My head is spinning from the world of digital literature.

I have been focussing on completing the readings contained in module 1 of this subject and the more I read, the more my questions and thoughts develop.  How are we preparing our students to live in this digitised world?  How do my own children display their digital literacy? What is digital literature?

Before starting this subject I thought of digital literature in terms of information found through the internet or on electronic devices.  My definition, I feel, compares favourably with Lamb (2011) and her five electronic reading environments: e-books; Interactive story books; reference databases; hypertexts and interactive fiction; and transmedia storytelling.  I must say that interactive fiction and transmedia storytelling were a complete mystery to me.   E-books I have used, but like many others I prefer the smell and feel of the real thing.  Reference databases are my day to day, and the constant battle of trying to get students to use the amazing collection of valid information they contain rather than simply ‘googling’ and taking the top result.  I was familiar with hypertexts in non-fiction, however, had never seen it in fiction, probably because I like my fiction in the physical form.

Reading, writing, and comprehension has always been linked together and share skill sets, however the pace that our digital world is evolving has made these three skill sets intrinsically linked as literacy has become deictic,  or continuously changing contextually (Leu, 2011, p. 6).  Rettberg (2012) clearly outlined in his article how literacy has evolved as technology has allowed for not only the externalisation of thoughts, but the broadcast and collaboration of our thought processes with ease.  This, as I explain to both my children and students, can be their greatest advantage and their biggest regret if engaged in without careful thought and full comprehension of what you are reading and writing, just ask Stephanie Rice.    Learning how to read and write online requires a complex layering of skills and therefore we need to not only evaluate the use of digital literature in our classrooms, but also develop our students’ skill in the areas of locating; evaluating sources; judging the accuracy and bias (Leu, Forzani, Timbrell & Maykel, 2015, p.140).  There is an assumption that our students are ‘digital natives’, when I feel the reality is that our children and students are constantly lost in the world of the ‘hyperlink’ where they a falling through the rabbit hole of the digital information world (Coombs, 2009).

We cannot predict what future technological developments will happen, nor how people will use them, yet we need to prepare our students and children to live in this constant, rapidly evolving world.  With this rapid evolution, it is hard to know what technology will stand the test of time,  leading to a much of our digital literature no longer able to be accessed due to formats, companies or devices used to view no longer in operation (Sadokierski, 2013).   I feel  that as teachers we need to focus on the skills behind the technology, rather than the technology itself.  What makes a story ‘good’ will be similar whether it is given digitally or physically.  Comprehending the mood, the devices, the literary elements that lead us to our feelings when we read, view or hear something is what is going to make our students and children able to ride the wave that is digital literature.

Coombes, B. (2009) Generation Y: Are they really digital natives or more like digital refugees? [online]. Synergy; v. 7 n. 1 p. 31-40; 2009. Retrieved from http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;dn=178236;res=AEIPT> ISSN: 1448-5176.

Lamb, A. (2011). Reading redefined for a transmedia universe. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39 (3), 12-17. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=67371172&site=ehost-live

Leu, D.J. et al (2011). The new literacies of online reading comprehension: Expanding the literacy and learning curriculum. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 55 (1)5-14. Doi: 10.1598/JAAL.55.1.1

Leu, D.J, Forzani, E.,Timbrell, N. et al (2015) Seeing the forest, not the trees: Essential technologies for literacy in the primary-grade and upper elementary-grade classroom. Reading Teacher, 69(2) 139-145

Rettberg, J.W. (2012). Electronic literature seen from a distance: the beginnings of a field. Retrieved from http://www.dichtung-digital.org/2012/41/walker-rettberg.htm

Sadokierski, Z. (2013, November 12). What is a book in the digital age? [Web log post]. Retrived from http://theconversation.com/what-is-a-book-in-the-digital-age-19071