Literacies In The Classroom Essay

Using new literacies in the classroom can intimidate any educator, especially those unfamiliar with new literacies themselves. Incorporating social media, online media, and new technologies can prove difficult with hit-and-miss results on behalf of both teachers and students. There is also a glaring inequality in the availability of the resources needed to use new literacies, which puts less fortunate students at a further disadvantage if these literacies become common in better funded schools. However, with our society constantly pushing forward technologically as it does, these new literacies may become a vital part of students’ education. In fact, more than half of all U.S. institutions have incorporated computer-based information sharing into their courses (Hungerford-Kresser et al., 2012, p. 327). New literacies create an opportunity for learning and individual critical thinking by expanding the learning environment outside of the classroom, making that environment more inclusive of less social students, and giving students and teachers practice with valuable modern-day skills. Most students spend …show more content…
Not all students and teachers can access the necessary tools to use new literacies, educators may struggle to monitor online behavior, and the introduction of these literacies brings up new obstacles for both students and staff. However, in the schools where these literacies exist, they benefit the learning of students by bringing learning outside of the classroom, creating a socially comfortable environment for all students, and developing new skills that students will need in the future. Because of this, the provision of the funding and materials needed for disadvantaged schools and students to gain access to these new literacies should be considered in order to avoid hindering these students’ abilities to keep up with today’s technology-rich