Melanie's New Literacy

I used to think literacy was limited to the topic of Language Arts. I even further simplified this thought by thinking that literacy was merely the having the ability to read. After this course's readings, discussions, and projects, I've realized that literacy is actually hard to define. But, I really liked one literacy definition that I heard in class, which defined literacy as the ability to interpret signs and utilize these interpretations in everyday life. Yes, this definition is vague, but it's hard to define the notion of literacy after discovering its complexity. I think literacy in an umbrella term, and it's easier to define its subsets rather than the word itself. I now know that there is a multitude of literacies, and the more literacies one acquires, the easier it is to function in society. Accordingly, the technology that I explored (a comic creation site) informed my thinking of literacy when I initially struggled with its features. I struggled because I lacked literacy in this technology. I've never made a comic, so this unfamiliarity plus the new technology challenged me. However, once I explored it more and discovered its features, it was easier for me to understand the functions of this technology. I eventually became more literate in this particular technology.

 I think providing "effective literacy instruction" to diverse learners tasks teachers to be creative and diverse through their teaching strategies. This means that teachers have to be aware of their students' interests, abilities, and struggles. With this knowledge, teachers can teach in a manner that's beneficial to the individuals in his/her classroom. It's amazing to see the effects of knowing your students and accommodating their individual needs. My CT executes this in her classroom, and she definitely provides effective literacy instruction. She is aware of the abilities and difficulties of her students, and she has multiple resources and strategies for the students to enhance their individual learning experiences. 
When I explored GLCEs, I looked at the GLCE for second graders. If the students at this grade level were learning to use Comeeko, the comic-creating technology that I used, they would need to develop many capacities and commitments to be successful. For instance, they'd have to understand the sequencing aspect of reading because to create a comic, you have to organize your ideas in an appropriate sequence. They'd also have to have speaking literacy because there is speech in comics. However, they need be literate in writing because they'd have to be able to translate their dialogue into written form. Lastly, they'd have to have visual literacy to incorporate images that relate to the content in the comic. The selection of their images is crucial to enhance the story that they portray. The technology of Comeeko is actually a great way of incorporating all of this learning into the Language Arts curriculum. As I mentioned, this technology demands a lot of Language Arts features, and I think Comeeko would be a nice, subtle way to stimulate the literacies of reading, speaking, and visualization. Also, the GLCEs for second grade Language Arts expects 2nd grade cirriculum to include/reinforce these aspects. 

Learningi to use a technology fits with my current understanding of literacy and my ideas of effective literacy instruction because Comeeko is flexible. This technology stimulates many aspects (of all levels) of Language Arts, so it's fairly universal. Also, I'll generalize my definition as the interpretation of symbols, and Comeeko includes many direct and indirect symbols that require interpretation for proper use of the technology.