Using iPods in Education

I thought about  the meaning of digital literacy and felt it meant that technology played a huge role in “the ability to understand and employ printed information (Kirsch, 2001). However I wasn’t entirely clear on the definition until I read the following description:

Digital Literacy is the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate and create information using digital technology. (Hughes, 2012)

The huge difference I find between the definition of literacy and the definition of digital is in the word “create”. The first definition doesn’t use that word and there seems to be an implication that a person is just a passive consumer of products put out there by others who make all the decisions. I don’t believe that to be true. Those that are literate create by producing notes, letters, e-mails, short stories, books and so on. They are also producers of knowledge.

The digital literacy definition specifically uses the word “create” and I felt that was very important. The consumers are also the producers of information and I feel that can be very empowering.

An artifact I am including in this section is a Pecha Kucha I created explaining how the iPod touch can be used as a learning tool to educate young girls. I feel this presentation fits in this area because the affordances of this type of technology allows for the facilitation of literacy in places where political, economical and even cultural issues are hampering efforts to educate people.

References:

Hughes, J ( 2012, February 9) Powerpoint: Digital Literacies – New Literacies. UOIT. Oshawa

Kirsch, I. (2001). The International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS): Understanding what was measured (ETS RR-01-25). Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

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