Technology & Innovation - Issue 11

Routines are key to success and happiness. Online homework platforms enable educators to help develop and monitor some of those routines. It’s vital to inform parents how digital technology can be harnessed for learning, and howhealthy ingredients such as sport, homework, social time and reading can be incorporated into children’s daily habits. Indeed, it may be the only true remedy we have against the dangers of social media. I would argue that the essence of literacy is best encapsuled inMary Cassatt’s painting ‘The Reading Lesson’ (see sidebar). Counter-intuitive though it may sound, at the core of reading lies a social act. Books can, and do help us socially. Rates of criminality and literacy are inversely correlated. Submerging ourselves in written fiction helps us to become more empathetic. JonathanHaidt has argued that the disembodied and asynchronous nature of online interactions harms a child’s social development, in that emojis and ‘likes’ are poor substitutes for the complexities of real emotions and genuine human rapport. Books nourish the imagination. Social media force-feeds us distorted reality. Making us human Nor should we overlook that other vital aspect of literacy – oracy. A significant portion of the Canon originated in oral tradition. Drama, MFL and RE present great opportunities for enhancing students’ verbal abilities and developing the so-called ‘soft skills’ of confidence and resilience. With platforms such as X continuing to be awash with vitriolic posts, invective and ad hominem attacks, it’s never beenmore important to teach our students to argue in a civil manner. Besides which, in an era of AI and bots, reading serves the purpose of making us more human. Digital technology may help us waste time, but it can also help us spend it more wisely and facilitate reading in terms of both space and time. Carrying a Kindle or iPad is considerably less cumbersome than hefting a stack of physical books. Audiobooks can seamlessly enable reading to occur in the gym or on the bus (the cognitive processes involved being the same as those relating to physical books). Books that readYOU At an early age, the physical aspects of literacy become important – from the symbolic act of turning pages, to the development of fine motor skills for writing. Recent research has shown that cursive writing appears to deeply engage the brain in ways that support learning. Handwriting is an integral part of children’s cognitive development, and even in later life, note-taking can be useful for helping us actively process information and synthesise our thoughts. Where modern digital technology can really help is is during that initial phase of decoding – i.e. learning to read. Studies have shown that subtitles can subliminally aid in language acquisition, especially among reluctant or weak readers. Such is the quality of subtitles now on streaming platforms such as Netflix, they can even help viewers learn foreign languages. I once heard someone say that ‘ The internet possesses all the knowledge but none of the wisdom. ’ A key danger of online information is that its algorithmically-driven distribution feeds individuals’ pre-existing biases, luring them into cognitive echo-chambers. It calls to mind a chilling pensée by the historian, Yuval Noah Harari: “ Soon, books will read you while you are reading them. ” A formidable tool And yet, when harnessed appropriately, the internet can be a formidable tool for learning. Audiobooks and carefully curated podcasts can bring world class intellectuals straight to your ears, whatever your class or social background. Teachers should be directing students towards such autodidactic learning opportunities. So, does digital technology augur a dark future for literacy? Yes and no. I believe that digital technology will exacerbate the literacy divide yet further – not because it’s intrinsically bad, but because it has the potential to be both good and bad. Perhaps in an age of ever-present, information, ‘literacy’ will no longer refer to knowing how to read, but to knowing what and when to read. ABOUT THE AUTHOR David Voisin is a head of MFL 21STCENTURY LITERACY ESSENTIALS • Delay the use of keyboards for writing • Use physical books for deep reading and ebooks for research (and notes or highlights) • Use audiobooks, podcasts and other audio media to create more time and space for language immersion • Foster environments and routines that reduce social media use and increase cultural capital • Promote social and ‘embodied’ literacy via oracy exercises and classroom discussion • Develop children’s theory of the mind via rich reading opportunities and careful curriculum design; expose them to diverse identities and experiences, as well as different opinions • Teach critical thinking and civil dialogue The Reading Lesson by Mary Cassatt (1901) 21 teachwire.net D E V E LO P M E N T S