Throughout schooling and education, literacy is continuously evolving, adapting and changing due to an advanced technological society we currently live in (Marsh, Brooks, Hughes, Ritchie, Roberts, Wright 2005). As well as this, there is an ever growing popular culture, especially in children’s lives (Lambirth 2003). Whilst undergoing a survey with two student teachers, I discovered some attitudes towards using popular culture in the classroom to teach. Both student teachers agreed that popular culture was about popular culture and the majority. Arthur (2005) takes this statement further by relating it to the media and children’s passions, for example, today that could be Moshi Monsters, X Factor, Gangnam Style. Student A used Moshi Monsters to assist in teaching a phonics lesson, likewise student B used marvel phonics books. Both stated that these were successful in the lower school. In upper school I have also used a Christmas version of Gangnam Style as a fun activity at Christmas to engage the pupils with music. This was successful because the children were fully engaged; however, a problem I found was that they would continuously ask if we could sing it at inappropriate times. Both student teachers gave similar answers to the survey (despite being from different Universities), agreeing that teachers may not be as confident in using popular culture. However, Marsh et al. (2005), found that teachers of early years were confident and excited about the use of popular culture in the classroom, their main concern was using different technologies and media forms. To overcome this, Marsh et al. (2005) stated that their needs to be more support for teachers and experience in using new technologies themselves, therefore, their confidence will build to use these as a tool for learning. Dean (2010) states that when new technologies are used they are used as a support for Literacy, not alone. From this, teachers should progress the use of them to be entwined with other subjects, as well as using them solely as their own tool for learning.
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Arthur, L. (2005) ‘Popular Culture: views of parents and educators’ in Marsh, J. (2005) Popular Culture, New Media and Digital Literacy in Early Childhood Oxon: RoutledgeFalmer
Dean, G. ‘Rethinking Literacy’ in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London:Sage
Lambirth, A. (2003) ‘”They get enough of that at home”: Understanding aversion to popular cultures in schools’ Reading 37(1) pp.9-13
Marsh, J. Brooks,G. Hughes,J. Ritchie, L. Roberts, S. Wright, K (2005) Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new Technologies University of Sheffield (Section 2.10 p.46; Sections 3.2 & 3.3 p48/49)
I agree that teachers need to learn about how to use new technology - I found on my last placement that some of the younger generation of teachers were much more enthusiastic and up to date with ICT and popular culture, perhaps because they grew up learning about how to use new technology as it came out.
ReplyDeleteYour comment about using technology to support literacy rather than using it alone actually arose in my survey as well. I think it could work alone, but it would possibly depend on the format.
I found that in relation with the phonics and 'mosh I monsters' really interesting as when on SE we used what is called phonics play which has aliens as characters. One parent that I interviewed actually had concerns over moshi monsters being used within the school environment because she felt it had a negative influence in the home. This was because her child wanted to be on the computer all evening. Films for storytelling are a brilliant way of bringing speaking and listening skills into the literacy classroom. There were a few of us who were fortunate to go to Estonia to see how technology could aid the literacy classroom. I think that teachers that are in schools now should take the opportunity if they can to go on IT courses if they are unsure of IT inside the classroom. As they say it is not only children that are constantly learning, teachers are lifelong learners.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that teachers need to build their confidence in using new technology in the classroom if they are to use it effectively with children, and support your comment on how teachers can then progress into including it within a wider range of subjects throughout the curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how, when interviewing student teachers, that they bring up lack of confidence as a reason why they may be apprehensive to use new technologies in the classroom. This is what I found in my student teacher interview as well, and it surprised me as I would have assumed that our generation of trainee teachers would not have a problem with confidence as we have all grown up with it in our lives.