BP_5_20091011_Media_Literacy - Comments on Donita Massing's discussion contribution

Donita, Your comment on what literacy means in the the 21st century, "Literacy in the 21st century means more than reading and writing. In the explosion of hits I got on the topic of social media the underlying theme is this: Our interpretation of norms has changed and will continue to evolve. New technologies that have sprung up almost overnight are shaping the way we communicate. Literacy is now synonymous with communication through social media" hit home with me. My students are more likely to communicate with classmates through a social network than through face to face interaction. I have learned to adjust by posting assignments and creating discussion blogs on social network sites to be better able to reach my students. Students who are a little shy in the classroom will post comments through a technique developed by my students. They create pseudonyms and hide their identities when contributing to the blog. There are of course rule of etiquette they must abide to, but the activity has shown fantastic results.