Presentation given at Melbourne University Grad School of Education March 5, 2011

1. digital age education | creating texts
melbourne university graduate school of education 05.03.2011

2. why english matters
“It's hard to imagine what other department is better
suited to helping us prepare, in practical and profound
ways, for our future, for the highly unpredictable changes
in how we read, write, and communicate that are
reshaping school and work in the Information Age.”
Cathy Davidson, Duke University
https://www.hastac.org/

3. essential questions
• What do we mean by ‘digital’? How is it different to ICT?
• How would you define ‘text’ in the digital age? What
does it ‘look like’?
• What are the implications for the type of writing we
teach / have students to engage in?
• How do we teach students to create texts in the new
media landscape?

4. digital vs ict
To use an analogy, a digital ICT is short for information
world is a world united by and communications
one language, a world technology. It refers to a
where people from across broad field encompassing
continents share ideas with computers, communications
one another and work equipment and the services
together to build projects associated with them. It
and ideas. includes the telephone,
cellular networks, satellite
communication, broadcasting
media and other forms of
Source: wikibooks communication.

5. writing, technology and youth
Even though teens are heavily embedded in a tech-rich world,
they do not believe that communication over the internet or text
messaging is writing.
Teens believe good writing is important to success in life.
Teens are motivated to write by relevant topics, high
expectations, an interested audience and opportunities to write
creatively.
Teens believe that the writing instruction they receive in school
could be improved.

6. writing, technology and youth
Non-school writing, while less common than school writing, is still
widespread among teens.
Multi-channel teens and gadget owners do not write any more –
or less – than their counterparts, but bloggers are more prolific.
Teens enjoy non-school writing, and to a lesser extent, the writing
they do for school.

7. the community is waking-up
web as participatory platform:
‘us-ness’ | community | connect | network | share

8. the digital landscape matters in education
what’s important: the properties and dynamics of the internet
landscape – not the tools – and how to evolve with them
source: http://www.informationarchitects.jp/slash/iA_WebTrends_2007_2_1600x1024.gif

9. the digital landscape matters in education
what’s important: the properties and dynamics of the internet
landscape – not the tools – and how to evolve with them
source: http://www.informationarchitects.jp/slash/iA_WebTrends_2007_2_1600x1024.gif

10. key words in the digital landscape
media
social
mobile
real time
convergence

11. 21st Century Education Rethinking the who, what,
where & when of learning.
The delivery & distribution
of learning.
From prescriptive to
connective practices.
Who participates in the
learning process.
Learning spaces.

12. pedagogy | shifts in learning

13. real | networked | participatory
http://hubpages.com/
http://hubpages.com/hub/short-story-When-The-Bird-Sings-in-the-Pine-Wood

14. real | networked | participatory

15. real | networked | participatory
http://www.mixedink.com

16. real | networked | participatory
http://issuu.com

17. 21st century text creation made easy

18. is this a text?

19. http://scratch.mit.edu

20. 21st century texts
http://www.urgentevoke.com

21. blogging and convergence
mobile web share

22. microblogging
How I learned to love Twitter
Margaret Atwood
“So what's it all about, this Twitter? Is it signalling, like
telegraphs? Is it Zen poetry? Is it jokes scribbled on the
washroom wall? Is it John Hearts Mary carved on a tree?
Let's just say it's communication, and communication is
something human beings like to do.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/apr/07/love-twitter-hooked-fairies-garden

23. reflect
• Are students equipped with competencies to
communicate effectively in digital mediums such as
chat, forums, blogs, email?
• Can students argue, inform, instruct, analyse etc for
digital spaces?
• How would you teach students to write for mobile
devices?

24. case study |
jnr learning network

25. case study | jnr learning network

26. case study |
jnr learning network

27. case study | middle school reading network

28. case study | 7 – 12 learning network

29. case study |
7 – 12 learning network

30. case study |
7 – 12 learning network

31. case study | yr 9 genre writing

32. case study |
learning network

33. case study |
learning network

34. case study | learning network

35. resources
Reading
National Writing Project:
http://www.nwp.org/
Teachers Are the Centre of Education: Writing, Learning and Leading in the Digital Age Paper (National
Writing Project):
http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3154
Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum Handbook (Futurelab)
http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/publications-reports-articles/handbooks/Handbook1706
Writing, Technology and Teens (Pew Internet and American Life Project Research)
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2008/Writing-Technology-and-Teens.aspx
New Media Literacies Community
http://projectnml.ning.com/
Digital Media and Learning
http://dmlcentral.net/
Tools
digimuve's social bookmarks
http://www.diigo.com/user/digimuve

36. Sylvia Guidara
www.digimuve.com
twitter.com/digimuve
sguidara@me.com