Digital Literacy In Today's Classrooms

Teaching language in today’s time has evolved and changed from the way it used to be. These days, teachers of elementary school students need to be aware of both the technology and the popular culture that their students are exposed to. Both of these mediums can be used within the classroom to teach common concepts, enhance writing practices and build a bridge from teacher to student and from home to school. I think the greatest change in the modern teaching of language is the new genres associated with language, including digital literacy. However, I see these changes as positive and exciting, and something that teachers should take advantage of.

I think it is important to introduce students at an early age to technology in the form of the Internet with its fun games and interactive, child-friendly websites, as well as the options of word processing and writing emails. I agree that emails offer students a new context in which to write to a real, socially-interactive audience, and I can see the benefits of this. However, I do not think that students as young as six years old need their own email address, which I have seen in many classrooms. (Some of these kids spent up to an hour each day checking their account!) Instead I would suggest that perhaps elementary school teachers, even with students as young as kindergarten, create a class email account as a way of modeling writing emails and other associated skills. Parents and other teachers could email the account in order to familiarize students with appropriate email-related skills. This activity may also prevent students from writing in such the common informal and decontextualized ways of most emails, when they get their own email account one day.

With respect to digital literacy, I think the essential knowledge needed today is how to compose and respond to an email, how to word process, how to use common programs such as Microsoft Excel, etc. and how to surf the Internet, whether it is for work or pleasure. Anything beyond these skills I think is non-essential. Moreover, it goes without saying that as one spends more time using digital mediums, such as the Internet or a computer program, one gains more literacy with them. Therefore, I can say that after one masters the above-mentioned essential skills, they will build more skills upon them. But, with regards to elementary-aged students, I think the most important skills to know are the mechanics of using a computer, such as how to manipulate the mouse and what the symbols on the keyboard mean. Beyond these physical skills, I think using the Internet to view teacher-monitored, developmentally-appropriate websites is the most important of skills.

Finally, I believe that at no time should teachers stop teaching their students the mechanics and practices associated with writing by means of a paper and pencil. This is not some antiquated practice; it is still highly important. If students do not first learn how to write in formal, elaborated and explicit language, before learning the abbreviated manner of digital or email writing, they will lack this skill forever. I do not want to live in a society that is so computerized and digitally-focused that common writing practices are forgotten.