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Literacy Practices in Virtual Environments
Abstract
Developing an understanding of literacy in virtual environments is challenging because virtual environments are rapidly emerging and evolving, as are the language and literacy practices associated with those environments. Nonetheless, research is beginning to provide insights into the literacy practices inherent in virtual environments and what those practices mean to people who participate in virtual environments.
Keywords:
identity;
literacy;
writing
... Throughout this paper, literacy is coined to literate thought, to our ability to access and interpret (comprehend and apply) learned information (PAUL, 2018). Traditionally, literacy is represented as synonymous to acquiring a written code by developing decoding (reading) and encoding (writing) skills of typographic texts (JACOBS, 2013). Due to this close relationship to reading and writing, sometimes the term print literacy is preferred (MCCARTY, 2013). ...
... Consequently, new definitions of text appeared (e.g., online chats, video messages, audio files), involving new "semiotic landscapes" with complex meanings of the encoding and decoding act (JACOBS, 2013). ...
The Sign Language curriculum is a contemporary development which few countries have officially implemented to teach a national standard Sign Language as a first language (L1) and/or mother tongue in the school grades. In these, Sign Language is a mandatory unit, which the deaf child needs to study and develop metalinguistically, as is the case in learning spoken languages as L1. A Sign Language as a metalanguage also means that the curriculum teaches explicit linguistic knowledge for the child to understand gradually how SL functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when attending the language. In other words, the Sign Language curriculum addresses the importance of developing the child’s Sign Language literacy. Traditionally, literacy is linked to reading and writing and for its learning the language curriculum sets five essential early literacy components: comprehension, phonological awareness, phonics, print convention knowledge and fluency. The paper discusses these components in support of Sign Language literacy as a verbal (non-print) form of literacy, based on a documental study among the Sign Language and indigenous curriculum.
... In this definition reference to printed and written materials is central. Traditionally, the term literacy was often linked with the acquisition of reading and writing skills in printed/typographic texts (Jacobs, 2013;Snoddon, 2012;Gee, 2008;Czubek, 2006). However, in contemporary times, literacy encompasses a wider spectrum, giving rise to terms such as oral literacy, print literacy, visual literacy, sign literacy, digital literacy, and more. ...
This article focuses on the development of educational materials to support the bilingual literacy of deaf/hard of hearing children in Greece. Early exposure to Greek Sign Language (GSL) fosters the steady growth of linguistic skills and facilitates the acquisition of sign language literacy. The knowledge of GSL is also essential for the development of deaf and hard of hearing children's literacy skills on the written language of the larger hearing community. Innovative teaching practices and materials for the teaching of GSL as a first language are presented, including a grammar teaching program for preschool to fourth grade students, based on the National Curriculum of GSL. In addition, materials developed to support hearing families of deaf/hard of hearing children in learning signed languages (SLs) are described, incorporating basic vocabulary and communicative activities. All the presented materials emanate from action research conducted in schools for the Deaf. They are user-friendly, multimedia-based open educational resources and are versatile enough to be modified for various SLs.
... Nessa definição, a referência a materiais impressos e escritos é fundamental. Tradicionalmente, o termo alfabetização era frequentemente associado à aquisição de habilidades de leitura e escrita em textos impressos/tipográficos (Jacobs, 2013;Snoddon, 2012;Gee, 2008;Czubek, 2006). No entanto, nos tempos atuais, a alfabetização abrange um espectro mais amplo, dando origem a termos como alfabetização oral, alfabetização impressa, alfabetização visual, alfabetização em sinais, alfabetização digital e outros. ...
Este artigo enfoca o desenvolvimento de materiais educacionais para apoiar a alfabetização bilíngue de crianças surdas/com deficiência auditiva na Grécia. A exposição precoce à língua de sinais grega (GSL) promove o crescimento constante das habilidades linguísticas e facilita a aquisição da alfabetização na língua de sinais. O conhecimento da GSL também é essencial para o desenvolvimento das habilidades de alfabetização das crianças surdas e com deficiência auditiva na língua escrita da comunidade ouvinte em geral. São apresentadas práticas e materiais didáticos inovadores para o ensino da GSL como primeiro idioma, incluindo um programa de ensino de gramática para alunos da pré-escola à quarta série, com base no Currículo Nacional de GSL. Além disso, são descritos os materiais desenvolvidos para apoiar as famílias ouvintes de crianças surdas ou com deficiência auditiva no aprendizado de línguas de sinais (LSs), incorporando vocabulário básico e atividades comunicativas. Todos os materiais apresentados são provenientes de pesquisa de ação realizada em escolas para surdos. Eles são recursos educacionais abertos de fácil utilização, baseados em multimídia e são versáteis o suficiente para serem modificados para várias LSs.
... Além disso, como o uso da língua varia consideravelmente de um contexto para outro, a educação mudou para o ensino da língua (e, portanto, da alfabetização) de acordo com esses usos da vida real. Consequentemente, surgiram novas definições de texto (por exemplo, chats online, mensagens de vídeo, arquivos de áudio), envolvendo novas "paisagens semióticas" com significados complexos do ato de codificação e decodificação (JACOBS, 2013). ...
O desenvolvimento de currículos de línguas de sinais é um acontecimento contemporâneo que poucos países puderam implementar oficialmente para ensinar a Língua de Sinais padrão nacional como primeira língua (L1) e/ou língua materna nas séries escolares. Nestes, a Língua de Sinais figura como uma disciplina obrigatória, que a criança surda precisa estudar e se desenvolver metalinguisticamente, como é o caso do aprendizado de línguas faladas como L1. Uma língua de sinais como metalinguagem também significa que o currículo ensina conhecimentos linguísticos explícitos para que a criança compreenda gradualmente como a língua de sinais funciona em diferentes contextos, para que faça escolhas efetivas de significado ou estilo e para que compreenda os conteúdos de forma mais completa ao estudar a língua. Em outras palavras, o currículo de língua de sinais aborda a importância de desenvolver a alfabetização na língua de sinais para a criança. Tradicionalmente, a alfabetização está ligada à leitura e à escrita e, para sua aprendizagem, o currículo de línguas estabelece cinco componentes essenciais da alfabetização inicial: compreensão, consciência fonológica, fonética, conhecimento de convenções de escrita e fluência. O artigo discute esses componentes em apoio à alfabetização na língua de sinais como uma forma de alfabetização verbal (não escrita), a partir de um estudo documental entre o currículo da língua de sinais e o currículo indígena.
A definição de alfabetização evoluiu de sua definição original como uma habilidade cognitiva em relação a textos escritos. Após o aumento do estudo do multilinguismo e da forma que o texto escrito pode assumir, novas abordagens teóricas evoluíram para incluir outras formas ou alfabetizações, como multiliteracias, multimodalidade, alfabetizações reais, materialidade e afeto (Papen, 2023). Da mesma forma, as ferramentas educacionais e as estruturas linguísticas, como o Quadro Europeu Comum de Referências para Línguas (CEFR), evoluíram para incluir diferentes formas de intenção de conteúdos que visam transmitir valores e ideias socioculturais. Este artigo reflete sobre o que torna a alfabetização em língua de sinais em um contexto em que a literatura de referência é a literatura sinalizada, que vive e prospera junto com a literatura escrita. Nesse contexto, uma inclusão real dos surdos e de sua cultura de sinais deve considerar os conteúdos em sinais gerados pela comunidade de sinais e encontrar novas maneiras de incluí-los na educação das crianças surdas.
This study focuses on the various playful uses of language that occurred during a semester-long study of two German language courses using one type of synchronous network-based medium, the MOO. Research and use of synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) have flourished in the study of second-language acquisition (SLA) since the late 1990s; however, the primary focus has been on the potential benefits of using CMC to increase the amount of communication (Beauvois, 1997; Kern, 1995; Warschauer, 1997), motivate students (Beauvois, 1997; Kern, 1995; Warschauer, 1997) and foster the exchange of ideas (Beauvois, 1997; Kern, 1995; von der Emde, Schneider, & Kötter, 2001; Warschauer, 1997). Only more recently has research within SLA begun to investigate the types of communication that occur online.1 An analysis of the transcripts from a second-semester German course and an upper-level German communication course reveal that a large portion of the language use online cannot be described using standard referential definitions of communication, but rather is playful in nature. Using research from SLA and theories on social interaction, this article investigates the different types of play that occurred within the online discussions and the possible implications of the presence of play in online discourse.
A case study of an adolescent girl provides a framework to understand what factors contribute to the development of a strong writer within an instant messaging world. The study shows instant messaging is one of a larger repertoire of practices. Facility in school‐based writing was developed through a school culture that supported writing in the content areas, authentic purposes for writing, modeling by teachers who are members of the writing and arts community, and metacognitive awareness of authorial choices in lexicon, diction, voice, conventions, and mechanics when writing. The author uses the participant's educational experience to develop recommendations to help teachers address the concern of nonstandard conventions appearing in student writing.
توفّر حالة دراسية لمراهقة إطاراً لفهم العوامل التي تساهم في تنمية كاتبة قوية في عالم يتمثل فيه المراسلة الفورية. ويبيّن هذه الدراسة أن المراسلة الفورية هي ممارسة من ذخيرة الممارسات الكبيرة. إن المهارة في الكتابة المفعولة في المدرسة كانت تتطور من خلال ثقافة المدرسة التي دعمت الكتابة في مجالات المحتوى والأغراض الحقيقية للكتابة والتمثيل على يد الأساتذة الذين يمثلون أعضاء مجتمع الكتابة والفنون والوعي بما وراء المعرفة بشأن خيارات المؤلف حيال المفردات والكلمات المناسبة والصوت والمعايير والأوجهة الوظيفية عند الكتابة. لذا يستخدم المؤلف تجربة الطالبة التعليمية لتطوير اقتراحات تساعد المدرّسين في توجيه الاهتمام بالمعايير غير المعتادة التي تظهر في كتابة الطالب.
这个案研究是以一位青少年女学生为研究对象，提供一个理论框架，以帮助理解在即时收发通讯的世界里，什么是有助发展卓越写作者的因素。这研究显示，即时收发通讯，只是许许多多文化实践的其中一种。透过学校文化，以学校为本的写作设施得以发展起来。这学校文化支持和鼓励在学科范畴的写作和为真实目的而写作；有身为写作及文学社区成员的教师示范如何写作；并着重写作者對选用词汇、措辞、语态、常规和写作技术细节等方面的元认知意识。本文作者根據参与研究者学习经验的分析結果作出建议，帮助教师解决学生在写作中所出现不符合传统标准规格的问题。
L'étude de cas d'une adolescente fournit un cadre pour comprendre quels facteurs aident à devenir un bon scripteur dans un monde de SMS. L'étude montre que les SMS ne sont qu'un élément d'un répertoire plus vaste de pratiques. L'aisance dans l'écriture scolaire résulte d'une culture scolaire qui fait appel à l'écriture dans différentes matières, procure des buts d'écriture authentiques, est modelée par des enseignants qui font partie de la communauté des gens de lettres et d'arts, et par une conscience métacognitive des choix que l'auteur opère dans le lexique, la diction, la voix, les conventions, et le tracé en situation d'écriture. L'auteur utilise l'expérience éducative du participant pour faire des recommandations afin d'aider les enseignants à faire face à la question des conventions non standard qui apparaissent dans l'écriture des élèves.
Кейс‐исследование развития девочки‐подростка помогает понять, какие факторы являются значимыми в ее становлении как автора письменного текста в современном “мире sms”. Исследование показывает, что эсэмэски – лишь один из множества способов выражения себя посредством письменной речи. Становление умений и навыков письма, необходимых для прохождения школьной программы, происходит на предметных занятиях; при постановке перед учениками аутентичных целей, благодаря моделированию самого процесса письма учителем, который является членом сообщества по развитию письма и грамотности; а также – через метакогнитивное понимание учеником авторского подбора лексики, логических ударений, интонации, принятых условностей и механики письма. На основе учебного опыта школьницы автор дает рекомендации учителям, как можно сочетать обучение академическому письму с жизнью в “мире sms”.
El estudio del caso de una adolescente provee el marco para entender cuáles factores contribuyen al desarrollo de buenos escritores en el mundo de mensajes instantáneos. El estudio muestra que el escribir mensajes instantáneos es sólo una de todo un repertorio de prácticas. En la escuela se desarrolló la facilidad para escribir por medio de una cultura escolar que apoyaba la escritura en cursos de contenido; proveía finalidades auténticas a la escritura; facilitaba demostraciones por parte de miembros de la comunidad artística y escritora; y fomentaba la conciencia metacognitiva de cómo el autor escogía el léxico, la dicción, la voz, las convenciones y la mecánica al escribir. El autor utiliza la experiencia educacional de los participantes para desarrollar recomendaciones que ayuden a los maestros a abordar su preocupación por las convenciones no estándard que aparecen en la escritura de los estudiantes.
The claim that video games are replacing literacy activities that is bandied about in the American mainstream press is based not only on unspecified definitions of both ‘games' and ‘literacy’ but also on a surprising lack of research on what children actually do when they play video games. In this article, the author examines some of the practices that comprise game play in the context of one genre of video games in particular — massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs). Based on data culled from a two-year online cognitive ethnography of the MMOG Lineage (both I and II), the author argues that forms of video game play such as those entailed in MMOGs are not replacing literacy activities but rather are literacy activities. In order to make this argument, the author surveys the literacy practices that MMOGamers routinely participate in, both within the game's virtual world (e.g. social interaction, in-game letters) and beyond (e.g. online game forums, the creation of fan sites and fan fiction). Then, with this argument in place, she attempts to historicize this popular contempt toward electronic ‘pop culture’ media such as video games and suggest a potentially more productive (and accurate) framing of the literacy practices of today's generation of adolescents and young adults.
Cross-age tutoring, in which older and younger students work together to improve their ELA skills, is not a new concept; Linda D. Labbo and William H. Teale explored it as a tool for poor readers as early as 1990. The author has found that using tutoring with video games also works well. Students have the opportunity to read aloud collaboratively while interacting with the game itself, giving reluctant readers the opportunity to become experts in the game. When working with a classmate, the stronger reader acts as the "model" for interpretation and guidance, but both students learn from the experience. Students today look to technology and pop culture for their entertainment, and most of them revel in competitive games. The author discusses how tutoring with video games can help reluctant or unsuccessful readers, and gives teachers practical ideas for making reading fun for 21st-century adolescents. (Contains 1 note.)
Since its inception in 2003, the popularity of Second Life (SL), an online 3-D virtual environment, has increased exponentially. The global reach of SL and the opportunities it provides for cross-cultural exchange using multiple modes of communication in real and virtual worlds make it an ideal venue to examine cross-cultural engagement. Drawing on Cultural Historical Activity Theory and Heyward's model of intercultural literacy, this article analyses findings from an exploratory study examining the construction of cultural identity and development of intercultural literacy among 29 SL participants. The authors argue that SL Residents participate in an Activity System, engaging in myriad activities (e.g. language classes) which provide structured environments that generate both intended and unintended outcomes. The findings reveal that in many ways participation in SL enhanced participants’ intercultural literacy – for example, by fostering use of multiple languages, cross-cultural encounters and friendships, greater awareness of insider cultural perspectives, and openness towards new viewpoints. Additionally, respondents used their avatar's appearance to construct shifting cultural identities. Although the cross-cultural exchanges in SL do not guarantee intercultural literacy, they provide participants with opportunities to move in that direction.
This book shows how Internet and mobile technologies - including instant messaging (IM), cell phones, multitasking, social networking Web sites, blogs, and wikis - are profoundly influencing the way we read and write, speak and listen, but not in the ways we might suppose. The book looks at language in an online and mobile world. It reveals for instance that email, IM, and text messaging have had surprisingly little impact on student writing. Electronic media has magnified the laid-back "whatever" attitude toward formal writing that young people everywhere have embraced, but it is not a cause of it. A more troubling trend, according to the book, is the myriad ways in which we block incoming IMs, camouflage ourselves on Facebook, and use ring tones or caller ID to screen incoming calls on our mobile phones. The book argues that our ability to decide who to talk to is likely to be among the most lasting influences that information and communication technology has upon the ways we communicate with one another. Moreover, as more and more people are "always on" one technology or another - whether communicating, working, or just surfing the web or playing games - we have to ask what kind of people do we become, as individuals and as family members or friends, if the relationships we form must increasingly compete for our attention with digital media?
This paper considers how global practices of English on the Internet intersect with local practices of English in the territorial or national sphere in constructing the language experiences of immigrant learners. Using a multi-contextual approach to language socialization, this paper examines the social and discursive practices in a Chinese/English bilingual chat room and how this Internet chat room provides an additional context of language socialization for two teenage Chinese immigrants in the US. Analysis of discourse, interview, and observational data reveals that a mixed-code variety of English is adopted and developed among the focal youth and their peers around the globe to construct their relationships as bilingual speakers of English and Cantonese. This language variety served to create a collective ethnic identity for these young people and allowed the girls to assume a new identity in speaking English that doesn't follow the social categories of English-speaking Americans versus Cantonese-speaking Chinese in their local American context. This paper makes the case for studying how people navigate across contexts of socialization in the locality of the nation-state and the virtual environments of the Internet to articulate new ways of using English.
In light of the increasingly blurred line between mediated and nonmediated contexts for social, professional, and educational purposes, attention to the presence and use of innovative digital media is critical to the consideration of the future of computer-assisted language learning (CALL). This article reviews current trends in the use of mediated communication and offers a vision for near-future second and foreign language (L2) learning that utilizes emerging media as (a) meaningful contexts for L2 language development and (b) a means for adding real world relevance to in-class uses of internet-mediated communication tools. In this article, we first explore a sampling of Web 2.0 technologies (e.g., blogs, wikis, and social bookmarking) related to collaborative content building and dissemination of information. We then consider three types of 3-dimensional virtual environments, including open social virtualities (such as Second Life and There), massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) (e.g., World of Warcraft, Everquest, and Eve Online), and synthetic immersive environments (SIEs, i.e., visually rendered spaces which combine aspects of open social virtualities with goal-directed gaming models to address specific learning objectives). In particular, we report on SIEs as they might be used to foster interlanguage pragmatic development and briefly report on an existing project in this area. The ultimate goal is to spark future research and pedagogical innovation in these areas of emerging digital media in order to arrive at a greater understanding of the complexities involved in their integration with language learning in ways that will be most relevant to the communicative contexts of the 21st century.
The growing interest in the use of games and simulations to support learning is evidenced in the literature, as well as in recent research projects and initiatives. While a focus upon the users of games and simulations is not well evidenced in the literature, this study aimed to highlight key issues and perceptions that inform and underpin how games and simulations were regarded by learners, tutors and experts using these tools. The paper highlights several key issues at stake in the wider debate about the validity of using games and simulations, including strengths of games to motivate learners, as well as scepticism about its efficacy as a learning tool. However, games and simulations are regarded as tools that may support differentiated learner groups including underserved learners, learners with skills needs (e.g. numeracy and literacy) and informal learners seeking to learn from experiences, as well as supporting collaborative learning practices. Furthermore, the majority of learners and tutors using games and simulations involved in the study did find value in using these tools as part of their wider learning and teaching practices.
Through an in‐depth case study of the instant messaging practices of an adolescent girl who had migrated to the United States from China, this qualitative investigation examines the development of multiliteracies in the context of transnational migration and new media of communication. Data consisted of screen recordings of the youth's digital practices, interviews, and observations. Data analyses included qualitative coding procedures and orthographic analysis of the use of multiple dialects and languages in the youth's instant messaging exchanges. These exchanges illustrate the process of social and semiotic design through which the youth developed simultaneous affiliations with her local Chinese immigrant community, a translocal network of Asian‐American youth, and transnational relationships with her peers in China. The construction of transnational networks represents the desire of the youth to develop the literate repertoire that would enable her to thrive in multiple linguistic communities across countries and mobilize resources within these communities. This study contributes to new conceptual directions for understanding translocal forms of linguistic diversity mediated by digital technologies and an expanded view of the literate repertoire and cultural resources of migrant youth. As such, this study's contributions are not limited to the domain of digital literacies but extend to issues of linguistic diversity and adolescent literacy development in contexts of migration.
تلخيص البحث: من خلال حالة دراسية معمقة بشأن ممارسات المكالمات الفورية لدى شابة مراهقة هاجرت إلى الولايات المتحدة من الصين، يفحص هذا الاستقصاء الخاصي تنمية تعددية معارف القراءة والكتابة في سياق الهجرة عبر القارات ووسائل المواصلات الجديدة. وتكونت المعطيات من سجلات ممارسات الشابة الرقمية المأخوذة من شاشة حاسوبها والمقابلات والمراقبات. وقد شملت تحاليل المعطيات إجراءات تشفير خاصية وتحليل الخط لاستخدام لهجات ولغات متعددة في تبادلات الرسائل الفورية عند الشابة. وتبين هذه التبادلات عملية التصميم الاجتماعي والرمزي من خلاله طورت الشابة انتماءات متزامنة لمجتمعها المهاجر الصيني المحلي، وهو شبكة عبر الأماكن المحلية من الشباب الآسويين الأمريكيين والعلاقات عبر الأماكن الدولية بنظراءها في الصين. ويمثل إنشاء الشبكات عبر الأماكن الدولية رغبة الشباب في تنمية مجموعة معارف المصطلحات التي ستساعدها في العيش في مجموعات لغوية متعددة عبر الدول عيشاً مثمراً وتعبئة موارد في تلك المجموعات. إذ تساهم هذه الدراسة في إتجاهات تصورية جديدة لفهم أشكال الأماكن المحلية المتنوعة اللغة تتوسط بالتقنيات الرقمية ومنظر موسع من مجموعة المصطلحات اللغوية والموارد الثقافية لدى الشباب المهاجرين. وعليه فأن مساهمات هذه الدراسة لا تقتصر على مجال تعلم القراءة والكتابة الرقمي بل تمتد إلى قضايا التعددية اللغوية وتطور تعلم القراءة والكتابة لدى المراهقين في سياق الهجرة.
本研究是一项定性调查，以一名从中国移居美国的少女为深入个案研究对象，透过研究她所实践的即时通讯经验，调查在跨国移居及新媒体通讯的语境中她的多元媒体读写文化发展。研究资料包括有关该少女在线上即时发送与接收的屏幕记录、与她访谈的记录及从旁观察的记录。研究资料分析工作包括把有关该少女在即时消息交换中所使用的多元方言和语言作定性编码程序以及作拼字分析。这些即时消息交换说明了该少女如何通过社会性和符号语言的设计过程，与她的本地华人移民社区及一个跨本地区的亚裔美国青年人网络同时发展联系，幷与她在中国的同辈发展跨国的关系。该跨国网络的建构象征该少女对发展这套读写技能的愿望，好让她在进行跨国多元语言社区的即时通讯时能够应付自如，亦能够把这些社区内的资源动员起来。本研究的贡献是它能提供新的概念方向，增加对以数字技术为中介的跨本地区语言多样性通讯形式的认识，并扩阔对青年移民所具有的读写技能与文化资源的观察。为此，本研究的贡献并不局限于在数字化读写文化的领域中，而更延伸到有关移民语境中的语言多样性和青少年读写文化发展问题的研究上。
Cette recherche qualitative examine le développement de littératies multiples dans un contexte de migration transnationale et de nouveaux moyens de communication au moyen d'une étude de cas approfondie des pratiques de messagerie instantanée d'une adolescente ayant immigré de Chine aux Etats‐Unis. Les données consistaient en enregistrements d'écran des pratiques de la jeune fille, en entretiens et observations. L'analyse des données a comporté des procédures de codage qualitatif et des analyses orthographiques de l'utilisation de plusieurs dialectes et langues dans les échanges de messagerie instantanée de la jeune fille. Ces échanges montrent le processus sémiotique et social du dispositif au moyen duquel la jeune fille a développé des affiliations simultanées avec sa communauté locale ayant immigré de Chine, un réseau transnational de jeunes afro‐asiatiques, et ses relations avec ses pairs en Chine. La construction de réseaux transnationaux exprime le désir de la jeune fille de développer un capital de littératie qui lui permette de réussir dans les communautés linguistiques multiples des différents pays et de mobiliser des ressources au sein de ces communautés. Cette étude indique de nouvelles directions conceptuelles à la compréhension des formes translocales de diversité linguistique passant par les technologies numériques et une conception plus large du capital de littératie et des ressources culturelles des jeunes migrants. En tant que telles, les contributions de cette étude ne se limitent pas au domaine des littératies numériques mais s'étendent aux questions de la diversité linguistique et du développement de la littératie en contexte migratoire.
В рамках этого глубинного исследования рассматривалось развитие мультиграмотности девочки‐китаянки в контексте ее переезда из родной страны в США и знакомства с новыми средствами связи. Собранные данные состояли из интервью, наблюдений и скрин‐шотов общения подростка посредством цифровой связи. Проводился качественный анализ процедур кодирования и орфографический анализ текстов sms‐ок, написанных на разных языках и диалектах. Эта переписка иллюстрирует процесс формирования социального и семиотического типа общения девочки, которая одновременно контактировала с местным сообществом иммигрантов из Китая и со своими сверстниками азиатско‐американского происхождения, а также поддерживала связи с друзьями, оставшимися в Китае. Формирование такой межнациональной сети общения отражает желание девочки иметь в своем арсенале различные средства и виды грамотности, которые позволили бы ей чувствовать себя комфортно в различных языковых сообществах обеих стран и сполна пользоваться возможностями, которое дает это общение. В статье предложены новые концептуальные направления для понимания транслокальных форм лингвистического разнообразия, которое поддерживается цифровыми технологиями. Автор трактует арсенал грамотности и культурных ресурсов юных иммигрантов достаточно широко. Вклад данного исследования в науку не ограничивается лишь областью цифровой грамотности, поскольку речь здесь также идет о языковом разнообразии и развитии грамотности подростков в контексте иммиграции.
Por medio de un estudio intenso del las prácticas de mensaje instantáneo de una niña adolescente que había emigrado de China a los Estados Unidos, esta investigación cualitativa examina el desarrollo de múltiples competencias en el contexto de una migración transnacional y los nuevos medios de comunicación. Se recogieron grabaciones de la pantalla de las prácticas digitales de la joven, se hicieron entrevistas, y se le observó. El análisis de los datos recogidos incluyó procedimientos cualitativos de codificación y el análisis ortográfico del uso de múltiples dialectos e idiomas en los intercambios digitales de la joven. Estos intercambios ilustran el proceso de diseño social y semiótico por los cuales la joven desarrolla afiliaciones simultáneas con su comunidad local de inmigrantes chinos, una red translocal de contactos de jóvenes Asiático Americanos, y relaciones transnacionales con sus semejantes en China. La construcción de redes de contactos transnacionales representa el deseo de la joven de desarrollar el repertorio culto que le permitiría prosperar en varias comunidades lingüísticas en diferentes países y movilizar recursos dentro de estas comunidades. Este estudio contribuye a direcciones conceptuales nuevas para entender formas translocales de diversidad lingüísticas mediadas por tecnologías digitales, y una expansión de la visión del repertorio culto y los recursos culturales de los jóvenes migrantes. Como tal, las contribuciones de este estudio no se limitan al campo de competencias digitales sino que se extienden a cuestiones de diversidad lingüísticas y el desarrollo de competencias de los jóvenes en el contexto de la migración.
Educators and education advocates have recently acknowl- edged that the ability to think systemically is one of the nec- essary skills for success in the 21st century. Game-making is especially well-suited to encouraging meta-level refl ection on the skills and processes that designer-players use in building such systems. Membership in a community of game produc- ers means sharing thoughts and experiences with fellow play- ers. This ability to gain fl uency in specialist language and to translate thinking and talking about games into making and critiquing them (and vice versa) suggests that games not only teach literacy skills but support their ongoing use. Rather than imagining that education can be transformed by bring- ing games into the classroom, researchers should consider not only the effects of the thinking engendered by those who play, but also by those who design the play. This article of- fers an overview of the pedagogy and development process of Gamestar Mechanic, an RPG (Role Playing Game) style online game designed to teach players the fundamentals of game design. It will discuss some of the early results of the project, with an emphasis on the conceptual framework guid- ing the work, as well as the kinds of literacies and knowledge structures it is intended to support. (abstract ends)
Instant Messaging technology is an example of the multiliteracies teeenagers use.
This article draws on constructs in second-language acquisition, literacy, cultural, and media studies as theoretical bases for examining how networked technologies and fan culture provide a young English language learner (ELL) with a site for developing her English language and writing skills. During this process, she also develops an online identity as a popular, multiliterate writer. To understand how this happens, the notion of identity is explored as a fluid construct that shifts over time with this ELL's long-term participation in a fan community. Popular and fan culture are also examined as points of affiliation and as dialogic resources that she appropriates, both in her writing and in her interactions with other fans. In so doing, the article demonstrates how popular culture and technology converge to provide a context in which this adolescent ELL is able to develop a powerful, transcultural identity, discursively constructed through the different cultural perspectives and literacies that she and other fans from across the globe bring to this space.
This article presents findings from research exploring the intervention made by the introduction of computer games as an object of study in Media Studies at AS level in England. The outcome is a range of discursive data in the form of teachers and students from two English colleges talking about their experiences of this curriculum encounter. This article is informed by the existing body of research exploring computer games as transgressive texts, with particular emphasis on the extent to which they transgress traditional text–reader relations, offering players the opportunity to both read and write the story. This existing field spans gaming and literacy, ludology and narratology, psychoanalytical readings of identity‐play and explicit work on computer games in (and for) education. This research shifts the focus to the ‘languaged’ relationships between Media Studies teacher, student and game; and play, curriculum and assessment, respectively. The article explores the complexities at stake in teachers' and students' ideas about these discursive framings as articulated in statements made about games—between public and private learning contexts, play and assessment. The findings of the enquiry reveal a ‘disconnect’ between the transgressive aspirations of Media teachers embracing games as objects for study and the profoundly traditional assessment context which frames the encounter.
The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of adolescent use of instant messaging. Grounded in the New Literacy Studies stance that literacy is a social practice embedded in local contexts and informed by global ideologies (Street, 1995), I argue that participation in digital literacies such as instant messaging has implications for how wired youth are being prepared for participation in today's society. By using cultural historical activity theory and the activity system (Engeström, 1987a; Engeström & Middleton, 1996; University of Helsinki Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research, n.d.) as the unit of analysis, I posit that instant messaging provides a space for participation in the roles of text producer, consumer, and distributor. Drawing on Gee's (2000a, 2000c, 2000d) descriptions of fast capitalism and shape-shifting portfolio people, I suggest that the 3 text roles contribute to the participant's portfolio or collection of attributes, achievements, and skills that can be rearranged to meet the demands of changing contexts.
Preface 1.Robin Hood's Retort 2.Legitimating Written English 3.Who Writes, Who Reads, and Why 4.Setting Standards 5.The Rise of English Comp 6.Commas and Canaries 7.What Remington Thought 8.Language at a Distance 9.Why the Jury's Still Out on Email 10.Epilogue: Destiny or Choice Notes Bibliography Index
In post‐industrial societies saturated with the multimodal texts of consumer culture—film, computer games, interactive toys, SMS, email, the internet, television, DVDs—young people are developing literacy skills and knowledge in and for a world significantly changed from that of their parents and educators. Given this context, this paper seeks to demonstrate the necessity of rethinking and extending traditional notions of text and literacy, and consider the social and cultural implications of such a shift.
THIS STUDY examined the functions of Instant Messaging (IM) among seven youths who regularly used this digital technology in their daily lives. Grounded in theories of literacy as a social and semiotic practice, this research asked what functions IM served in participants' lives and how their social identities shaped and were shaped by this form of digital literacy. To answer these questions, we conducted interviews and videotaped IM sessions, adapting a verbal reporting procedure to document the IM strategies used. Data analysis involved using qualitative coding procedures informed by grounded theory (Strauss, 1987; Strauss & Corbin, 1990), which led to three patterns related to the functions of IM: language use, social networks, and surveillance. On the level of language use, participants manipulated the tone, voice, word choice, and subject matter of their messages to fit their communication needs, negotiating multiple narratives in the process. On the level of social networks, they designed their practice to enhance social relationships and statuses across contexts. And on the level of surveillance, they circulated texts across buddies, combated unwanted messages, assumed alternative identities, and overcame restrictions to their online communication. These functions revealed that the technological and social affordances of IM, particularly related to patterns of circulation and the hybrid nature of textuality, give rise to a performative and multivoiced social subject. Based on our findings, we discuss new conceptual directions for envisioning the reaching and learning of literacy in digitally mediated times.
This article reports on a small-scale investigation into the use of Internet chatrooms by teenage girls. Based on interview and observational data, it illustrates how the use of popular electronic communication is resulting in linguistic innovation within new, virtual social networks in a way that reflects more wide-reaching changes in the communication landscape. The paper suggests that teenagers and young people are in the vanguard of these processes of change as they fluently exploit the possibilities of digital technology, radically changing the face of literacy. The study looks at teenagers’ perceptions of chatroom encounters and their learning about new ways of social and linguistic interaction. Observations of teenagers online show how rapid written conversations which combine features of face-to-face talk with explorations in interactive writing and the exchange of additional digital information, such as image files and web addresses, are enabling these young people to develop sophisticated and marketable skills. These innovations are contrasted with recent media and educational criticism of the language use associated with new technology. This tension between change and conservatism is explored by applying Bourdieu’s concept of ‘linguistic capital’.
Online fanfiction communities provide adolescent English-language learners (ELLs) with a forum for engaging in an array of sophisticated literacy practices. This article draws on constructs from literacy studies and second-language acquisition as conceptual bases for exploring the writing, reviewing, and social practices in an online fanfiction community. Analyses focus on how the networked structure of such sites facilitates English-language learning and promotes writing by providing ELLs with access to a broad audience of readers and multiple community writing resources. By highlighting the social and interactive nature of writing in this space, connections among language, literacy, and identity are emphasized. In conclusion, the author explores some of the possibilities that networked computer environments offer for developing authentic, interactive writing activities in the classroom.
Introducing new digital literacies into classroom settings is an important and challenging task, and one that is encouraged by both policy-makers and educators. This paper draws on a case study of a 3D virtual world which aimed to engage and motivate primary school children in an immersive and literacy-rich on-line experience. Planning decisions, early experimentation and the experience of avatar interaction are explored. Using field notes, in-world interviews and observations I analyse pupil and teacher perspectives on the use of digital literacy and its relationship to conventional classroom literacy routines, and use these to trace the potential and inherently disruptive nature of such work. The paper makes the case for a wider recognition of the role of technology in literacy and suggests that teachers need time for experimentation and professional development if they are to respond appropriately to new digital literacies in the classroom.
Recent negative media attention surrounding the use of text speak (shorthand abbreviations of words such as gr8 for “great”) and the potentially detrimental effects of text speak on literacy prompted this study of texting and literacy in 80 college students. Thirty-four text speak users and 46 nontext speak users were assessed on their proficiency and familiarity with text speak as well as their standardized literacy levels and misspellings of common text speak words. Results showed that while text speak users were more proficient with the vocabulary, both groups showed familiarity with text speak. More important, there were no significant differences between the two groups in standardized literacy scores or misspellings of common text speak words. Thus, our analyses showed that the use of text speak is not related to low literacy performance. Nonetheless, more than half of the college students in this sample, texters and nontexters alike, indicated that they thought text speak was hindering their ability to remember standard English. These conflicting findings are discussed within a framework of future directions for research.
Web 2.0 for schools: Learning and social participation
- J. Davies
- G. Merchant
Everywhere now: Three dialogues on kids, games and learning
- J. Lemke
An introduction to discourse analysis London England: Routledge
- J P Gee
Everywhere now: Three dialogues on kids games and learning. Online dialog retrieved
- J Lemke