First Blog Post for EDCI 353B

This is the first of three posts for my Alternative Text Course. Enjoy!

The phrase "alternative texts" refers to a wide variety of emerging media forms that today's students are engaging with. A good definition might be: sources of information, data and knowledge that are made up of "recorded symbolic representations",(Mackey,199) but which vary in form and type from the printed texts traditionally used by educators. These texts may be printed, may be digital, and may not consist of written words at all.

As an educator, I think that it is incredibly important to recognize that students are faced with a growing and ever changing range of information sources. These students, in order to be competent members of today's society are adapting to the new technologies, and are teaching themselves how to read and use these sources of information. As a teacher, I feel that it is important for me to help guide their learning, to value the skills they have, and to show them the value that traditional core texts have as well. By teaching students using a mixture of alternative and core texts, I can help them develop the skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to successfully navigate today's complex world.

While I was participating in my practicum, I was pleased to see that some teachers were trying to incorporate alternative texts into their teaching strategies. Students were allowed to create PowerPoint presentations instead of posters in one Socials class and I was surprised to see that every student chose to do their project that way. In another class, students were able to submit all of their assignments via moodle or email, and were encouraged to provide links to source material for their fellow students on a forum site. The classroom in which I was teaching had a smartboard, and all the students were literate in its use. One teacher who was ill, recorded a podcast that he had the substitute teacher play for the first five minutes of class explaining exactly what the students should be working on for the rest of the block, and several students put “get well” posts on the class blog that afternoon.

However, my observations also noted several ways in which alternative texts were seen as disruptive and corrupting influences at the school I was teaching at. Ipods and mp3 players were banned from the school, and students were not allowed to listen to them even during breaks. It was explained to me that teachers had found students were less likely to listen if they had their Ipods with them, and so they were banned outright. As well, cell phones were not allowed to be used on school property for the same reason, and because their ringing was a distraction in class. One teacher I visited refused to show videos or any multimedia presentations like powerpoint because he felt that students needed to learn how to focus on spoken lectures and write notes, rather than simply be “entertained.”

Mackey suggests that teachers should employ an “asset model” when thinking about how alternative texts should fit in to their classrooms. Teachers who recognize that students have literacy with various alternative texts- such as video games, online blogs or comic books- recognize that students are bringing these skills or assets into the classroom. These assets can be employed to help students become engaged in their learning and to help them develop as learners. For instance, in an English class, if some students were literate in stop motion animation technologies they might be able to create an incredible interpretation of “Romeo and Juliet” that would add to the class' understanding of the play. Teachers could also use the “asset model” to assess which contemporary skill students are lacking in, and push their class to become literate in those areas, and thereby gain assets that will assist them in their future learning. For instance students who are taught how to create podcasts can use that skill in the future to develop and show their understanding of a novel.

I feel that alternative texts are a necessary, and downright exciting, piece of today's educational puzzle. Without the inclusion of these texts into the learning environment, the learning that takes place in the classroom is isolated from the reality that students are facing everyday. Alternative texts are no longer an alternative. They are a necessity.