Computers and Literacy

One of the perks of being on the board of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (I'm the current Vice President) is getting to go to various conferences sponsored by the National Association of School Boards for free. MASC pays my way and I bring back what I learn to Cambridge and the state.

Some people consider this work. I like it because I get to meet other folks from different states, learn new things, and occasionally hear a truly great speaker who has the ability to really inspire and get you excited about trying something new, or thinking a different way.

This past weekend, I heard such a speaker in Washington D.C. at NSBA's Leadership Conference. David Warlick has been a teacher and administrator for three decades. Now he travels the world trying to bring teachers (and school board members) into the 21 Century when it comes to literacy and the use of technology.

Why is this so important? In one exercise, he showed us.

Say you are in 5th grade and you are doing a research project on Martin Luther King, Jr. You find your way to www.martinlutherking.org. If your students aren't trained to be "digital detectives,” if they aren't literate in the 21th Century sense of the word, they might just stop there and take the “MLK Pop Quiz” at the top of the page.

But if your students are well taught, they will want to find out the credibility of their source. They'll know that you can click on the webmaster link, go to the organization where the webmaster gets his/her e-mail -- and find that martinlutherking.org links to the official website of the Stormfront white supremacist organization.

Now this isn't a skill being tested on MCAS that I know of. But it should be. (Too bad they'd still have to prove their knowledge of the web on paper.)

The Digital Divide is not merely about who has a computer or not -- it's about who can harness the power of technology and use it most effectively and constructively, says Warlick.

Teachers have discovered that more students love writing (and school in general) when they get to use the computer to post their assignments onto blogs (on-line journals) or “wikis” (communal websites) and receive comments from peers. These new formats, that can also weave in digital photos and oral "podcasts," are making school relevant and exciting to a generation that is taking to ichatting and social networking like fish to water.

I don’t see this happening in many Cambridge schools yet. To be honest, I don't think many schools are doing much of this anywhere. (Warlick’s book, Classroom Blogging, is only two years old.) But it makes me question whether we have the right model for teaching 21st Century literacy in Cambridge.

The schools that are on top of these new web tools have teachers working with students on computers in the classroom with the help of digitally-savvy librarians. They aren’t sending their class down the hall to do it in a separate computer lab with a “technology specialist.” We probably have a mix of things going on in CPS schools, but we should think about what the best model would be as the district completes a five-year technology plan. Hardware is one thing; literacy is the ultimate goal. Separately, the city council and school committee are working to provide wireless access to the Internet, with the initial goal of making sure every entering high schooler (every 9th grader) has access to the web at home.

Some schools are going cold-turkey into the 21th Century. Warlick cites The Beacon School in New York, where students take a technology class and then all their work has to be done digitally. This is good preparation for college, where this is now the norm.

Says Warlick in his blog:

"I maintain that the best solution to integrating contemporary literacy (digital literacy, information skills, computer skills, whatever you want to call it) into what and how we teach is simple. It’s dramatic, but it's simple — because teachers will do what helps them do their jobs. Teachers will do what solves their problems.

So the solution is to give them a problem.

Take all the paper out of every classroom and replace it with access to digital content, and put digital/networked information tools in the hands of every teacher and learner. Then say, “Now teach! Now Learn!”

Of course you’re going to have to provide them with time for retooling, and a little staff development, but it will happen, when they have little choice."

For more on David Warlick, check out his website and blog.