New Media & New Literacies

  This is more then just one lesson, I did this over like 3 weeks so more of a unit. I wanted to talk about my project/activity first and then get into the other part of the prompt as it ties it all in at the end.   When working in my 3 rd and 4 th grade Special Education class, I wanted to help them understand and be able to skip count by numbers 2- 12. Unsure how I was going to tackle this, I started small with skip counting by 2s and 5s, as a class we practiced this for two days, each number had its own 20-minute lesson and then I would do the same thing with the second number. Before I formally introduced what we were counting by I would show a Schoolhouse Rock Video on the skip counting (about the number they would be learning to skip count by). My class and I would practice counting together and then they would do an independent activity like a skip counting maze (which was a big hit), connect the dots to reveal a picture or something with coloring. I continued thi...

  As I reflected back after each reading one thing kept coming to my mind, and how has literacy evolved into multiliteracies over such a short period of time?  Thinking back to my undergrad which was between 2019 and 2023, when learning about literacy, I was really only taught about reading and writing, paper and pencil. Now with new ideas and theories literacy is constantly changing and being redefined. As stated in the “Expanded Territories of “Literacy”; New Literacies and Multiliteracies” by Yuan Sang “Thus, as the world has changed, the definition of literacy should be broadened accordingly.” (Yuan, 2017), literacy is more than just written and printed text and as technology and human interaction continues to change so should the meaning of literacy. I found it useful to better understand the major difference between multiliteracies and the conventional view and to be able to instruct using the multiliteracy view vs. what I thought literacy meant.  When I think about...

I truly did not understand how new literacy practices are playing a role in both my personal life and work life. Yes, like most people I have social media, and I use it often (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat etc.). But I never thought of the skills that I needed to be able to use social media sites. I took basic computer classes in high school and learned how to type properly and how to use Microsoft Word but that was the extent of my technology teaching in school.  As I started reading “What Does It Mean to Have Digital Literacy Skills?” by Jenifer Vanek, I never realized how many different digital literacy proficiencies there are: “Basic Computer Skills, Network Literacy, Digital Problem Solving, Media Literacy and informational literacy.” (Vanek 2019, pg.2). This made me think about using technology in my classroom and how I have to be mindful of the different abilities each student has. When thinking of basic computer skills, students do need to be able to turn the computer on an...

  Hi! My name is Delaney Emerson, and I am from Rochester NY. I went to SUNY Geneseo for my undergrad in Childhood and Special Education 1-6 with a concertation in Environmental Studies. I've been teaching for two years at Hillside Children's Center at the Crestwood Campus. I currently teach 3rd and 4th grade. I love animals and currently am hatching chickens and peafowl with my students! Outside of work, I love to spend time outside hunting, fishing and our family farm. I am part of the Mayfly Project, which is a national organization that uses fly fishing as way to mentor kids in foster care! I have a yellow lab named Harper who is just over a year old and is a certified therapy dog, I enjoy being able to take Harper on different visits and watch how she makes an impact on other people's lives. I also have a cat named Addie and everyone says she is the cat version of me! I decided to pursue my master's to be able to meet the needs of my diverse classroom better as aca...