New Literacies Learning

Numeracy
     At the beginning of this project, the definition of literacy that I found from  Bridgewater State College included "...Literacy is "not in isolated bits of knowledge but in students' growing ability to use language and literacy in more and broader activities" (Moll, 1994, p. 202).The definition of literacy is dynamic, evolving, and reflects the continual changes in our society."
     I chose to investigate Numeracy for my new literacies project. I was not familiar with this term at all so I had to do a lot of researching. One of the definitions I found was "Numeracy is to mathematics as literacy is to language. Each represents a distinctive means of communication that is indispensable to civilized life." (Lynn Arthur Steen) http://www.stolaf.edu/people/steen/Papers/numeracy.html So, in relation to the definition of literacy above, along with the class's definitions, they are both abilities and processes of using the 'subject' they are a part of. In addition, the National Numeracy Network defines it as "[The] ability to reason and solve sophisticated quantitative problems, their basic understanding of the scientific method, and their ability to communicate at a substantial level about quantitative issues in everyday life." According to the NSW Department of Education and Training, "a numerate person should understand some of the ways mathematics can be used for communication, and this required the possession of two attributes:
1.being 'at-ease' with all those aspects of mathematics that enable a person to cope with the practical demands of everyday life
2.the ability to understand information presented in mathematical terms."
In relation to this, another part of my definition was "A literate person can mediate their world by deliberately and flexibly orchestrating meaning from one linguistic knowledge base and apply or connect it to another knowledge base." So, numerate and literate people are alike in the sense that they are using, communicating with, applying, and understanding mathematics or language.
     I feel like all of the traditional literacies (reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing) all play parts in becoming literate in numeracy. In order to reason and communicate about mathematics, I feel like all of these literacies play an important role.
     One thing I am finding interesting is that there is a lot of material out there about the difference between numeracy and mathematical literacy - or the lack thereof. There are some people who believe they are the same and some who feel they are different. From the research I have done, I feel like they are different, but I am still having a difficult time backing up my opinions. This is what I want to investigate more still.
     Thinking about my field placement, I really do not feel that this type of literacy is already present in the curriculum (1st grade). This would definitely be a new learning area for the students, and I really think they would struggle with it. I have complained before that they do very little with any sort of story problems, so they rarely have context for their problems. I feel like if they are going to learn to communicate about math and have the ability to reason and solve problems, they need to be given different situations or contexts.
Graphic Organizers
      I have been working on my graphic organizer at bubbl.us. I tried working with mywebspiration and inspiration, but they weren't as interesting to me as bubbl. When using this technology, the main 'literacies' I am using are reading, writing, and viewing. I'm using these in new/different ways, however, because I am writing in bubbles in a web format. I am viewing my information in a different way because I view it in these bubbles as well. The thing I really like about this particular website is that you can 'hide' bubbles. So, I am creating it so that when you first see it, you only see one bubble. Then when you expand, you see the next bubbles, which you can then also expand to find out additional information.
     The thing I am finding especially challenging is how I am going to embed it or show it to the class and not let them see everything at once. I have tried embedding it into my personal website and right now it shows up with everything expanded first.
     I think I am definitely able to use this technology as a medium to teach about numeracy. I already have my main outline of it done with most of the explanations and quotes that go along with the different parts. I am taking advantage of the expandable bubbles to add additional information about the different aspects of numeracy. Since I can organize it as a web, I am able to show how things are connected and/or related.
     If students in my field placement were learning to use this technology, I think the main skill they would need to develop is writing. They would need to be able to communicate their ideas through print, since there is no place for adding voice. I think they would also need to develop viewing skills so that they would be able to create a visual appealing graphic organizer with connections that make sense. I think a good way to incorporate that learning into language arts curriculum and instruciton is to make concept maps. I could first provide them with blank ones which they need to fill in about a language arts assignment such as a book. Then, they could work on creating their own.