New Literacies and New Pedagogies: Preparing Our Students for the New Technology Era

1. New Literacies and New Pedagogies: Preparing Our Students for the New Technology Era Gu Peiya Suzhou University Zhejiang University, Hangzhou

2. New Literacies • New technologies for literacy • The changing nature of literacy • A new literacy framework

3. New Technologies for Literacy • Information technology • Global English • Impact of technology on literacy

4. Information Technology: Years from Inception to 50 Million Users Source: Economist, 1998

5. Internet Growth in China July 2003  68 million! Top 5 countries, 2005 1 U.S. 126.5 million • China 37.3 • Japan 34.7 • Germany 17.5 • Canada 17.2 (Computer Economics, 1999)

6. Global English • 1.5 billion speakers • 85% of scientific articles • 85% of international associations • 85% of the world film market • 80% of electronically stored information

7. Why is it that our students learn in their English classes to talk about the British parliament but not about our local government institutions? Why do they learn to talk about American media and cultural artifacts, but not about Chinese forms of media and cultural expressions? An EFL Professor in Taiwan

8. The Changing Nature of Literacy • Reading/Research • from page to screen • from text to multimedia • from one author to variety of sources • Writing/Authoring/Publishing • from essay to new genres • from words to multimedia • from author to co-constructor • from “one-to-one” to “one to many”

9. Literacyis not only about“reading the word” but also “reading the world” and also “writing and rewriting the world.” (Freire & Macedo, 1987)

11. A Literacy Framework • Information literacies • Communication literacites • Multimedia literacies (Warschauer, 2000)

12. Information Literacies: Online Reading & Research Skills • Selecting the right questions • Choosing the right tools • Finding saving information • Interpreting information • Using/citing information information • Archiving/saving information

13. English teacher, 1990:A computer’s just a tool for learning English. It’s not an end in itself but a means. English teacher, 2000:English is not an end in itself. It’s just a tool for being able to use computers and get information on the Internet

14. Communication Literacies • Sending and receiving e-mail • Participating in online group discussions • Cross-cultural communications online • Pragmatics of online communication • “Netiquette”

15. Most Frequent Tool of Business Communication? Source: American Management Association International, 1998

16. Multimedia Literacies • The relationship of digital texts, audio, and images in creating meaning • Production of multimedia texts • How to publish our own multimedia materials We have to learn not only how to surf the net, but also how to make waves!

17. http://call.suda.edu.cn/courses/tourism/Travel/projects.htm

18. New Pedagogies • Situated learning • “Integrative CALL” • A project-based approach

19. Situated Learning • “Students learn best when they “carry out meaningful tasks and solve meaningful problems in an environment that reflects their own personal interests as well as the multiple purposes to which their knowledge will be put in the future” (Collins, Brown, & Newman, 1989

21. (Kern & Warschauer, 2000)

22. Agency is... The satisfying power to take meaningful action and see the results of our decisions and choices (Murray, 1997) The power to construct a representation of reality, a writing of history, and to impose reception of it by others (Kramsch, A’Ness, Lam, 2000)

23. Achieved through … • Project-based learning • Meaningful tasks and problem-solving • Related to own needs and future situation • As part of a community of practice • Creation of high-quality finished product

24. Writing minds and talking fingers: Doing literacy in an electronic age! (Pennington, 1999)

25. Preparing Our Students for the New Technology Era • Teacher training • Project design & management • CALL projects completed SudaCALL: http://call.suda.edu.cn

26. Suzhou University is a good example. Some marketing majors in their English class wanted investigate why Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) was so successful in China, …. This activity was extremely beneficial to students. They learned to use their acquired English to communicate. The publication of their research enhanced their motivation for English learning. The website strongly shows their ability in both English and marketing.21st Century July 12, 2001 p 14

27. Evaluation •  Promises • Problems • Rethinking technology in the language classroom

28. Promises • Enhanced motivation • Changed roles in learning • Improvements in writing and communication • Sense of audience • Language exposure and output • Cross-cultural interaction

29. Scaling up the new practice? • Problems • No growth in teacher engagement level • A shrinking of the core group • 3 major predicaments (Xu, 2001) • Teacher Commitment • Teaching Philosophy • Institutional Culture

30. Teacher Commitment (a) • Time, energy and intellect demand • Teacher A: 176 e-mails/ 10 weeks • Teacher B: 98 e-mails/ 4 weeks; 271 words per message • Teacher commitment beyond utilitarian values

31. Teacher Commitment (b) • Economic stimuli • The School’s remuneration policy • Minimum load: 8-10 periods/week • Average load: 12-14 p/w (Bonus!) • Unusual load: over 30 p/w ($$$$$!) • The promotion system • Research and publications vs. teaching • Content knowledge and expertise vs. pedagogical creativity

32. Teaching Philosophy • A difficult pedagogical shift • Teacher: plenty of scaffolding and monitoring • Students: in no need of fundamental change • “Teaching spectacle” favored over “learning festival” (Coleman, 1987) • Cultural norms and beliefs about teacher dominance

33. Institutional Culture (a) • The particular culture in the institution • Complicated power relations • Ongoing misconceptions Consequence: CALL personnel drop/loss

34. Institutional Culture (b) • The professional-academic culture • The ongoing curriculum structure Consequence: Project instructors’ dilemma • School politics • Incremental and fundamental changes (Cuban, 1993)

35. Conclusion • New literacies and new practices • New challenges • What is needed now? • Not large-scale implementation efforts • But carefully defined and prescribed pilot projects

36. One Stone at a Time, Move a Mountain!

37. Selected References • Gu, P. Y. (2002). Effects of project-based CALL on Chinese EFL learners. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching, 12, 195-210. • Jonassen, D. (1999). Designing constructivist learning environments. In C.M. Regeluth (Ed.), Instructional-Design Theories and Models: A New Paradigm of Instructional Theory, Volume II. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. • Shetzer, H., & Warschauer, M. (2000). An electronic literacy approach to network-based language teaching. In M. Warschauer & R. Kern (Eds.), Network-based language teaching: Concepts and practice . New York: Cambridge University Press. • Xu, F. (2001). Predicaments of implementing CALL in China. Paper presented at 37th TESOL Convention in Salt Lack, April 12, 2001. • Warschauer, M., Cook, J. (1999). Service learning and technology in TESOL. Prospect, 14(3), 32-39. Zhejiang University, Hangzhou

38. New Literacies and New Pedagogies: Preparing Our Students for the New Technology Era Gu Peiya Suzhou University Thank You!!! Zhejiang University, Hangzhou

39. A Needs-based CALL Course for Teacher Training Zhejiang University, Hangzhou

40. Needs Assessment • Felt needs • Reaching out to the world for information and communication • Updating knowledge and improving EFL teaching • Anticipated needs • New teacher requirement of the new literacies • Expressed needs (highest voices from the pre-course survey) • “Power point presentation and web page design” • “How to find good materials from the Internet” • “How to design and conduct a CALL course”

41. Course Objectives By the end of this course, students should be able to: • Search the Internet for info. & materials • Communicate by email & discussion lists • Create a needs-based CALL lesson or activities for a real client • Present needs analysis findings and course design by power point slides and web pages

42. Course Content: 8 Modules • CALL: An Overview • CALL & Constructivism • Needs Assessment • Computers and Curriculum Design Issues • Language Learning and Learners • Constructivist CALL Environments • Web-based and Multimedia Tools • Course Evaluation

43. Weekly Goals/Tasks

44. Communication: SudaCALL Forum

45. File Sharing/Collaboration

46. Course Page Flowchart

47. Student Course Products Zhejiang University, Hangzhou

48. Undergraduate Students Project Design & Management • Topic decision • Group investigation • Multimedia construction • Oral presentation • Evaluation

49. SU at Suzhou, China SPSU at Georgia, USA Chinese silk pajamas exhibition in Georgia Marketing prospect of computer accessories in SZ Marketing strategies of Suzhou freshwater pearls in Georgia Import plan for Suzhou silk products Chinese restaurant in Georgia for food culture exchange A study of China’s market needs for new-brand bicycles A study of American cultural values Feasibility study of introducing Chinese snacks to Georgia A comparative study of Chinese and American campus life Promotion strategies of new-model mobile phones in Suzhou China-US Business Project

50. Oriental Food Garden Zhejiang University, Hangzhou