"The distinctive contribution of the approach to literacy as social practice lies in the ways in which it involves careful and sensitive attention to what people do with texts, how they make sense of them and use them to further their own purposes in their own learning lives" (Gillen and Barton, 2010, p. 9).

This is an intriguing statement. What does this statement mean? How do you define literacy? A person could use the simple dictionary or google it or they could examine the word "literacy" by examining their own experiences. "Traditionally, the word literacy has referred to a set of cognitive skills that individuals acquire to function in society." (Gee, 1996; Street, 1995). While a growth in literacy suggests, literacy is something individuals do in a particular social context, rather than simply something people acquire" (Gee, 1996; Street, 1995).

 Literacy has evolved over the past 25 years and growing up it didn't mean the same to me as I feel it means to me today. When I was a student, I was encouraged to read and write much like I encourage my own students. I read magazine articles and books that challenged me to think outside the box. One series I became fond of was the Boxcar Children. I felt by relating these stories to my own life, I was able to "use them to further my (their) own purpose in my (their) own learning live" (Gillen and Barton, 2010, p. 9). "Reading and writing provide the foundation of education...(Cassell, 2004). I believe this statement was true then and now. I still read and write like I did as child but through the advancements of education and technology, but reading an writing isn't just about hard cover books, paper and pencils anymore.

My perspective of literacy today has grown. Much of it is due to my education I have received and some of it has to do with society approach to literacy. Take blogging for instance. It is a literacy advancement. Online discussions help us to write more and connect with what other students write. It gives us the opportunity to examine different perspectives that may not have been visible to us as we read our assigned reading. "We are in a period that could be characterized as fruitful turbulence in education as digital technologies create social, culture as well as cognitive affordances" ( Gillen and Barton, 2010). Our culture has become wrapped up in computers, blogs, webpages, Facebook and Instagram so I feel its important to use it to motivate students to excel in their literacy learning. "The uses of educational technology have a two-fold advantage: they can promote the types of literacy traditionally encouraged in learning, as well as the digital fluency needed to prosper in the digital age" (Huffakers, 2005). I have first hand experienced how integrating digital literacy into a classroom can help guide students to read and write. While working with a group of first graders, I noticed one specific student who had a difficult time sitting on the carpet reading a book. He had trouble sitting still and said "reading was boring." He needed a different reading setting. I set him up on the computer in one of the reading webpages suggested by a coworker. Within 10 minutes, this student was reading and having fun doing it. He was engaged and eager to read more then the allotted reading time. The goal wasn't for the student to sit on the carpet and read, it was for him to just read. The web program helped him do this.

 My focus for literacy to my students is so much more. My approach to teaching literacy encompasses numerous strategies that create a literacy rich environment. It is important as teachers to incorporate our own knowledge and skill set into a literacy curriculum in order for students to succeed. It is equally important for teachers to "keep up with society" and utilize technologies for our students. They should be exposed to a variety of literacy approaches that help strengthen literacy learning.

References

Cassell, J. (2004). Towards a model of technology and literacy development: story listening systems. Journal of Applied Development Psychology, 25, 75-105

Gee, J.P. (1996). Social linguistics and literacies: Ideology in discourses. London: Taylor and Francis

Gillen, J. and Barton, D. (Jan. 2010). Digital Literacies. London Knowledge Lab Institute of Education

GREEN Three Dimensions to Literacy

Huffaker, D. (2005). The educated blogger. Using weblogs to promote literacy in the classroom. AACE Journal, 13 (2), 91-98