"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). This quote strongly suggests that as educators, we need to bridge the gap between what we must teach within our curriculum and what our students are learning on their own time outside of school within the media and new technologies. Students are so in tune with today’s society dealing with the internet and all that it entails, social media via computers and cell phones, text messaging, television, and all that they see in this society. Therefore, as educators, we need to be certain that we are not only involving these within our curriculum, but we are also teaching the safety that they need to keep in mind.
As students progress through this digitized world, they need to realize that the things that they are so accustom to and the things that they spend so much time engulfed in, need a lot of safety skills, as well as critical and analytical skills. As educators, it is our job to make sure that they are properly educated in this manner. “Technology plays an important role, not alone but as a constantly changing set of socially situated tools for literacy, for making sense of the world and ourselves” (Avila & Pandya, 2013, p. 104) I feel that this quote explains that not only are we to teach them the skills they need, we ourselves need to understand how and why we are teaching this. Therefore, we need to dedicate time into learning as much as we can about what our students enjoy the most. If the students enjoy the modes of technology within this digitally changed society, they will learn in this way as well.
To make sure that we incorporate these things into our classroom, we need to make sure that we take into consideration our curriculum. We can use PowerPoints, digital stories, constructing and deconstructing ads, etc. "The tools of digital storytelling, as well as the social relations that this type of activity promoted, provided the space and opportunity for youth to engage in meaningful practices to represent and extend their understandings of complex issues with which they grappled personally and intellectually." (Nixon, 57) As long as our students are extending their understanding and knowing the meaningful practices that are being used, they will grow as an individual, as well as, an academic student.
In closing, I feel that in this day and age, students are so dependent upon technologies that are handed to them, that as educators, we should not turn away from this. We need to embrace the powerful tools that they are utilizing, and use it ourselves. This way we can not only make the students better academically, but they will become digital learners. This will help them in years to come, and in the workplace. Therefore, we need to learn to love the new age, not try to cling to the older practices in which we are used to using.
Sources:
Avila, J., & Pandya, J. (2013). Critical digital literacies as social praxis. (Vol. 54). New York: NY: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.
Links:
Digital Storytelling
Critical Thinking on the Internet
The Innovative Educator
Using the Internet
Internet Safety
