A+Situated+Sociocultural+Approach+to+Literacy+and+Technology

Article by: James Paul Gee ED 240 Wiki Group: Brittany Kirby, Stephanie Kim, Lindsey Strom, & Tracy Corthell =__New Literacy Studies__= toc
 * An emerging field of study-- scholars from all disciplines began to write about these concepts
 * NLS opposed the traditional psychological approach to literacy: Literacy is a "cognitive phenomenon" and defined in terms of mental states and mental processing.
 * Rather than seeing reading and writing is something people do inside their heads, NLS saw literacy as something people did inside society.
 * Written language is used differently in different practices by different social and cultural groups.
 * When people are taught to read and write in certain ways, they are also taught how to interact, talk, and to know, believe, and value certain things that “go with it”
 * So, there are many “literacies,” and each way of reading and writing is determined by the values and practices of different social and cultural groups.
 * NLS had little to say about the individual or individual learning apart from the individual’s membership in these social and cultural groups.

=__New Literacies Studies__=


 * Definition: Studying new types of literacy beyond print literacy, especially "digital literacies" and literary practices embedded in popular culture
 * Views different digital tools as technologies for giving and getting meaning
 * Looks at different ways of using digital tools within different sorts of sociocultural practices

=__Situated Cognition Studies__=

What do you picture when I ask you to think of a typical bedroom? Class Activity


 * In the 1980s, psychology changed from the view of the mind as being constructed by abstract concepts
 * This newer work comes in many different varieties and constitutes a “family” of related viewpoints, which the author calls “Situated Cognition Studies.”
 * Thinking is connected to and changes across actual situations.
 * Humans think, understand, and learn best when they use their prior experiences as a guide.
 * Likened to a connectionist or parallel distributed computer, which looks for and stores patterns (connections) among elements of input.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Technology mediates our experiences, and allows us to engage in social practices that would not otherwise exist.

=__Specialist Language in Popular Culture__= The making of a digital native: Specialist Language and Popular Culture
 * There are complex practices in popular culture today for example Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon games (video, computer, cartoons, playing cards, etc.).
 * The description is as follows:
 * Armed Ninja Card-Type:** Effect Monster
 * Attribute:** Earth
 * Level:** 1 **Type:** Warrior **ATK:** 300
 * DEF:** 300 **Description:** FLIP: Destroys 1 Magic Card on the field. If this card's target is face-down, flip it face-up. If the card is a Magic Card, it is destroyed. If not, it is returned to its face-down position. The flipped card is not activated.
 * Rarity:** Rare




 * Desctiption: "Cyberdark Horn" + "Cyberdark Edge" + "Cyderdark Keel" This monster cannot be Special Summoned except by Fusion Summon. When this monster is Special Summoned, equip 1 Dragon-Type monster from either players Graveyard to this card. This card gains ATK equal t the equipped card's ATK, and an additional 100 ATK for every card in you Graveyard. If this card would be destroyed by battle, the equipped monster is destroyed instead.

> “If clause” “if-then” and “either-or” propositions“If clause” “if-then” and “either-or” propositions media type="youtube" key="zDOSmSTmUCc" height="315" width="420" Now imagine if the difficult content of school was taught in a creative way? =__New Media Literacies Studies__= >> =__Verbal and Situated Understandings of Words__= to pass a test... || Situated understanding is a norm in everyday life and language || context and deriving a new meaning in order to understand on the spot. ||
 * Notice the complex syntax’s used:
 * The language being used in these cards is logical.
 * Language is very closely tied to actions.
 * Language is technology advanced.
 * Language is practiced in oral and written form.
 * This language is practiced socially.
 * Kids play the game; discuss and debate using the technology-advanced language.
 * This type of language learning can prepare children for specialist varieties of language
 * For example: math and science.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Off shoot of "media literacy," how people give meaning to and get meaning from media.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">NMLS studies how people can be made more “critical” or “reflective” about the sorts of meanings they give and get from media.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Relevant to ask “whose (vested) interest is served by a given media message and to wonder whether people mistake whose interest such messages really serve (example, ad)?”
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Are consumers dupes or savvy? Can use for own interest, not what producer intended
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Digital tools and media built from them are transforming society and popular culture
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Changing balance of production and consumption in media - every day people, not just experts
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Changing balance of participation and spectatorship - Every day people can participate in practices once reserved by elite
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Changing the nature of groups, social formations, and power
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> i.e. facebook, twitter, cell phones
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No formal institution required. Quickly formed groups engage in social, cultural, and political action in a fast, pervasive, and efficient manner
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Can be readily formed and re-formed, transforming as circumstances change
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Leading to “Pro-Ams:” amateurs who have become experts at whatever they have developed a passion for
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">i.e. graphic art, fan fiction, history and civilization simulations, anime, fashion design, Sims; the sky is the limit
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They connect with other pro-ams to collaborate and solve larger problems and bigger tasks
 * Two ways of Understanding Words: Verbal and Situated
 * **Verbal**: Ability to analyze understanding of words and principles, but unable to apply knowledge to actual situations.
 * **Situated**: Ability to use words and concepts in customized ways to different specific situations.
 * Verbal Understanding of Words || Situated Understanding of Words ||
 * || Simple belief: To Do > To Just Say ||
 * Students can apply their verbal understanding
 * ... but cannot apply it to problem solving || On the spot, people are constantly hearing a word in a new

[|Assessment]
 * Specialist language (academic language) needs a situated meaning in order to have lucid and applicable use.
 * "Game-Like Learning" is proposed to be a place for students to derive verbal and situated meanings.
 * In order for a game to be meaningful, language and representations must be seen in...
 * Activities
 * Experiences
 * Images
 * and Interactional Dialogue
 * Good games support language throughout the game
 * Students will receive verbal understanding "just in time" then apply their understanding "on demand"
 * The key is to situate meaning in worlds of experiences: shared, collaborative, social, and cultural.

(our bedroom) @http://linoit.com/users/tracycorthell/canvases/Step%20into%20my%20Bedroom

Citations: Gee, J.P. (2009). A situated sociocultural approach to literacy and technology. //The New Literacies: Multiple Perspectives on Research and Practice.// (Chapter 8) New York: The Guilford Press.

Kazuki Takahashi. (2006). //Armed Ninja.// Yu-Gi-Oh Collection. Retrieved from adventureson.com (image)

Kazuki Takahashi. (1996). //Cyber Dragon//. Yu-Gi-Oh Collection. Retrieved from adventureson.com (image)

Kim, Stephanie. (2012). //Situated Learning//. (illustration)

//Pokemon to Science: An Analogy//. Amber Brevig. 2010. //Youtube//. Web. 10 July 2012.