Using digital technologies to address Aboriginal adolescents' education

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine how digital technologies were introduced in a collaborative literacy intervention to address a population long underserved by traditional schools: the Aboriginals of Canada.Design/methodology/approachSituated within a critical ethnographic project, this paper examines how digital technologies were introduced. The questions focused on: how can critical multiliteracies be used to engage students, in both academic and digital literacies development? In what ways does participation in multimodal media production provide evidence of teachers and students' critical literacy development?FindingsDigital literacies as a part of multiliteracies were developed in teaching contexts where learning is challenged by many factors.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper reports on the achievement and the struggles that remain. Implications for further research and teacher education are also drawn from the experience of implementing a broader definition of literacy in academic settings with Aboriginal students of Canada.Originality/valueThe inclusion of a digital curriculum provides possibilities for greater academic success for marginalized students in both mainstream and alternative schools.

SOLO taxonomy as EFL students’ disciplinary literacy evaluation tool in technology-enhanced integrated astronomy course

“…Digital storytelling creates a context that provides students with control over their learning (Pirbhai-Illich 2010;Pirbhai-Illich et al 2009), and teaches them to make informed choice among resources (Ashman and Elkins 2009;Laycock and Stephenson 1993;Sprague and Pixley 2008). Whilst working on their videos, EFL/ESL students become engaged in the authentic decision-making process.…”

Reconceptualizing Assessment for Digital Multimodal Literacy

“…Related to the two challenges discussed above, some teachers do not feel that they have sufficient knowledge to assess digital multimodal literacy. For instance, a participating high school classroom teacher, Joan (Pirbhai‐Illich, Turner, & Austin, ) reported that she felt she was not adequately prepared to design criteria to assess multimodal projects that she implemented in her class. In fact, some research points out the lack of teacher training in how to assess digital multimodal texts by students and suggests that teacher educators “provide training and support for integrating multimodality into an existing [teacher education] curriculum” (Choi & Yi, , p. 323) and ongoing professional development (Miller, ).…”

Possibilities and Challenges of Multimodal Literacy Practices in Teaching and Learning English as an Additional Language

“…As a slightly different paper, collaborative action research (Pirbhai‐Illich, Turner, and Austin ) explored how multimodal literacy practices could be used to engage the Aboriginal adolescents in Canada in literacy development. In the process of the production of a video, these adolescents critically analyzed Aboriginal representations in the media and challenged how they were positioned in society.…”

“…More importantly, assessment criteria for print‐based academic literacy are not adequate for assessing the product of digitally and multimodally‐mediated texts (Wyatt‐Smith and Kimber ). This challenge was nicely illustrated by a research participant, a high school classroom teacher, Joan (Pirbhai‐Illich, Turner and Austin ). Because Joan did not have sufficient knowledge of criteria for multimodal projects and the end of the semester report card did not have space for reporting students' multimodal literacies, she ended up evaluating students' multimodal multimedia products by ‘using discrete skill‐based worksheets in order to complete her report cards’ (158).…”

“…Finally, the tacit hierarchy among print and digital/multimodal texts seems to prevent both teachers and students from considering multimodal literacies as legitimate academic practice and catalysts of knowledge construction. As a specific example, the classroom teacher Joan faced ‘her colleagues' disapproval because of their lack of recognition of the value in academic literacy practices in the students' multimodal project’ (Pirbhai‐Illich, Turner and Austin : 159). In addition, a high school student, Cassandra (11th student in an urban school), did not see technology‐mediated activities (texting, emailing) as literacy.…”