Multiple Literacies

        Speaking of adolescent literacy, Bomer seems to be influenced by John Dewey’s educational philosophy profoundly, stating that reading and writing are meaningful when literacy experience is based and drawn on students’ lives. With this being said, Bomer presented some reading and writing strategies, including free writing, keeping writer’s notebook, one-on-one student-teacher conference, and reading-writing workshop, that he considers useful and meaningful for students. On the other hand, Pirie calls for reshaping high school English curriculum by adding elements of media and popular culture to English classes. He advocates the importance of the web of textuality by stating that “the ‘web’ is the accumulated experience ‘texts’ that students bring to the activity of ‘reading’” (p.22). In this sense, “text” is referred to products of mass media and popular culture, and “reading” involves viewing and listening. Both readings provide authors’ thoughtful insights with respect to adolescent literacy development and experience, which reminds me of the idea of multiliteracies proposed by New London Group.

        The essence of the idea of multiliteracies lies in that literacy is for communication, and since we are living in an era in which our ways of communication are changed by technologies, we need to have multiple literacies to live and survive. That is, reading goes beyond reading physical texts, including reading perceived texts as well; writing may involve different modes of products. As reading and writing expand their scopes, we need more varied skills and abilities to function within the society. Typing, navigating websites, and critically analyzing information are examples of being a literate person in the sense of multiliteracies.

        With the idea of multiliteracies in mind, Bomer’s and Pirie’s reading address different types of literacies. In Bomer’s text, though he especially focuses on the so-called traditional ways of reading and writing, and he has his particular approaches to train students’ ways of thinking and then reading and writing, I think the training he provides for students is the foundation that enables students to experience “the web of textuality.” Pirie’s argument, on the other hand, is closer to the idea of multiliteracies with a particularly emphasis on critical literacy.

        What I think is lacking in both readings, in terms of multiple literacy, is the discussion of writing – the different ways to present writing. As mentioned above, writing has expanded its scope, and students can use different means to produce “writing.” Making a Youtube video and designing a game (board game, video game, or online game) are examples which have the characteristic of blending sound, image, and text. Also, in the process of creating these products, students need to exercise their creativity and draw on their web of textuality. Their products, thus, would be a remixing of cultures (culture of their own and cultures they have experienced), which might address Pirie’s concern of literacy education only passing on a cultural heritage (i.e. dominant values). Since middle and high school students have already experienced literacy via multiple media, providing an opportunity for them to create different “writing products” may also support their literacy development. 

Literacy Mushroom
(Source: http://allthingslearning.wordpress.com/tag/multiple-literacies/)

Questions:

What are some strategies in Bomer’s and Pirie’s texts you find useful and/or practical? What are some other strategies you would recommend for teaching reading and writing?