Cassandra Morath's List: Disinformation Debate Team A

• That is not true. For the last century and a half, literacy has been increasing in the United States. In 1850, only one in ten persons could read and write. Now we think it is a tragedy if everyone can't read and write. Statistics prepared by the U.S. government indicate that the literacy rate in the U.S. is in the high ninety percentage range. We know that it is not the case, for many students leaving high school cannot read or write. The difficulty lies partially in definitions. From a governmental point of view, anyone who has completed fifth grade is literate. Any educator knows that is a faulty definition. The governmental definition of literacy may serve political purposes, but from a functional point of view it is useless.
• Many people have written on the subject of technological literacy, all of whom are to be commended for their efforts to describe the complexities of the individual who is literate in technology. Hayden (1989),
• A second inference to be drawn from the literature is the absence of recog- nition that until technology education has defined its intellectual domain, it is fruitless to try to describe a technologically literate person. The exception to this observation is the opinion expressed by Lewis and Gagel (1992, p. 136) who say, "...to further the goal of technological literacy, schools would seem to have two clear responsibilities; first, to articulate the disciplinary structure of technology and, second, to provide for its authentic expression in the curriculum." The remark

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• • Professional Development
     
  • Reading Research
     
  • Research and Teaching
     
  • Teacher Evaluation
• Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers to participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, and malleable
• In the 1990s, the National Council of Teachers of English and the International Reading Association established national standards for English language arts learners that anticipated the more sophisticated literacy skills and abilities required for full participation in a global, 21st century community.

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• As more schools begin allowing students to bring their own devices and actually use them in class, the debate around the value of “digital writing” — texting, taking notes on mobile devices, tweeting, etc. — is heating up.
• Children know that when you’re in school, you do not use texting language,” said linguistics expert Susana Sotillo, an associate professor at Montclair State University in an article in the North Jersey Record. “…No one is destroying the English language; the English language just keeps changing. It’s not a good idea to present change as a negative aspect.”

• A new study indicates that preschoolers become literate faster in a curriculum that uses video and online technology.
• Ms. Senegal is not afraid of being replaced by a computer.

  • This is a very telling comment. I wonder how many teachers aren't teaching to their full potential because they are afraid of this.

• Of the children who neither blogged nor used social network sites, 47% rated their writing as "good" or "very good", while 61% of the bloggers and 56% of the social networkers said the same.

• his book is for parents, grandparents, and educators who are interested in helping their children learn how to use their cell phone as a productive tool for learning.

• The new and improved library spaces integrate information management, technology, and student-centered settings, according to an article in Inside Higher Ed , with some library areas “beginning to look like Apple Computer Stores” (often the most heavily used areas within the library).
• Access to information in the digital environment.