Educ 6810 - Reading and Discussion #12

"Teachers must bridge the gap between school and society and play some part in the fashioning of those great common purposes which should bind the two together." (Avila & Pandya, 2013, p. 123).

I chose this quote because I have used the same wording in many of my posts this semester.  I feel that we must close the gap with school and society.  It is brutal for students to walk into school and only learn the procedural content of any subject.  They need to learn based on real life experience, instances, and stories.  Teachers really need to do this with their students to make them aware of their surroundings instead of just the content.  

Retrieved from http://cheezburger.com/5814606080

I found this picture to be amusing as well as a great description of this quote.  It seems that the squirrel is having difficulty; therefore, he looks like he is struggling.  This is the same as teaching and bridging those gaps.  There is no easy way - it will take work; however, it is worth the work.

1. How did the Ask Anansi game support critical literacies?
The students were using clues and working together to come up with a possible solution to the problem.  This was using critical literacy skills as well as communication skills.  They were also using something other than worksheets and instances in the classroom to better understand.

2. How did the Ask Anansi game support academic literacies?
They were analyzing, supporting, problem solving and working together to come up with content material.

3. How did the Ask Anansi game support digital literacies?
Well, to have digital literacy skills, one needs skills dealing with technology.  Therefore, by using their content, they were using iPads to find the answers. This makes it easier for the children to go out into the real world and use the technology used for other things in life.

4. What is meant by the term "reading the word and reading the world and writing the world"? Give an example from the chapter.
This quote really empowers the use of writing skills in the classroom.  The students need bring world wide issues into the classroom; however, they need to utilize writing skills. In the reading, the students were asked to write a counter-narrative.



Source:

Avila, J., & Pandya, J. (2013). Critical digital literacies as social praxis. (Vol. 54). New York: NY: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.