Learning Task #1 Theory in Practice

The world that we live in is changing and the way that students learn has changed as well. Traditional literacies included learning through the use of paper, pencils, and books. This is how students learned to read and write. With the introduction of computers and the internet, students need new literacies to effectively utilize the technology tools. “These new literacies allow us to use the Internet and other ICTs to identify important questions, locate information, critically evaluate the usefulness of that information, synthesize information to answer those questions, and then communicate the answers to others”. These new literacies change how we need to teach in the classroom. If we just teach using traditional methods, our students will not be prepared for the future. We need to educate our students in the use of new technologies. New literacies change constantly with the ever-changing technologies. When I was a child, there were no such things as wikis, blogs, or podcasts. I never had the option of using the internet to do research, instead I had to go to the library and read books. Adults now use internet at work and some jobs are dependent upon the internet. By the time our students are adults, there will be new technologies that they will experience and they need to be educated on how to use them. Our ultimate goal as educators should be to prepare students to be civically competent adults. Students need to have the skills needed to do this, and this includes being able to utilize new technologies.