Exploring Digital Literature in the Classroom

Posted on by
Reply

 As educators, we often assume that our students’ comfort with technology means they are naturally equipped to engage with digital texts. However, there’s a significant difference between using digital tools and critically interacting with digital literature as readers and creators. This realisation has challenged me to rethink how I approach digital content in the classroom. Digital literature provides opportunities for students to develop both literacy and digital fluency. It’s not just about reading on a screen; it’s about interpreting meaning from layered elements like sound, animation, hyperlinks, and visual design.
Technology is a fast paced and ever changing environment and whilst it is important to keep up with technological changes, there is more onus on equipping students with the skills to engage with the complex, multimodal texts they will increasingly encounter in the world.

Literature’s Modern Renaissance

Posted on by
Reply

We are currently living through a digital renaissance. Writers and readers alike are experimenting with new forms, blending visuals, sound, code, and hyperlinked structures to create immersive experiences. This resurgence of creative innovation signals not just a shift in how stories are told, but in how they are experienced, shared, and preserved across digital platforms. It is important that with this period of change, we also pay homage to our roots, and remember the traditions of literature as a physical print based form. So a quick look back at the origins of the book is definitely something to keep us a little grounded as we embark on this shift.

 

An introduction to Digital Literature Environments

Posted on by
Reply

As I begin this unit, my current understanding of digital literature environments is grounded more in curiosity than expertise. I associate digital literature with storytelling that is outside the realm of traditional print, including multimodal digital platforms. As someone who is passionate about children’s literature and emerging technologies, I am particularly interested in how digital tools can make literature more accessible, engaging and immersive for students. For example, as a casual relief teacher, I have found the digital platform Vooks invaluable. Its easy access to engaging children’s literature has often provided meaningful learning experiences when lesson plans were absent or additional time needed to be filled productively. As an added benefit it is a free program for teachers and educators.

While digital literature offers incredible opportunities for interactivity and engagement, traditional print still holds an indispensable position in educational literacy. Research by Mangen, Walgermo, and Brønnick (as cited in Lamb, 2011) suggests that reading on paper can support deeper comprehension and is easier to navigate compared to digital formats. Their study found that students who read text on paper perform slightly better on comprehension tasks that those who read on screens, likely due to a stronger sense of structure and fewer distractions. At the same time, digital literature environments can offer experiences that enrich understanding and engagement for the reader. For teachers, the challenge is to design digital reading environments that go beyond simply replicating print. The effective integration of technology can be used to create truly immersive and meaningful reading journeys.

Rather than seeing traditional literature and digital literature as competitors, we should instead use them to compliment each other. Providing students with a balanced approach will allow students to enjoy the dynamic features of a multimodal digital literature environment whilst also benefitting from the structure of traditional texts. The combination of both will support students in developing a wide range of literacy skills. As I begin this unit and delve further into the readings, I’m eager to develop a more structured understanding of the key concepts, tools, and practices in this field. I hope this unit will equip me with the skills to create, evaluate, and apply digital literature in meaningful ways.

References

Lamb, A. (2011). Reading Redefined for a Transmedia Universe. Learning & Leading with Technology, 39(3), 12–17.

Gariev, V. (2024, April 24). Mother using smartphone son holding tablet father reading book in bed at home[Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/@silverkblack

ETL523 – Whose Responsibility is it to teach Digital Citizenship?

Posted on by
Reply

Last weekend my eldest child (6yo) asked if he could start to play Mine Craft. Now, as an avid gamer married to a game developer, this was a huge step for us as a family.
We have had in-depth discussions about how we would enforce healthy boundaries around our children accessing and engaging in video games- what would that look like for us.

With the best of intentions we have talked about things like, only gaming on weekends, our kids need to be actively involved in either a sport or a social club to be able to have access to games, we are avoiding online gaming as long as we can, we are strict on the ratings of games and what we think are acceptable ages to engage with certain content.

It wasn’t until looking at module one that I realised, for all the good intentions we have we have missed out on a crucial factor for safeguarding our children and raising competent and safe digital citizens. We have overlooked the collaboration needed to support them.

Digital Citizenship is not only my job to teach them – but we need to include them in the process and we need to look at what the school is doing so that we are consistent in our teaching our kids about this. We can still have certain rules at home that may not always align with the boundaries at school, but it is the collaborative discussions and consistency that will support our children in being good Digital Citizens.

ETL504 – Inspirational Leaders

Posted on by
Reply

In my working life there have been a number of people who have inspired me, however coming from a leadership perspective I want to refer to one Manager at my previous role outside of education that was not only inspirational in the context of our work but also in the way she behaved outside of the working environment as well.
This person was in an acting manager role covering for someone on leave for two years. She was particularly young to be given the opportunity but the way in which she conducted herself in the leadership role, it was clear this was her career trajectory and that she would excel in her roles as a leader. She exuded competence in her role, she knew the information and the policies and procedures like the back of her hand. She was empathetic, a good listener, was able to problem solve and employ critical thinking to the work we were doing. She was able to acknowledge if she was lacking in information or understanding and strove to learn at every opportunity to better herself for us as her staff.
I can only hope that if I find myself in a leadership role that is hierarchical in the future, that I will lead with as much empathy and understanding as she did.

I’m back!

Posted on by
Reply

After a career change, a change back and then having another baby; I did not think I would be back finishing this course. Luckily I can be stubborn, and here I am. Four units and a placement is all that stands between me and the dream of being a librarian! With three little ones in tow, a husband trying to make his own dreams come true and a smattering of pets to keep alive – I have got this!

ETL 402 – Assessment 2: Literary Learning Reflective Blog

Posted on by
Reply

This unit has been an insightful look into how literature and literacy have changed with the globalisation of todays society. Where historically there was a focus on the literacy skills of decoding and deciphering texts to then withdraw meaning. As society has changed there has been a pedagogical shift from these skills into a more literary approach resulting in students requiring not only the skill to read but also to learn through what they are reading. Literary Learning requires the skills of literacy but it allows for students to gain a broader knowledge in other Key Learning Areas (KLAs) as it provides students with access to a range of meaningful texts to support engagement and understanding. This key difference between literacy and literary learning is something I will take with my into my future practice as a teacher librarian.

Throughout this unit have had a shift in my own understanding of the role in literature as teaching tool, as I have moved from the use of picture books as a form of entertainment or linked specifically to the English curriculum and instead have moved into a more dynamic way of teaching through literature. In my final assessment I struggled in tying the use of fictional literature to KLAs as I had initially focused on history and found that many of the books were non-fiction that were supportive of the curriculum. I ended up changing my KLA to the creative arts as I felt the medium lent to this syllabus in a meaningful way. Something I have noted as a casual teacher is that often in the early years teachers are not confident in teaching visual arts, or are scared of mess. There is a lot of explicit instruction on how to do guided drawings, or step by step crafts. Whilst I value these teaching experiences, I also feel that the use of literature can create a more freeing approach to visual arts, and to open up broader discussion for the appreciation of art.

Something that has really stood out to me from the learning in this unit is the importance of students developing transliteracy skills. As the world changes student are no longer required to simply understand reading and writing but to adapt these basic skills into numerous environment’s, including digital environments. As the world changes there has been a change towards engaging, ‘creative and innovative ways to keep students highly involved in their education,’ (Kopka, 2014).  As I discussed in my previous post about transliteracy, the modern world is accessing content and resources of varying significance on an almost instantaneous and constant rate. From medical bills to entertainment, teachers need to be preparing their students with transliteracy skills, (Stuart, 2023, January 19). Using Transmedia as an extension of literary learning provides students with the creative and adaptive skills which will transfer into real world circumstances.

 

References

Kopka. S. (2014, May 7). Transmedia and education: Using transmedia in the classroom with a focus on interactive literature. Sekopa. https://sekopka.wordpress.com/2014/05/07/transmedia-education-using-transmedia-in-the-classroom-with-a-focus-on-interactive-literature/

Transliteracy vs Literacy

Posted on by
Reply

The world is rapidly changing and the way in which we contribute to society is changing alongside it.
The transition from a print based world to a digital world is shifting the focus from literacy to a term coined, ‘Transliteracy’. The following video identifies Transliteracy as, ‘the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media,’ (librarianbyday, 2009).

As teachers and teacher librarians, we can no longer focus solely on the ability to read and write. Students are growing up in a world where they are constantly adapting to advancing technology and digital tools. In the past year I have used my phone to pay bills, seek immediate medical advice, filled legal paperwork, completed government forms and used social media accounts for entertainment. These differing forms of media all required my ability to not only read what I was doing but understand how the forms and content were set out and how I what I would need to contribute to them.

 

 

Personal Stocktake

Posted on by
Reply
I sit here, a self professed bibliophile, trying to unpack my personal knowledge of children’s literature. I started actively collecting children’s books in high school, I was drawn to books with beautiful illustrations and beautiful stories. My collection grew as I undertook my Bachelor of Education and extended to not just books but also websites, apps, programs, news sources, and more. Now, as a mother of two, I have begun to niche down into areas of interest from my children and their specific needs. For example, I may not have collected books about Autism had my son not been diagnosed. I feel I have an extensive knowledge of children’s literature at a general level, however I look forward to learning from this unit how I can apply this knowledge to my future role as a Teacher Librarian.

ETL401: Assessment 3.B – Reflective practice

Posted on by
1

The unit, ETL401: Introduction to teacher librarianship has provided an interesting and informative entry into the complex role of teacher librarian. From the beginning of the course I have written about my reasons behind choosing teacher librarianship as a future career. The library has always been a safe place for me throughout the stages of my life, (Stuart, 2022, March 13). As this unit has unfolded and my understanding of the role has expanded past this initial love of literature and sense of security, my interest in studying librarianship has only hightened. 

Information literacy is an area in which I had limited understanding before undertaking the ETL401 unit. This concept refers to the skills that are required to move beyond the initial literacy capabilities. All students begin their literacy journey learning the basics of reading and writing. Once these foundational skills are mastered, students are able to develop the skills required to make a transition from learning literacy to using literacy as a method of learning. Information literacy is more than just accessing information, but about higher order thinking, critical analysis of information and a development of problem solving (Lupton, et al., 2004).  This engagement instills lifelong learning in students. 

The Teacher Librarian in collaboration with the classroom teacher, are tasked with challenging students and creating engaging learning so that they will develop information literacy skills. As a Teacher Librarian, I will be responsible for instilling this love of learning, and creating students that are, “competent, critical and ethical users of information,” (Herring, 2007, p. 29).  From my own experiences, I found that teacher librarians are the gatekeepers of information, (Stuart, March 13). What I hadn’t realised prior to engaging with this unit is that they hold the key to learning by explicitly and incidentally teaching information literacy skills to students. This is where the opportunity to create a love of learning can begin. 

With the ever changing and evolving role of technology in our society, digital literacy is a crucial area of information literacy. Digital literacy addresses a range of skills that a learner must develop to successfully engage with the digital world. These include literacy skills in the following areas: Computer, ICT, Web 2.0, Internet, Multimedia, and information management, (Oddone, 2022). Though the ability to engage with these areas is not the only defining factor of digital literacy. In the modern world, students are raised surrounded by technology and often have a superficial understanding of how they work. It is important that further skills in information literacy be introduced to achieve quality learning and a sophisticated evaluation of digital literacy areas (Frallion, 2019). 

My understanding of how inquiry learning influences information literacy,  has expanded through my engagement with module 5. The skills gained through an  inquiry learning approach, are embedded throughout the Australian Curriculum in the general capabilities, (ACARA, 2017). By implementing  inquiry learning models, the Teacher librarian in collaboration with the classroom teacher, can encourage greater student engagement. This collaboration allows for a holistic approach to learning within the school community, (Stuart, 2022, March 13). 

Inquiry learning models include the following elements, “1) questioning framework, 2) information literacy and 3) the research cycle” (Lupton, 2014, p. 9). These elements encompass the process of formulating focused questions, and then gathering, organising and evaluating the information relevant to explore the question, (Lupton, 2014).  

Inquiry learning encourages students to engage with the process of learning and create a deeper understanding of curriculum content, (Maniotes & Kuhlthau, 2014). This content has given me a more focused approach to how I plan to implement  information literacy as a future teacher librarian. The proposed unit of work I created for this assessment task uses the 5E’s inquiry model,. This model is an example of how a structured approach to the learning process, can ignite a student’s innate desire to question the way the world works, (Gillies & Rafter, 2020). 

As I dive into my future as a teacher librarian I look forward to implementing the content that has been presented within ETL401. I hope to embrace the concept of information literacy and take my part in creating students who are capable and skilled, information literate citizens. I am itching to take my own learning and implement it to better the engagement and learning achievements of my future students as well as supporting teaching staff to effectively integrate it into every day learning. 

 

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2017). General capabilities. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/

Frallion, J. (2019). Digital literacy: Myths and realities [Conference Program]. Preparing students for life in the 21st century: Identifying, developing and assessing what matters, Melbourne, Australia.https://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1346&context=research_conference

Herring, J. (2007). Teacher librarians and the school library. In S. Ferguson (Ed.) Libraries in the twenty-first century: charting new directions in information. (pp. 27-42). Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1016/B978-1-876938-43-7.50002-8

Lupton, M. (2014). Inquiry skills in the Australian Curriculum v6: A bird’s eye view. Access 28(4), 8-29 

Lupton, M., Glanville, C., McDonald, P., & Seltzer, D. (2004). Information literacy toolkit. Griffith University, Australia

Maniotes, L. and K, Kuhlthau, C. (2014) Making the shift. Knowledge Quest. 43(2) 8-17Oddone, K. (2022, n.d). Information Literacy [Module Notes] https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_59964_1&content_id=_4791973_1&mode=reset