Introduction
Chalk boards
in K-12 classrooms are largely extinct. With the rise of new media, chalkboards
have been replaced by a more complex tool: interactive whiteboards (IWB).
Interactive whiteboards “are large, touch-sensitive screens that control a
computer that is connected both to a digital projector as well as to the
internet.” (Prinsloo) In classrooms, teachers and students can manipulate,
annotate and interact with items on the screen using their fingers, or
specifically designed “pens”. Interactive whiteboards can be used with any
content area to engage students. According to Karen Murcia, “digital
technologies should be used in presenting a concept, exploring implications,
placing the concept in various contexts, creating links with existing
knowledge, and leading discussions that probe student understanding. It is
evident in this statement that the significance of technologies such as the IWB
in the classroom does not lie within the device itself but rather how it is
used to enable interaction between users and resources in meaning making and
knowledge construction.” (Murcia, pg. 76 digital pg.4) Along this line of
thought, intentional teaching practices coupled with an interactive whiteboard
can be applied to promote digital literacy skills in the classroom. To further
review this concept, it is imperative to understand the idea of multimodal
ensembles.
Multimodal Application
Traditional literacy practices from the past were
extremely text heavy as images were not easily produced. Now, in the digital
age, we have become accustomed to “multimodal ensembles” which justify the need
to teach and build strong digital literacy skills. (Serafini pg. 11) Serafini
defined the concept of multimodal ensembles by explaining that it is: “A
cohesive entity that uses a variety of semiotic resources, including written
language, visual images, and design elements to represent and communicate ideas
and meanings.” (Serafini, pg. 172) Since students are exposed to a large range
of multimodal ensembles, it is crucial that they not only know how to analyze
and make sense out of what they are seeing, but can also demonstrate their
knowledge by creating an ensemble. On a large interactive whiteboard platform,
teachers are able to display and utilize multimodal communications as they
assist students in exploring works by using visual, critical, tool and
information literacy skills. Several case reviews were analyzed as an example
of digital literacy skills being promoted through an interactive whiteboard in
the classroom.
Example 1: Kindergarten Teacher
Louise Goold
In the eBook “The
Interactive Whiteboard Revolution” by Chris Betcher and Lee Mal, several
teachers were interviewed and asked to describe the way they utilize their IWBs
in the classroom. One teacher that provided input was Louise Goold of Sydney,
Australia.
Gold identified
several ways that she integrates the interactive whiteboards into her lesson
plans. One use that she identified in particular is using the board to help
answer student inquiries. She provides the example of a student that asked what
the term “breaching” meant after their recent lesson about whales. With new
media practices, Goold decided to “maximize her teachable moments” in answering
the students. (Betcher
& Lee pgs. 122-123) Instead
of verbally explaining the meaning of the word as applied to whales, she took
to the interactive board instead. Goold asked her students:
“What do I need to click on to get to the internet?”
“What does images mean?”
“What images will I ask Google to search for?” (Betcher & Lee pgs. 122-123)
After
locating an image of a whale breaching the surface, she prompted students to
explain what they were seeing. Multiple students provided answers that helped
the class conclude the meaning of a breaching. Goold further stated her
thoughts about using the interactive whiteboard by stating “in addition to
making use of quality online resources, I can quickly generate meaningful
teaching tools to support the acquisition of a particular concept.” (Betcher & Lee pgs. 122-123) While working
on the concept breaching, Goold promoted information literacy as well as visual
literacy practices.
Goold’s New Literacy Application
Information literacy is the first
skillset that Goold promoted in her kindergarten classroom. Information
literacy is defined as being able to state a need for information, successfully
search for it, analyze the results for credibility and then utilize the
information that was found. (Schrock) In the example provided, the students
clearly stated the need for information as they were curious to know the
definition of breaching. Goold stepped in to facilitate identifying the steps
that would need to be taken in order to find the answer. Students were able to
direct the teacher to the proper icon that would bring up a web browser, and
could provide ideas as to what phrasing could be entered into the google
search. In reviewing the image results, one image was selected for further
analyzation.
Another literacy area that Goold incorporated involved visual literacy.
Kathy Schrock defines visual literacy as “the skillset and abilities to
understand and produce visual images.” (Schrock) In Frank Serafini’s book, Reading the Visual, he describes
Averinou’s “points of convergence” to further define visual literacy. The
convergence points note that visual literacy is a “cognitive ability” and
“competency” that is both “learnable and teachable”. Serafini adds an additional layer of
explanation in stating that “visual literacy is about the process of generating
interpretations from the meaning potentials available when transacting with
visual images and multimodal ensembles.” (Serafini, pg.23) With these definitions in
mind, it is clear that Goold promoted digital literacy in the following ways.
As the picture of a whale breaching the surface was cast onto the
interactive whiteboard, Goold asked the children to look carefully at the image
and describe their thoughts. Several students generated their own
interpretations as one answered “it’s jumping out of the water”, another
answered “it looks like it’s leaping” and a third student suggested “it’s not
doing a belly flop, but doing a back flop.” (Betcher & Lee pgs. 122-123) From the teacher’s prompt, students were able
to use their visual skills to cognitively create their own perspectives
regarding the image. While the first answer was the most accurate to define
breaching, all three students were practicing how to arrive at the answer using
visual literacy skills. The third responder was also able to link to his or her
existing fund of knowledge in stating that the whale appeared to be doing a
“back flop”. (Betcher
& Lee pgs. 122-123 This skill assists students in making deeper connections
with the material at hand.
The
elements of the lesson above would not have been so easily accessible using the
traditional teaching tools. They would not have been able to pull up an image
so quickly without the technology to do so. With the teacher’s model and
guidance through the interactive whiteboard, students were able to participate collaboratively
to develop their skills. The skillsets utilized will help to build a foundation
of visual and information literacy practices moving forward as the eventual
goal is for students to complete such tasks independently as they advance.
Example 2: Elementary School Teacher
Paula White
Another teacher
that provided input, as noted in Chris Betcher and Lee Mal’s book, was elementary
school teacher Paula White from Virginia. White described her lesson involving
analyzing different sources of information.
White’s classroom
is given a task to review a topic usually regarding a historical event. As an
event is selected, the teacher will display a Wikipedia page that captures details
of the occurrence. Wikipedia is selected so that students can “explore issues
of authenticity and accuracy” (Betcher & Lee pgs. 118-120) Two students in the class are
provided with Airliner slates. These slates allow them to annotate the text
displayed on the interactive whiteboard from anywhere in the room. Students are
asked to “silently read the text, and note vocabulary that may be an issue for
or interesting to them.” (Betcher & Lee pg. 119) They are also
asked to summarize the resource into one topic sentence. One student with an
Airliner slate annotates the resource on the interactive whiteboard while other
students use their notebooks. When each student has finished their work, the
class reviews the work that the student has displayed on the board. The class
discusses their own thought processes as well as what the student with the
Airliner slate has portrayed to the class. After a full discussion and teacher
facilitation, the second student with an Airliner slate is assigned the same
set of tasks, this time using input and guidance from all members of the class.
White goes on to further explain her thoughts about the activity. “Sharing this
thinking about their thinking provides models for less-experienced students to
note that successful summarizers pay attention to things such as text features,
the connections a reader makes and the vocabulary in the text so that they can
use it or find synonyms as they restate the material in their own words. Students
learn to question what is unclear, seek clarification and analyze a text/topic
to uncover what is central…” (Betcher & Lee pgs. 118-120)
White’s New Literacy Application
The lesson that White has described promotes
critical literacy skills. Critical literacy is defined as “the ability to
question, challenge, and evaluate the meanings and purposes of texts.”
(Schrock) According to Ann Marie Smith, “research supports that critical
literacy practices in the classroom improve student reading comprehension.” (Smith
pg. 1) This is a great way to incorporate the multiliteracies approach, as the
skill set can be used in the traditional or the new media sense. (Serafini, pg.
26) If it weren’t for critical literacy skills, we may not be able to determine
fact from fiction. Although the lines can be blurred at times, it is necessary
for students to carefully analyze the information that they are receiving to
avoid misinformation.
In the example above, it’s extremely
interesting that White often uses Wikipedia as a source of information, but she
does so purposefully. Wikipedia has been the recipient of much criticism as the
information provided is not always credible. White chooses this source so that
students can practice their critical literacy skillset. As she stated she wants
students to inquire about the accuracy of what they are exposed to instead of
believing everything they come across. (Betcher & Lee pgs. 118-120) One of the
tasks the students are given is to summarize the main idea of what they are reading.
This serves to evaluate the purpose of the text. If they carried on the lesson
further they may also perform more in depth challenges and responses to the
work as well. (Betcher
& Lee pgs. 118-120)
The interactive whiteboard is also
a crucial element in this lesson. Not only is the teacher modeling critical and
information literacy practices when navigating the search to find the article,
but she is also scaffolding to meet the needs of every student. In the
traditional sense this activity would have to be done independently as the
webpage would have to be printed out beforehand and given to every student. On
the interactive whiteboard, students are able to annotate and navigate freely,
as struggling students look on to see how another student is performing. White
brings in a collaborative element as she asks students to explain their logic
and reasoning which also helps students that may find this activity to be
difficult. The other task the students were given was to find vocabulary that
was challenging for them or interesting to them. Independently, using the
Airliner slate, the student could look up the word that caused confusion, or it
could be done as a class. As elementary school students, this is a great
practice to further develop their critical literacy skills. (Betcher &
Lee pgs. 118-120)
Example 3: Elementary and High
School teacher Katie Morrow
The last example that
will be reviewed from Betcher and Lee’s eBook, is Katie Morrow who has had
experience teaching both elementary school and high school. Morrow described an
activity that she has created for her 5th grade students in
Nebraska.
Students were
assigned to work collaboratively to create a school news program. The students
were responsible for every aspect of the show, they had to choose the content,
record and edit segments, and put it all together to produce a finished
product. Morrow further explains that the interactive whiteboard was utilized by
students to complete the following tasks: “large group brainstorming,
developing news story assignments, concept mapping to plan each episode’s flow,
editing and revising to proofread word-processed stories, creating a teleprompt
feature, editing the production using iMovie, constructively critique the work
as a group.” (Betcher & Lee pg.110)
Morrow’s lesson
was purposefully designed to incorporate new media literacy skills as she
states “sending our students into the twenty first century as primarily passive
receivers of information will not give them the skills needed to compete in an ever-changing
global society as students today thrive being able to create, contribute, and
collaborate with the world around them.” (Betcher & Lee pg.110) Morrow goes
on to further explain that the interactive whiteboard is for students to
“produce content, rather than just consume it”. (Betcher & Lee pg.110)
Morrow’s Media Application
The activity
described above focuses a great deal on tool literacy while also containing
elements of critical, visual, and information literacy. Tool literacy is
defined as the “skillset to use tools to manage, organize, and create
information”. (Schrock) Tool literacy also works to “facilitate all other
literacies” which is exactly what is being fostered in the example. (Easton)
In looking more
closely at the assigned tasks, one item involved selecting content. To be able
to select content the students must first identify the need for information and
then effectively search for it which falls under information literacy
practices. After the resource, has been located, students must rely on their
critical literacy skills to determine if it is a credible resource that can be
utilized for their project. The students practiced visual literacy skills as
they created recordings and edited segments as they had to be sure that the
shots they took pertained the message being provided. Throughout the entire
project, tool literacy skills are showcased since students were able to understand
how to use the software and the hardware needed to meet the needs of their
assignment. This is a great combination of skills that students will surely
utilize in current times and in the future.
Conclusion
Due to the multimodal nature of new media in
the digital age, it is imperative for students to develop strong information,
visual, critical and tool literacy skills. “To promote higher-order thinking,
teachers need to create classroom activities that allow students to manipulate
information, to explore ideas and their implications, and to construct their
own knowledge.”
( Kent & Hold way pg.22) In the examples provided, it has
been shown that interactive whiteboards when coupled with intentional teaching
as noted in the above quote, do help teachers promote digital literacy skills
in the classroom setting.
While the
purposefully designed, lessons that were reviewed in the examples were geared
toward new media literacy skills, there are several other factors about the
interactive whiteboards to assist teachers as they assist their students.
According to the Professional Development Service for Teachers, there are
several benefits of utilizing an interactive whiteboard in the classroom
setting. One benefit (as shown in the examples) is accessibility to multimodal
resources, the IWB allows easy access to audio clips, videos, images, and
texts. Another benefit is that it is a shared resource that can be used for
group inclusion. (PDST) It is imperative to note that there are a number of
possibilities when it comes to utilizing interactive whiteboards in the
classroom, as it is not limited to the new media literacy skills reviewed in
this paper. Interactive whiteboards can help teachers navigate through any
goals they choose.
Citation
*Closing and
Determination of Benefits and Results*
*How teachers are using it and thought
provoking questions Good For Closing Paragraph*
Serafini, Frank. (2013). Reading the
Visual: An Introduction to Teaching Multimodal Literacy. Teachers
College Press. *Definitions*
