Digital Literacy: is digi-lit legit?

Am I dating myself when I say I love to read real books? You know, real books you hold in your hands, pages dog-eared, sometimes musty, the ones you can claim with your name on the inside cover? With the continual rise in the popularity of e-books and the devices which allow you to read them, in addition to the hold the Internet has on our lives in blogging, online news, and social networking, are our precious paperbacks on the way out? Likewise, is the literacy we teach in our schools current with the times? Is digital literacy legitimate?

The article Reading 2.0 from the Edutopia blog discusses pleasure reading vs. reading for test prep, a conflict that continues to be debated.

Will Richardson discusses the Internet in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Tools for the Classroom. Instead of the original Read Only Web or the Read/Write Web that came next, we now have a Read/Reflect/Write/Participate Web. The Internet is exploding with information, and the classroom must become a place that taps into the potential of the Internet...not only through teacher access but among students as well.

Many schools haven't dared to let students explore what is on the Web because of the dangers that may await them, or because of the issues that could arise. Recognizing that we actually do live in the digital age (by the way, The Digital Age is one of my favorite bands--you should check them out...) when online interactions abound, I think a school must accept the challenge to teach students appropriate use, careful study, and correct publishing while connected.

Current and Relevant Content
What is on the web is oftentimes more current and relevant than what is in a classroom textbook. Before I changed curriculums in sixth grade this year, our reading text in sixth and below was already 12 years old! Though terrific comprehension strategies and valuable vocabulary and critical thinking skills are taught, is it enough? I don't think so.

Giving students proper tools to interpret online content will allow them the chance to respond in a current and relevant manner, and their conversations with us and the world around them can continue. Students should be receiving valuable instruction and opportunity to develop the literacies important to being productive in the 21st Century.

Big Shifts
In his book, Will Richardson offers 10 "Big Shifts" to content and curriculum. Here are a few.

• One big shift is that learning can happen at anytime. Students don't need to wait to come to school and sit in their desks and listen to all of the wisdom we want to impart. They can search out their own interests online. It's what they're usually thinking about at school anyway. Giving students freedom to choose the path for a project of their choice (within defined parameters) will engage them. 
• Another big shift has become the collaborative nature of the Internet. As teachers, we will need to give opportunity for students to work together toward a common goal while using Web 2.0 tools. With the collaborative online tools available now, I think we must teach students that these should be used for school learning.
• Another shift in content and curriculum is that reading is now more active than it has ever been. Teaching students to be more critically aware of online text that has not been managed or edited becomes key. Students must also be writers in order to respond to what they read.
• A final shift to consider is that student work is meant not only for the teacher, class, or school, but it's for the larger world. The audience has expanded.

For a look at a sample of services that allow students to . . . learn at any moment . . . in a collaborative environment . . . actively . . . in ways meant for really anybody . . . see these tools your students probably already know about and possibly even use: 

YouTube    Reddit    Flipboard    Wordpress    Wikipedia    Wikispaces.

No longer do students read by simply picking up a book for enjoyment, or even assignment or research. Giving students opportunities to interact with online content in manageable ways becomes a new type of literacy. Using various Web 2.0 tools that we've identified as useful to this end will be the new norm.