Book review of Teaching literacy in the digital age: Inspiration for all levels and literacies by Joy Myers and Melissa Adams-Budde provide a detailed and well thought out review of how Mark Gura formulated this book. They state that
Each chapter in the book highlights specific ideas rather than providing lesson plans in order to be applicable to a larger audience, and each is authored by a current classroom teacher or support staff who works directly with teachers (769).
Teaching literacy in the digital age: Inspiration for all levels and literacies is divided into five sections: (1) ‘‘Reinforcing reading and writing with video and audio’’; (2) ‘‘Analyzing and discussing literature’’; (3) ‘‘Story writing’’; (4) ‘‘Persuasive and argumentative writing’’; and (5) ‘‘And even more inspiration’’. Each section helps organize and embrace the new style of teaching. For instance, in section 1, Myers and Budde express that each chapter highlights how teachers can use video and audio in their teachings to drive home the basic reading and writing information (770). One point I found interesting was Myers and Budde’s section 3 review. They state
Section 3 focus on activities related to story writing in middle and high school classrooms. These include graphic novel writing projects, interactive fiction and the relationship between comics and performance. According to the authors, there are several benefits of using a graphic novel writing format, including that stories can be told in non-traditional ways and that it is a motivating genre for students (770-771).
This is important because it gives students the ability to create and mold their thoughts into creations that could become masterpieces and inspire people coming in behind them.
I believe the biggest takeaway is not what the students produce, but the process of producing their masterpieces and how it effects the generation behind them. Our education system is missing that the process is more important than the product. Putting a grade on how a student thinks, responds, or creates is in itself a disservice to their growth and their education as a whole. Focusing on the product opens the gate for shortcuts, cheating, and short-term learning. The information I took from this reading is that we as a country are failing all around and if we really want to make a change, we should focus on the process rather than the product.
Work Cited
- Myers, Joy, and Melissa Adams-Budde. “Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age: Inspiration for All Levels and Literacies.” International Review of Education / Internationale Zeitschrift Für Erziehungswissenschaft, vol. 63, no. 5, Oct. 2017, pp. 769–772. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s11159-017-9649-y.
I really like you recommendations and takeaways from the article at the end. I think those are very important things to understand as a teacher and something that should be reflected to students more often, that the process is more important that the product.
Ty,
You’ve done a really nice job pulling out the significant offerings of this book on digital teaching, both for teachers and students.
To strengthen your review draft, consider how might develop a new opening sentence about focusing on the learning process or encouraging pride in quality work in PBL/EL, but that students/ teachers need innovative educational tools? Such an opening would connect to your later evaluations of this choice for teachers like Mr. Simms and Ms. Trombetta who want to devise choices and tools for independent learners with the PBL model. Opening the review with a clearer purpose / exigence, the so-what, will engage your teacher audience right away with review choice as your way of connecting back to classroom partnership.
In your Section 3 example, I would also think about direct address of your teacher readers, and maybe qualify why you say the product is not important, since digital learning is aimed at mastering quality products with new tools. Perhaps you are critiquing the need for more authentic products (as summative learning assessments) that support engaged community learning processes?
Consider these suggestions for your revision due this Thursday, April 9. Please also review for verb tense, sentence flow and missing words. Happy to discuss these in conference on Monday or Tuesday with you (since we are not holding Zoom class-its time for you and your partners).
MAJ Hodde