locating information New reasons for critically evaluating the information New contexts for synthesizing information to answer your questions New ways of communicating the answers to others Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, and Cammack (2004)

Identifying Important Questions Developing important questions is not typically considered a part of reading comprehension/content area learning. Students seldom ask questions; student often answer questions. Central to the new literacies is self-directed inquiry, information use, and learning.

Scaffolding inquiry - Grade 1 Teacher questions: What do worms look like? What do worms eat? Student questions (1st graders): Why do worms have a ring around their body? Why are worms afraid of the sun? Why do worms make tunnels? What do worms sound like?

Inspiring inquiry - Grade 4+

Inspiring Inquiry - Grade 7 How is saliva put into the mouth and how is there so much of it all the time? Posted by: Ben | April 25, 2005 10:28 AM

I have one question. What keeps the organs of the digestive system in place? If anyone knows the answer could they email it to me at [email protected]. Thank you! Posted by: Daniel | April 26, 2005 01:22 PM

I learned that the stomach breaks down food with the acid. My question is what happens in the small intestine. Posted by: Zach | April 25, 2005 06:54 AM

Expanding inquiry - Grades 9-12

Does the human desire to be free change over time?

Locating Information Reading now requires navigating and evaluating the relevancy of multiple cues Reading within search engine results Reading within websites

Online reading requires new sources of prior knowledge, new levels of inferential reasoning, and new contexts for monitoring comprehension. (Coiro & Dobler, 2007)

Searching within websites

Ask Jeeves for Kids

Yahooligans

Kidsclick

Reading search engine results

Evaluating relevancy - what’s next?

Critically Evaluating Information

Initial Understanding:  What three issues threaten this crop? Demonstrating a Critical Stance: Given the author’s recommendations,  how might he vote on a decision to  ration water supplies in years when  there is a water shortage?

Critically Evaluating Information Developing an  Interpretation:  In the bar graph, in  which year was  there the greatest  decline of acreage? ✦ Is this information REALLY TRUE??    ✦ How do I know?? 

✦THIS IS MISSING FROM standardized tests!!  

Critically Evaluating Accuracy, Reliability, and Perspective There is little quality control of information. Readers need to assume responsibilities once given to editors and publishing companies. Judge overall accuracy, quality, and richness of content Investigate author qualifications Verify contact information Recognize author’s lens/point of view

Critically Evaluating Information Evaluating understanding: Does it make sense to me? Evaluating relevancy: Does it meet my needs? Evaluating accuracy: Can I verify it with another reliable source? Evaluating reliability: Can I trust it? Evaluating bias: How does the author shape it? Evaluating choice: Which one is best and why?

Students know you can’t trust everything on the Internet…but they do!

Verifying Accuracy (Sometimes even reliable sources make mistakes)

Verifying Accuracy (Even people you know might have a “tricky” side)

How do we deal with advertising ? Don’t just avoid it; teach students how to recognize it and to sort out the learning. Discuss the homepage layout of various commercial/educational sites… Is the site “balanced”? Where are the sales pitches hidden? How does the organization’s “perspective” influence what they put on their website and where they link to? 

What’s missing from Scholastic?

What are their motives?

Considering multiple perspectives

Japanese Internment Camps

Synthesizing Information The pattern of reading on the Internet is very different from reading in textbooks -non-linear and much more within multiple, multi-leveled sources. Synthesizing information from multiple, and widely disparate information sources, with different levels of validity, becomes a challenge.

3

2 1

   Multiple,  non­linear  pathways  within a  website

4

5 ✦What do Amur tigers eat?

Synthesizing information from multiple sources

Communicating Answers to (and with) Others Many new literacies, from many new technologies, for communication. Email IM Weblogs Webpages Word Processors

Each rapidly changes, generating even newer literacies (e.g., cognitive skills & social practices).

Communicating with…

Communicating with VoiceThread

Creating a Podcast

Communicating by…

Participating in a Second Life  Virtual Classroom Discussion

Each tool has its own set of literacies Email IM Weblogs Webpages Wikis Google Docs Podcasts You Tube Virtual Environments VoiceThread

Do you know the set of literacies and social practices associated with each of these online technologies? Do all students have equal opportunities to explore, learn, and communicate with these tools in your classroom/school?

So, how should we teach & support online reading comprehension in secondary classrooms?

The answer requires a team approach: Classrooms School Leadership Teams Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Classrooms

1. “Borrow” good ideas 

Google: high school biology classroom home page English classroom home page Get connected to online resources.

2. Use Internet Reciprocal Teaching Phase I: Teacher­led Basic Online Skills Phase II: Problem­based Learning of  New Literacies Skills Phase III: Internet Inquiry

3. Use Read Write Think

4. Help the last become first

5. Teach critical evaluation

6. Include the reading comprehension skills of locating information

7. Use ePals (free, student safe email)

8. Use Internet Project Internet Morning Message of the Day  Project

9. Explore the use of Ning (ning.com)

School Leadership Teams Email policies Filter/unfilter policies Professional development policies Laptops

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Define the problem correctly A literacy issue Technology standards  become integrated within  subject area standards  Online learning is integrated  into each subject area;  Every classroom teacher  is responsible Subject area assessments  include online information  and communication skills

A technology issue Technology standards are  separated from subject  area standards  Online learning is separated  from subject areas Specialists are responsible Online information and  communication skills are  assessed separately from  subject area knowledge. 

Understand the hidden consequences of your reading and writing assessments The rich get richer in reading Good writers get denied in writing

Provide school leadership training Change only happens with school leadership Understand the scale of the challenge.

Ensure appropriate teacher education and support for professional development New teachers are not information savvy without preparation Experienced teachers have a double challenge

Central Ideas From Today The Internet requires new, more complex forms of higher level thinking, reading comprehension, and communication skills. We need to expand our conception of teaching. We should be thinking of how best to prepare students to read, think, problem solve, and communicate with others using the Internet.  

Our additional sessions today: Strategies for Critically Evaluating Online Information – Julie Coiro Wikis and Blogs and Google Docs, Oh My! Online Writing Tools to Support Literature Study – Lisa Zawilinski Oh, The Places You'll Go: The Spaces Where Literacy, New Literacies And Social Studies Intersect – Ian O’Byrne Linking Science And Numeracy With Literacy In The Classrooms Of Massachusetts – J. Greg McVerry Internet Reciprocal Teaching and Internet Project – Don Leu

What Lesson Have WE Learned as We Have Worked to Support A Changing Literacy Curriculum?

Teachers become more important, though their role changes, in a new literacies classroom.

You deserve support and time to explore during this period of change so that…

..all students achieve the futures they so richly deserve.