Embracing
the Revolution in
Digital Communications
in the Land of Saguaros and Desert Rain

By Suzanne E. Oertel and Christian Z. Goering
Tucson, Arizona
July 2008

With a breathtaking view of the desert cacti on the horizon, we looked out the conference hotel's two-story windows and thanked our lucky stars for the splendid setting. We had come to Tucson to present our ideas about innovative approaches to literacy. We also came to network, to learn, and to gain fresh perspective on our work in literacy education.

A soft rain began to fall
on the hot summer sand. Outside, we could smell the refreshing scents of renewal and refocus that attend a long-awaited desert rain. Our time together in Tucson would provide an opportunity for personal renewal, too.

19th Annual Whole Language Umbrella Conference

The Whole Language (WL) Umbrella, founded on the work of Ken and Yetta Goodman, is an annual conference of the National Council of Teachers of English. It's an exciting, innovative approach to literacy education. "Whole Language Philosophy draws from many scientifically based areas including psycholinguistics, socio-psycholinguistics, linguistics, and cognitive psychology as well as classroom research," the NCTE website states.

The "whole" in whole language refers to the learning and development of language skills based on authentic experiences involving work with real texts. WL strongly opposes the teaching of grammar out of the context of writing and also opposes phonics-based instruction in reading. The Whole Language Philosophy is based on these tenets:

Language is used to express meaning.

Values all learners.

Recognizes that when students are engaged in authentic language use, they learn language, they use language to learn, and they learn about language.

Sees listening, speaking, reading, writing, and viewing as integrated.

Recognizes that an individual learner's knowledge is constructed through reflection as well as interaction, collaboration, and transaction with others.

Recognizes that all language is used in context.

Recognizes the nature of learning-risk taking, hypothesis forming and testing within a community.

Recognizes that students learn the sub-systems of language as they engage in the whole language.

Recognizes that the role of assessment in the classroom is to inform teaching.

Recognizes that teachers are professionals who take responsibility for their learning through close observations.

Recognizes that assessment is central to the teaching and learning process.

A Roundtable about Literacy

We attended sessions on literature circles, podcasting and blogging, and encouraging writing as a process, as well as a roundtable discussion focused on research into middle school literacy. The roundtable, based on the research of Dr. Heather Casey, sparked a collaborative discussion regarding adolescent literacy and the many factors influencing the jobs of educators today. Dr. Casey led a powerful discussion involving a university professor from Arkansas and a high school teacher from Kansas — that's us — as well as an Arizona K-8 principal, a new PhD graduate getting geared for her first year as an assistant professor, a high school administrator from New York City, and a teacher from Japan.

During the discussion, Dr. Casey asked us to arrange, in a symbolic and orderly fashion, several pieces of paper, each displaying a term relating to literacy education: Adolescent, Practice, Pedagogy, Policy, Assessment, Beliefs, and Discourse. We sought to align these terms with our beliefs about reality in schools today, while seeking to reconcile perceptions about these realities with our ideals about what should be real and present in today's classrooms. Hearing the perspectives of educators with different backgrounds and positions truly helped us to better comprehend the magnitude of issues faced by educators. It also demonstrated the importance of Dr. Casey's research.

In Social Networks
We See a Profound Opportunity.

Our presentation, "Tunes, Texts, and Social Networks as Engaging Literacy Practices in the Teaching of Literature," was slated for late Saturday afternoon. Although our audience was not large, participants expressed keen interest in the topic, sharing our search for authentic methods. Suzy handled the text-messaging portion of the presentation. Chris introduced LitTunes concepts and discussed a paper he had recently written about his music-based approach to teaching literature and developing literacy.

We concluded with a discussion of social networking, focusing on the ways in which our students might adapt their social networking knowledge and skills to enhance the learning of literature.

We uncovered a few problems, too. Just as some songs aren't appropriate in a school setting, some teachers have abused and misused text messaging and social networking sites. Recently, a Kansas City, Missouri, news station featured both text messaging and social networking in exposé-style stories highlighting the misuse of the communications tools by teachers.

To see a news report about teachers misusing text messaging with students, follow this link to the story,
Investigators: TeXXXting Teachers.

To see a news report about the personal lives of teachers becoming public through online webs, follow this link,
Investigators: Lessons Learned
 

How to Avoid Pitfalls
and Find Safe, Common Ground.

Despite the problems, we see a potent opportunity here: the cultivation of safe and courteous common ground where students, teachers, and other adults can coexist to everyone's mutual benefit. To avoid pitfalls, however, teachers must use extreme caution when they engage in text messaging and social networking with their students.

Here are three tips we shared in our presentation.

1. Assume anything you post or text will be read and taken out of context.

2. Assume everything you write or post online to be published, viewable by all adversaries and supporters alike.

3. Limit extra-curricular contact with current students or simply don't engage in it at all.

It's a Revolution.

With these precautions in mind, teachers can move forward and work effectively to engage their students in an electronic language attuned to adolescent realities. We contend that text messaging and social networking share the same positive relevancies as pop music, offering educators a valuable real-world tool for engaging and motivating students towards central curricular goals.

It's a fact that students are reading and writing more than ever before partially because of the popularity of social networking sites. We choose to embrace the revolution in personal communication. No amount of adult nostalgia or resistance will staunch it.

A student's life away from school can suddenly become connected in a relevant and rigorous manner to personal goals and ambitions based on their education. Consider, for instance, the novel Catcher in the Rye. The teacher opens a connection to Facebook or MySpace and creates a character study of the protagonist. Who were Holden Caulfield's friends? What kind of pictures would he post? Who would write on his wall? What would he list as his favorite music, hobbies, books? What are Holden's religious and political viewpoints? What might he have done with a cell phone?

A Teacher's Bane
Can Become an Opportunity.

Last December (2007) was the 15-year anniversary of the first-ever transmittal of a text message. Yes, the text message is a teenager. If it were human, it would be eyeing its first car, its first love, and dreams about college. Most of the teenagers sitting in our classrooms today have experienced their coming of age years with phones in their pockets, thumbing messages to friends about the monstrous and mundane happenings of their young lives.

Though text messaging is often seen as the bane of many English teachers' grading experiences, we believe it also presents teachers with an unparalleled opportunity to connect with students in a unique and text-focused way.

So, how does the use of text messaging, social networking sites, and popular music fit into the whole language approach to teaching?

The Primacy of Context.

Consider first that students live and grow in a world that is more text-rich than ever before. Ken and Yetta Goodman, who are based at the University of Arizona here in Tucson, have devoted their careers to the proposition that teachers should use real books to teach and reach students. They eloquently advocate the teaching of grammar, literary terms and other language arts concepts in the context of meaningful pieces of written work.

At its core, the Whole Language movement asks teachers to find a common ground with students and begin building an understanding of new and sometimes foreign concepts from that common ground. Likewise, our presentation could be boiled down to the same central idea: that teachers need to meet students on familiar ground and work from there to build knowledge and strengthen skills.

Refreshed and invigorated, we remember the desert rain and prepare for the coming autumn semester. Our next venture for LitTunes and literacy will take us to Emporia, Kansas, and the Jones Center for Educational Excellence. There we will present a workshop on 21st Century Literacies on October 3 before we hit conferences in Little Rock (November 13) and San Antonio (November 21).

Thanks to those we met and those who attended the session in Tucson.

Yours in Tunes, Texts, and Social Networks, 

Suzy and Chris

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