Digital Literacy=New Language Biweekly Report #2

With the vast articles online I came across one in particular that really made me better comprehend the new meaning of digital literacy. The article I found was entitled Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century by Barbara R. Jones-Kavalier and Suzanne L. Flannigan. To sum up the article's view it first goes into depth of how being "literate" is vastly different from it's old roots of reading books. It also explains how no matter what time period people were in it was incredibly important to build communication method. By doing that it was vital to use the best technology they had to offer in order to makes things far more efficient. The article goes on further to explain that Digital and visual literacy is the new form of building the powerful force of communication in our world. Children just becoming the extremely Digital literate and they learn technology at such a young age and at such a fast pace, so fast they understand it without even realizing it. The article then explains how Digital technology is just like creating a second language. Many older adults fear it or feel it is too difficult, irrelevant and even too alien to the simple human. I had never looked at technology in such a way before. It has always been infused within my own life as well as my own artwork. I've grown up using it so using myself as an example I am like many of those children who never realize how it falls into there life to continuously. I think to interesting that the article explains digital technology as a new language. The more I think about it I can understand where they are coming from. There is so much to learn in the digital world and it's not something someone can just master in one day. It takes years and years of time and even the best digitally savvy people still have not "mastered" digital technology completely. That is why it is constantly changing at such a fast rate. The article then goes on further to explain the reason towards an ungoing education problem within our society. It is the lack of digital technology and constant form of traditional style lesson plans used that no longer pertains to todays 21st century learning. New age children are learning in different ways it is no longer useful to have kids simple copy notes on a board. One of the common problems the article claims is that even if a school is granted with technology advanced there is a failure to give the right training to the school faculty that may need it. Another important note they added was for the students and faculty to get past the glitz and the "glam" that technology made show. Its about the learning process and what the student are able to understand. The biggest challenge is also dealing with the complexity that technology brings. I feel as a future art teacher it is very important to remember the ideas that this article talks about. I can be one of the teachers to help change the education system for the better. I have to remember not to fall into my old traditional routine of when I was younger. The way I learned is irrelevant with todays 21st century learners. I can find a way to help other teachers in my future school as well, maybe starting out with the right kind of workshops and meeting that relate to digital technology and the students. It ends with the article saying how its better to have digital skills than be left out, unable to understand. The article made some very key points and I couldn't agree more with everything it said. Here is the link if you wish to read it yourself.
http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/ConnectingtheDigitalDotsLitera/157395

Citiation
Jones-Kavalier, Flannigan, Barbara R, Suzanne. "Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century." Educause. n. page. Web. 28 Sep. 2011