As discussed in a previous blog, ‘multiliteracies’ is one of the Literacy Education buzz words. It has been recognised in education for numerous decades that literacy and meaning making is multimodal, and this includes online communication.
Our students are increasingly engaging with literacy online and there is great debate as to whether this enhances, diminishes or has no effect on the development of reading skills. Some argue that children and teenagers should read what interests them and that many reluctant readers would not engage in reading in their own time if it were not for the internet. This is a valid point but is reading online enough?
As a child, unlike my bookworm sister, I had no interest in reading but my mother persisted in great vain and I will forever be thankful for her efforts. Reading books opens up unfamiliar worlds and allows us to experience the lives and ideas of others. We in turn can engage in visualisation and further formulate our ideals and understandings, as we become immersed in the words on the page.
Engaging our students with reading online is imperative. Not only is this often the medium that they are choosing themselves, it is also provides a real-world context and offers an excellent source for engaging students in critical literacy. However, we must also continually encourage our students to read literature for pleasure and personal development.
The article ‘Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?’ is an excellent read. It presents a variety of arguments backed up with thorough research and causes us to think about where our students are heading in terms of their personal reading choices and how we need to approach this as educators.
Written by Beyond Chalk Blog .Beyond Chalk Blog
