Date of Award
12-31-2013
Document Type
Campus Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Matthew Davis
Second Advisor
Alex Mueller
Third Advisor
Neal Bruss
Abstract
"The Elusiveness of `Technology in the Classroom: How Teachers Might More Effectively Address Digital Literacy and Adhere to the Frameworks" describes the ways in which including technology in the classroom remains an obscurity to teachers. While the acknowledgement of digital literacy and the inclusion of technology have been in the forefront of political educational agendas and scholarly works, applying the concept has remained a complex and incomprehensible task for teachers. Since "technology" is never explicitly defined by state frameworks and digital literacy specific standards do not exist, teachers must create their own definition and apply "technology" the best way they see fit, which depends upon their expertise, experience with technology, and their access to technology. This leads to varying levels of instruction and learning of digital literacy, none of which can be qualified or measured.
A closer look at the structure and content of the Massachusetts English Language Arts and Literacy Frameworks reveals the disparity between the inclusion of what the project calls mono modal print form literacy expectations and digital literacy expectations. Because the Common Core is so heavily inundated with specific standards involving what teachers might assume are mono modal texts, teachers have little time to become experts in texts that include multiple modes and ultimately, digital literacy.
Instead of waiting for the Frameworks to include explicit language that address and defines digital literacy, the project suggests that teachers should redefine what a text means. Therefore, when approaching the ELA and Literacy Frameworks, teachers will be reading the standards from a revised perspective. Also, the project suggests that teachers should redefine what it means to "read" and "write" so that they are able to devise curriculum and deliver instruction that specifically addresses digital literacy. Teachers would then be able to apply what they have learned from research such as Stuart Selber's three categories of digital literacy and their micro-frameworks in their curriculum and thus promote a more comprehensive literacy.
Recommended Citation
Penney, Daisy Elizabeth, "The Elusiveness of the Technology in the Classroom: How Teachers Might More Effectively Address Digital Literacy and Adhere to the Frameworks" (2013). Graduate Masters Theses. 216.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/masters_theses/216
Comments
Free and open access to this Campus Access Thesis is made available to the UMass Boston community by ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. Those not on campus and those without a UMass Boston campus username and password may gain access to this thesis through resources like Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global or through Interlibrary Loan. If you have a UMass Boston campus username and password and would like to download this work from off-campus, click on the "Off-Campus UMass Boston Users" link above.