January’s webinar features Dr. Ian O’Byrne, an associate professor of literacy education in the Teacher Education Department of the College of Charleston in South Carolina. He reminds us of the positive effect of open dialogue in the classroom when introducing new and controversial instructional tools such as artificial intelligence.
Educational Frontiers: Unraveling AI
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We welcome Ian O’Byrne as we open our blog and webinar theme: Artificial Intelligence. Please read more about Ian at the end of the blog.
Educators are currently struggling with a significant decision: Should AI be integrated into the writing process? Some worry that it could impede students’ writing skills. This leads to an important question: Have American schools ever been successful in teaching writing? When was writing education at its best? Where is it now? As educators, how can we strike the right balance?
There is no easy answer to these questions. The history of writing education in America is long and complex, and there have been many different approaches to teaching writing over the years. Schools now stand at a crossroads as AI-powered writing tools gain popularity. These technologies promise to enhance instruction and feedback but also raise concerns about over-reliance. To make sense of this balance, let’s first look at what exactly AI is.
What is Generative AI?
The intelligence of computers or software, as opposed to the intellect of people or animals, is known as artificial intelligence (AI). It is a branch of computer science that creates and investigates intelligent machines. Uses of artificial intelligence in the form of an agent, bot, or tool are generally labeled as AI. In the last year, we’ve seen an influx of AI in our lives as ChatGPT exploded on the scene. A far better way to view these tools is to refer to them as Generative AI and not simply as AI or ChatGPT.
Generative AI refers to advanced artificial intelligence systems that can generate new content on their own rather than just responding to user prompts. Models like GPT-3 (ChatGPT) can write entire essays, stories, and code after being trained on vast datasets. This means they may soon be capable of assisting students and teachers with writing tasks like brainstorming ideas, translating rough drafts into more polished work, answering content questions, and even providing feedback.
However, generative AI also raises challenges. Teachers will need to focus on developing original thinking skills rather than knowledge recall, and concerns around plagiarism, creativity, and voice must be addressed. When used judiciously, generative writing tools could enhance instruction and revision. But ultimately, writing education should emphasize the uniquely human aspects of imagination, analysis, and persuasive communication that AI cannot replicate.
What about writing instruction?
The history of writing education in America is a mixed bag. Some of the earliest writing instruction in America took place in one-room schoolhouses, where students were taught the basics of grammar and spelling. Teaching pupils to write included teaching them how to form letters, spell words, and have readable, if not exquisite, handwriting. Writing instruction in American schools began in the late 1800s as colleges started requiring admissions essays. This mostly focused on preparing an elite group of males with a formulaic, five-paragraph structure that developed basic literacy but limited creativity.
Students were required to master the five-paragraph essay, but this method sometimes stifled originality and expression. While it did instill basic writing skills, it may not have nurtured a deep love for writing. Some shifts came in the 1960s and 1970s as the process approach emerged, emphasizing planning, drafting, revising, etc. The National Writing Project (NWP) raised awareness about the ways that writing changes throughout a person’s life, the impact of a range of school and non-school experiences on writing, and the interactions between writing in school and these lived experiences.
Throughout the 20th century, writing instruction continued to follow a rigid, formulaic approach, emphasizing grammar and structure over creativity and critical thinking. Some of this focus on the importance of grammar and mechanics in writing instruction was due in part to the rise of standardized testing, which required students to demonstrate their mastery of these skills. Students were inundated with topic sentences, transitional phrases, and conclusion restatements in the omnipresent five-paragraph essay. Although this method guaranteed a basic level of literacy, creativity and enthusiasm were frequently sacrificed.
In recent years, the tide seems to have turned in favor of more innovation, voice, and freedom of expression. There has been a growing movement to move away from traditional grammar-based approaches to writing instruction and to focus more on helping students develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Current best practices involve process-based instruction tailored to students’ needs and interests. Assignments also incorporate more authentic, real-world writing purposes and audiences.
Yet, with this varied history in the focus, goals, and implementation of writing instruction, the teaching of writing has not changed in many schools. Debates continue around balancing process approaches with quality outcomes. Standardized writing tests have been criticized for over-emphasizing grammar at the expense of actual writing skills. Researching writing development, including spelling patterns and the connections between writing, speaking, and reading, is a constant challenge. Other ongoing issues include managing teachers’ heavy workloads, integrating technology for composition and collaboration, and closing achievement gaps for minority students. Simultaneously, some educators find it difficult to strike a balance between grammar and real-world communication possibilities.
Writing Education and Generative AI
Generative AI tools hold great promise, but they also pose risks. Over-scaffolded writing assignments might fail to teach core composition skills. Targeted AI feedback could improve self-editing and reworking while maintaining the humanity of audience awareness and personal narrative. Students can receive immediate, personalized feedback thanks to technologies like AI co-writers, grammar and style checks, and predictive text. Students could become overly dependent on AI recommendations rather than developing their own voice and style. Essay scoring algorithms even mimic the evaluation procedure. Schools should prioritize balancing rather than seeing innovation as a substitute for efficient practice.
As educators and researchers, we need to better understand the appropriate role for writing technologies. How can AI augmentation best complement time-tested instructional methods? Which specific skills should remain the focus for teachers and students? Even with the help of intelligent recommendation systems, collaborative discourse and knowledge might still be developed through writing workshops and reading circles. Both tradition and technology have their place.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to writing instruction, and the best approach for a particular student will depend on their individual needs. It is important to note that writing is a skill that takes time and practice to develop. Students will not become good writers overnight. However, with effective instruction, all students can learn to write well. There are some key principles that we can use to help guide future explorations of writing instruction and AI. These principles include:
As leaders in literacy, we have the chance to mentor the upcoming generation of authors. When writing instruction veered too much in the direction of either freedom or structure, it went awry. We can provide kids with the best of both worlds by ethically incorporating AI as a tool for improved results. Teaching the craft, generating ideas, finding one’s voice, and fostering a lifelong love of writing continue to be our guiding values. Technology can support this objective if used wisely. We can find the ideal equilibrium if we act carefully and wisely.
This blog is written by Tori Young and shows us how to scaffold written essays resulting in a video essay. Read more about Tori at the bottom of her post.
Have you ever caught yourself in the never-ending rabbit hole of online video essays? Conspiracy theories, movie plot analyses, theme park history and so many more topics are explained in a thorough manner with research and analysis weaving together ideas and backgrounds you never would have put together. Even if you have not stumbled into this online phenomenon, I can assure you that your students have. Whether hour long YouTube deep-dives, or short TikTok synopsis series, students are being presented with researched information about a wide range of topics even if they do not recognize it. After noticing this for myself, I asked “why aren’t more essays like this?”
Research papers and argumentative essays are the primary form of essay writing used in my history classroom. I want my students to know how to be informed citizens and communicate their ideas and beliefs in a way that is grounded in historical truth and facts. I typically scaffold this process throughout the year using activities based on the content. Typically, I start out with an exit ticket asking students to pick a side on a tough topic (no in between!) and tell me why they chose their stance. Nothing formal just to get them to practice how to take a stance. Slowly I will make them add facts from a document we read in class to back up their positions and eventually start teaching the research process by having them look for reliable sources of their own to support their side. Eventually, all that information can be used to organize and create a well-written paper for social studies.
The broad goals of this process are to teach students how to make informed decisions and communicate their ideas effectively. While a traditional essay is an excellent way to practice those skills, many teachers like me have seen the difficulties for students that come with that ultimate step of writing the paper. For many students, the formal language or length of the writing assignment can be daunting to approach, causing them to shut down before trying. But we look at them confused; they have already practically written the paper with their summaries and research. Why can’t they just fill in the gaps with just a few sentences?
I found myself asking these questions every year. When I asked my students to verbalize their answers, I got great insight and connections to the content from them. They know this content, in fact many of them get passionate about it when it is time for them to argue. As I pondered this, I concluded that most of my students will only share their research and findings about topics verbally in their futures. Why am I not adding a verbal layer of assessment to this process?
This is where the wonderful world of video essays came into play for me and my classes. A video essay takes on the same structure as an essay but uses visual aids and commentary to present the information. Just like a good historical essay, it begins with background information on the topic and a clear thesis. It is then followed by key points that are supported by examples. And lastly, the video concludes with the creator’s main idea and the topic’s historical impact. Video essays help students practice research skills, organizing ideas and examples, but instead of writing, they are practicing presentation skills!
An example of this in my high school US History classes is during our unit on the Antebellum era. There are a lot of names of important people during this period; abolitionists, women’s rights activists, and politicians. I let my students pick from a list of key figures to research to share their life story. I give loose parameters on the assignment, asking students to provide the background of the person’s life, their contributions to Antebellum America, and their lasting impact on the United States. Some students may need more guidance, so it may be helpful to provide examples of information you are looking for such as their birthplace, career, and writings to name a few possibilities. I then ask students to record a two-minute video using WeVideo or Screencastify to present their findings using media to support their discussion.
I have seen my quietest students speak without hesitation in these videos, presenting on topics with great care and speaking skills. The key is that I do not show them in front of the class. Once the fear of being judged by their peers is taken away, students become comfortable with the process. They also begin to get creative with their media. Many will create a PowerPoint to display and follow along with for their video. However, I have seen animations, skits, and eulogies come out of this assignment as students begin to find their creativity with this medium.
Students are still practicing all the skills I need them to learn for my goals, but by incorporating video essays I have seen higher levels of engagement with historical content. This is not meant to take away from the importance of formal writing. While not all our students will go on to university and academia, they will still need to write important emails and apply for jobs. Formal writing is an important skill, but if you also notice students needing an extra step in scaffolding the writing process in social studies then consider video essays. Students will even surprise themselves with how much they know!
Images courtesy of Pexels
Literacy in the Disciplines, 6-12 (LiD) is pleased to announce our third after-school Webinar Series session. The slide deck and video of the session is available below.
Talk, Text, Content & Context: Using Poetry & Multimodal Exploration to Develop a Community of Inquiry
This webinar will share guidance from a research-tested way to embed literacy and technology instruction in and across disciplines by focusing in poetry response and writing using digital, multimodal texts. The #WalkMyWorld project started with a community focus on poetry and multimodal exploration; it then developed into a community of inquiry. The focus of this session is to identify opportunities to have students explore various lifeworlds by responding to and authoring multimodal poetry. In #WalkMyWorld, educators and students create a social space of engagement to explore civic uses of social media. This exploration served as an opportunity to consider the media literacies at play as the group participated as a community of writers.
When: Thursday, April 28, 2022, 6:00 – 7:00 pm ET.
Cost: Free. LiD6-12 is funded by the South Carolina Middle Grades Initiative.
This session will feature Dr. W. Ian O’Byrne and Caroline Graham.
Dr. W. Ian O’Byrne (@wiobyrne) is an associate professor of literacy education at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. His research focuses on the dispositions and literacy practices of individuals as they read, write, and communicate in online and/or hybrid spaces. Ian is the author of many journal articles and book chapters focusing on initiatives ranging from online and hybrid coursework, integrating technology in the classroom, computational thinking, and supporting marginalized students in literacy practices. His work can be found on his website or in his weekly newsletter.
Caroline Graham (she/her/hers) is currently a College of Charleston student majoring in Secondary Education and English. She is a South Carolina Teaching Fellow at the College serving as the President. You can see more of Caroline on her website: https://cgaggraham.wixsite.com/website
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By: Hannah Kottraba, SC Teacher
Six months ago, technology was a component of my methodology, but not the primary platform for my instruction. That all changed when COVID-19 brought my in-residence teaching to an abrupt halt, and I decided to use Zoom as a digital classroom. The platform allowed my students and their families to present an artifactual literacy project we began before my school’s closure. Pivoting from the traditional classroom to online allowed my families to participate from any location, share a broader range of documents, and feel more at ease in a low-anxiety environment because they presented from home. By using a digital medium, families shared in powerful ways that would not have been possible had we remained in a traditional setting. If you seek to make your classroom more inclusive but have not found an appropriate way of doing so, you should consider the impact a digital platform can have on your students’ education.
In my ten years of teaching, I have experienced the struggle of working around schedules to invite relatives into the school. Getting time off from work can be challenging for parents- though they want to show up for their student, sometimes, it just is not possible. Using a digital classroom helped families bypass such hindrances for school participation. To join our class from any location, parents simply logged in using the access code I sent through our school email system.
I recognized how impactful an online space is when a student’s mother joined us during her 15-minute break in a hospital room from where she worked. The student was at home with her grandparents, who also made an appearance on screen. It was moving to watch this mother share pictures and videos using her phone from a separate location than her child and parents. The reality that she could still participate in her daughter’s educational experience while never leaving her workplace made me realize that I need to use a digital platform when school resumes; doing so will provide more flexibility for my families.
Initially, I feared that the details and significance of my students’ artifacts would get lost through the screen. However, they far surpassed my expectations for presenting. They found new and inventive ways to share their research, interview transcripts, and artifacts. Some students transitioned their hard copy documents into Google Slides or PowerPoint presentations by scanning their records and creating PDF formats that they could insert into a more extensive online collection. Other students made a digital compilation of images and videos with the use of video editors and screen recorders. Because students were at home, they could share an extensive range of objects that otherwise would have been impossible to bring to school, like the portrait of a student’s ancestor hanging in her living room.
The emotional component of the artifacts and stories came through the screen and the wide use of technology astounded me. I was proud of how the students took ownership of their stories and challenged themselves by transitioning tangible objects to digital relics.
Standing in front of a group of people is never easy; speaking about personal stories that bring forth emotions is even more difficult. My students’ literacy projects asked parents to do just that, be vulnerable, and share intimate details of their past. Had we remained in the traditional classroom, I doubt parents would have felt as comfortable to speak openly in a conversational manner about their lives. However, meeting online made parents feel more at ease during the presentations because they were at home in a familiar and safe space.
The effect of speaking online led parents whom I had not met all year to participate with their child because of the convenience and low-anxiety environment. Two separate families talked about adoptions that were unknown to me before this project. One student shared about the loss of her dear mother, and another student spoke about leaving his native country to come to America. With families logging in from home, our conversations felt more like our class was sitting in a family’s living room, and they were telling us stories as if we were all old friends.
To circle back to my original questions of how to create a digital classroom and why you should, I would recommend testing several digital platforms to see which one will work best for your needs. Zoom worked for my class while we were in this transitional period. The students had no issues with logging into the digital meeting and using the program’s screen-sharing and recording features. Creating a digital space was as easy as setting up an account and sending out a link with an embedded password through my school’s email system. Parents, who had never owned a computer, were able to access our classroom from their phones with ease. As to why you should invest in creating a digital platform, I hope that by sharing my students’ literacy project, you can see how impactful technology was for my families to be able to connect in meaningful ways outside of the traditional classroom.
Hannah Kottraba has ten years of teaching experience and recently graduated with a M.Ed. in Language and Literacy as a Literacy Coach from The University of South Carolina. She is creating a new literacy lab program for the 2020-2021 school year at Thomas Sumter Academy in Sumter, South Carolina.
By: Scott Buhr, South Carolina Physics Teacher
I was 11 years old when I got my first trumpet. My grandfather bought it for me and I was thrilled. I couldn’t wait to learn how to play it. I had taken piano lessons for several years and I can remember my 11-year-old mind thinking, “The trumpet will be so much easier, it only has three buttons!” Silly right? I was taking my knowledge of the piano and superimposing it upon a completely different type of instrument. Sure, there are some things about playing the piano and the trumpet that are alike, but treating one like the other will leave your orchestra one instrument short. My piano literacy did not translate into trumpet literacy, who’d of thought?
Now twenty years later, I am an educator who thinks about the sort of transition that I went through from piano to trumpet on a daily basis. Each hour of the school-day, students arrive in my classroom from all sorts of differing classes—each one teaching them their own literacy practices. My job as a physics teacher is to teach my students how to think like a physicist. How do physicists solve problems? How do they think about the universe? How do they talk to each other about it? This is every teacher’s task. How do I get my students thinking like the professionals in this field think?
“QUARANTEACHING”—THE STRANGE TRANSITION FROM FACE-TO-FACE, BRICK-AND-MORTAR, GOOD-OLE-FASHION SCHOOL TO THE WHAT-IN-THE-WORLD, CRAZY-LAND OF ELEARNING.
Enter Covid-19. Suddenly, every teacher has been thrust into the unknown world of “quaranteaching”—the strange transition from face-to-face, brick-and-mortar, good-ole-fashion school to the what-in-the-world, crazy-land of eLearning. This unbelievable turn of events has forced teachers to make a literacy transition of their own. From the face-to-face to the virtual. Like many educators right now, you might be struggling to transition from the face-to-face environment that you know so much about to a completely digital experience. If you, like me, found the recent upset to feel rather normal and stress-free, then you might be a digital native—someone who was brought up with today’s technology and whose use of it feels less like using a prosthetic and more like using a natural appendage. Or, perhaps you would not consider yourself a digital native, but are comfortable adopting new technologies and have been for some time. Either way, there are many people whose comfort level with using all sorts of technology is high and there are some whose comfort is low. If you are an educator reading this, you probably could go through the names of the people in your department and pick out the ones who seem to like using technology just because it exists, the ones who avoid it at all costs, and everyone in between.
Now, I find myself in the comfortable position of being a digital native as well as having been enrolled in online grad classes for some time. My wife has taught virtually for years, and I am about to begin teaching my own virtual class. Many other teachers did not have my circumstances and were faced with the daunting challenge of online teaching with about two days notice.
Here is the interesting bit. I haven’t noticed that technology integration has been the biggest hurdle for teachers. Indeed, many teachers have been surrounded by all sorts of technology for quite some time—both in and out of the classroom. No, from my perspective, the biggest struggle for many teachers hasn’t been “How does this thing (Zoom, Google Docs, etc. . . ) work?” But instead, “How do I put it all together to work for me and my students?” “How should it work?”
The biggest struggle for many teachers is not “How does this thing work?”, but instead “How should this thing work?”
Let me explain:
I have seen many teachers share their plans of how they are going to replicate their classroom experience online. This includes bell work, short lectures, and even the possibility of taking tests online. These plans seem to elicit “oohs” and “aahs” for their elaborateness and are applauded for the fact that this teacher has created something so close to a brick and mortar classroom experience. Now don’t get me wrong, context is everything and there may be scenarios where any one of those strategies is really the best one for that particular age, class, or context. As a digital native though, here’s my two cents:
Is replicating the brick-and-mortar experience the best way to provide eLearning?
It is likely that your teacher-education program took a traditional approach to lesson planning and unit planning that involves students working linearly through materials as you guide them. This form very much fits the context of students who enter my classroom at the same time each weekday, stay about an hour, and leave with whatever, if anything, I have tasked them to do at home. Still doesn’t mean it is the best, but it certainly fits the context. Now, does a traditional lesson plan seem to fit our current context? Any online context?
Perhaps the nuts and bolts of the eLearning technology is really not the biggest issue. Maybe our approach to teaching in this sort of environment is what needs the most attention. Most online courses that I have taken have offered me less direct instruction and more opportunities to create things based upon research I have set out to accomplish with resources that the instructor has provided. That is, I have taught myself for the most part and then created some sort of product based upon my learning. Sometimes this has worked really well and other times it hasn’t.
The thing that has made this model the most successful is how the teacher approaches the class. If they take a “set it and forget it” approach, I am almost sure to be frustrated and unsure of what I am supposed to be doing. If, however, my first attempts on projects are met with specific, helpful feedback, then I am sure to thoroughly engage with the class.
Educational technologists have long towed the line that technology is a tool, but today it seems that the technology is more a context or environment than merely a tool.
So did you catch the key? Feedback. In my face-to-face classes, I provide this in a thousand small ways. Verbal feedback, facial expressions, and body language are paired with my planned materials to facilitate my being able to accurately gauge and respond to student understanding. Without those tools in an eLearning environment, my students will experience the same frustration that I had from my own online teachers who seemed to treat the courses I was in like an automated machine. In an online environment, many excellent teachers likely struggle to provide the incredible feedback that they normally would when working face-to-face. Could it be that the pressure to make eLearning look and feel like a traditional classroom is the wrong approach? Educational technologists have long towed the line that technology is a tool, but today it seems that the technology is more a context or environment than merely a tool. If my students are primarily engaging with me and my course through hardware and software, then hasn’t that repositioned the technology to more than just a tool? In fact, it becomes a whole different social discourse in which the ways we act, think, and communicate are quite foreign from the space of the traditional classroom. The literacy paradigm has changed. We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.
Personally I have faced this challenge with my honors physics students. I introduced them to a new online tool called MasteringPhysics as a part of my doctoral work. This platform provides immediate and elaborated feedback to my students, but many of them still struggled to connect with this feedback. This program is specifically designed to use a host of technological magic to give electronic feedback to students and yet they still struggle. How much harder it must be for new eLearning teachers to adjust to this new paradigm.
Hopefully, educators all across the country will begin to pressure themselves into designing online lessons rather than teaching lessons online.
Reshaping your thinking isn’t easy. Even as a digital native, I have found myself trying to force my prior learning experiences as a student onto my current classes. It just feels “right” sometimes. My 11-year-old self had to learn to treat the trumpet as a completely different instrument complete with all new ways of thinking about music. It could well be that teachers who have been thrust into eLearning need the same kind of adjustment in their thinking. So have you felt pressure as a teacher to replicate face-to-face style learning in the virtual world? Was this pressure internal or external? Hopefully, educators all across the country will come out of quarantine with a fresh perspective of the advantages and disadvantages of eLearning and begin to pressure themselves into designing online learning using online literacies rather than teaching lessons online. This is going to require New Literacy Studies.
Scott Buhr is a high school physics teacher in Simpsonville, SC. He is a doctoral candidate at the U of SC College of Education studying Curriculum and Instruction. He has been involved with physics instruction, instructional design, and public speaking for nearly a decade. He was named in the Top Ten Teachers of the Year for Greenville County Schools in 2017-18 and shortly thereafter led his physics class to break a Guinness World Record. Scott also operates a small, gourmet popcorn business and actively ministers with his wife in their local church.
By: Dr. W. Ian O’Byrne, College of Charleston
The world has not seen a school shutdown on this scale before. According to UNESCO, roughly nine out of ten schoolchildren are out of school worldwide. As many school districts shut their physical doors for months, or the remainder of the year, there is an understanding that these closures are a serious threat to children’s academic progress, safety and social lives.
To alleviate these concerns, there is hope that shifting to online learning will provide opportunities to lessen these losses and support learners. The challenge is not all schools, educators, parents, or children are equipped to effectively learn in digital spaces. Many of these challenges disproportionately impact low-income students and those with special needs.
Research suggests that 4 in 10 U.S. teens say they haven’t attended a single online or virtual class since schools closed.
With many millions of Americans working or attending virtual school from home during the coronavirus pandemic, the longstanding gap between those who have reliable, affordable internet and those who do not has never been so clear. Much has been made about the efforts to make sure students have the devices and internet access they need for online education. Yet in actuality, signing up for free, or low cost internet service is difficult, leading to students sitting in school or library parking lots to connect online.
The vast majority of households with children have broadband internet, but there are still big disparities by income, race and the education level of parents. Many families are likely to rely on smartphones for Internet access and children in those households may not be able to use learning software that requires a tablet or computer. It is not unusual for students to try to complete schoolwork on a single cellphone. Educators need to be careful about expectations that all students can go completely online.
There are many ways to define “digital divide” as it relates to technology usage and equality, and it also has very specific meanings in the United States, as opposed to the remainder of the planet. Digital divide refers to the growing gap between the rich and poor as it relates to Internet access. The rich and educated are still more likely than others to have good access to digital resources. When it comes to education, the digital divide has especially far-reaching consequences.
Many of the reasons for the gap in the digital divide focus on access, education, income, as well as a number of demographic and socio-economic characteristics. To address the challenges of a digital divide, it is often helpful to think about the connections involved as we connect to the Internet.
Due to the growing amount of information on the Internet and people’s increasing dependence on information, internet skills should be considered a vital resource in contemporary society. Complicating these issues of connection, are the problems that educators, parents, and students have with moving learning environments to online spaces. Recreating a classroom online is a logistical challenge that comes with a learning curve for students, teachers and parents. For children in low-income school districts, inadequate access to technology can hinder them from learning the tech skills that are crucial to success in today’s economy.
Urban and rural areas in the U.S. feel the effects of the digital divide more than their suburban counterparts, with most of this stratification correlating with socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Overall, geographic disparity of income in the United States is best explained by first dividing the nation into regions and then further into urban and rural areas. This impacts youth as those raised in better socioeconomic conditions are more likely to have computers in their homes, attend better schools, and have more qualified teachers with better computer skills. The digital divide is exacerbated when America is split into areas of concentrated advantage juxtaposed with areas of concentrated disadvantage.
“Rural” is generally defined as a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Rural areas also contain many areas of inequalities of opportunity, including healthcare, education, and jobs. Examinations of these inequalities in the U.S., found the largest disparity in the South, and the least amount of inequality occurring in the West.
Rural areas have an additional obstacle when it comes to digital access where high-speed internet can be sparse and expensive, or sometimes not even an option at all. In many rural areas, the only Internet options are near-obsolete DSL, satellite, or even dial-up. These internet access methods are often more costly, despite being less reliable and more easily affected by poor weather or infrastructure.
Research suggests that even as technology becomes more ubiquitous, rural Americans remain less likely than urban and suburban Americans to have and use various digital technologies. This data suggests that rural users are less likely to have home broadband. Rural users increasingly use mobile devices, but rarely own a desktop or laptop, and even more infrequently own multiple devices. Lastly, this research suggests that rural Americans go online less frequently than their urban and suburban counterparts.
Much of the mythology of rural America emphasizes the challenges and hardships that exist, even as we recognize the lack of educational and economic opportunity for residents. As we increasingly move to a globally connected society, there is a need to consider whether we are unfairly hindering rural youth without providing them with the access, skills, and knowledge necessary to survive and compete in today’s economy.
A review of digital learning strategies for rural America (PDF) suggests rural school districts face many challenges that are substantively different from urban and suburban districts. These include:
The report suggests digital learning initiatives, directed by the state, or local, district/school programs can help alleviate some of these challenges. Specifically, they give guidance on four broad categories of online and blended learning options that can help rural schools and students. These include state virtual schools providing supplemental online courses and other services, course access programs, fully online schools, and consortium or regional service agencies.
It should be noted that there is also a need for better access to broadband Internet in rural areas. Perhaps there is also a need for improved state and regional policies that can improve the lives of digitally literate rural youth. Despite these challenges and opportunities, many youth are currently being left behind as our schools move online.
To address these concerns in real-time, educators need to once again remember that not all students may be able to access and connect to digital learning spaces. A certain amount of creativity is needed as you make these transitions. Before you worry about specific tools to use, or automatically jump to video conferencing because you think it is expected, Stephen Merrill suggests the following mindsets:
As our schools, communities, and systems close down, we cannot assume that all learners will be able to engage and connect online. We need to be intentional in uses of technology, and push for more informed, thoughtful instructional uses of technology. We need to advocate for privacy, security, and more informed uses of our data in these spaces. There is a need to educate, empower, and advocate for ourselves and our students.
Together we can use this as an opportunity to forge a future for all that is more accessible and approachable. I also examine these questions from a parental lens at the Screentime Research Group and on my blog. Lastly, my weekly newsletter provides a weekly glimpse of the changing landscape in a rapidly changing, technological society. Together we can use these experiences to identify the broken parts of our system and hopefully build new ones to support all learners.
W. Ian O’Byrne, PhD is an assistant professor of literacy education at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. His research focuses on the dispositions and literacy practices of individuals as they read, write, and communicate in online and/or hybrid spaces. O’Byrne is the author of many journal articles and book chapters focusing on initiatives ranging from online and hybrid coursework, integrating technology in the classroom, ePortfolio systems, and supporting marginalized students in literacy practices. Ian is a former middle school and high school English Language Arts teacher. He can be found on Twitter (@wiobyrne) and his work can be found on his website (https://wiobyrne.com/). His weekly newsletter (https://digitallyliterate.net/) focuses on the intersections between technology, education, and literacy.
Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education, College of Charleston
By: Elizabeth McCauley McDonald, Manning High School Social Studies Teacher
Students A and B are in 11th grade. Student A reads at a 9th grade level and Student B at a 7th grade level. Student A has internet access at home and has transitioned to e-learning. Student A experiences some challenges understanding the work; however, they are able to attend virtual meetings with the teacher to get additional help. Student B does not have a reliable internet connection at home, so Student B’s parents go to the school and pick up a packet, so that their child can continue to learn. Student B opens the packets and begins to…
Right now in South Carolina, and America as a whole, middle and high school students are forced by circumstances to become their own teacher.
Some students are even teachers to their younger siblings. In many homes, parents of elementary students are able to support their child’s learning, but that is not always the case for students in middle and high school. Fortunately for some middle and high school students, they have access to reliable internet and can attend Zoom meetings with their teachers, email teachers, or even look up tutorials or videos explaining content. But notice that I said some students. The reality is that many middle and high school students do not have that luxury.
During this time the inequities of our school systems are laid bare.
Some folks are content pretending that everything is alright and the children will be just fine, but what if they aren’t?
Many schools have switched to an e-learning platform to provide instruction and instructional materials for their students. But what about students that do not have access to these platforms?
Many students are faced with the reality of these teacher created packets we see folks talk about on personal and school district social media pages.
Well, it varies from district to district, school to school and sometimes teacher to teacher. There is one commonality found in most packets – reading activities. The goal of the reading activities seems to be for students to review and/or learn new content.
For science students, packets may include articles related to the field of science or secondary source material explaining science content. For history students, packets may include primary source documents, like letters or journals for analysis, or secondary source materials discussing content students need to review or learn. Math packets may include word problems allowing students to make real world connections to math concepts. English packets may include short stories or opportunities for students to engage writing with various prompts.
For some students these types of activities are manageable. So, let’s talk about why these types of activities are manageable for those students. Well, if you’re like me, you teach content area literacy strategies in your classroom. We read daily in my class and use literacy strategies when we read. On my board when you walk in my classroom, you’ll always see a section titled, “Daily Reading Moment.”
Many teachers are engaging in literacy practices in their classrooms. Teachers have students activate prior knowledge before reading texts, utilize activities while reading to increase student comprehension, and utilize activities after reading to assess comprehension. Many teachers focus on building vocabulary for students to be successful readers. Many classrooms across our state are classrooms where students are learning the literacy skills they need to tackle texts in the absence of their teacher.
I’m a social studies teacher, but I am a firm believer that literacy is everybody’s business, but unfortunately not all educators feel the same. Some folks feel as though it’s the job of English or Language Arts teachers to teach reading and literacy skills. And, maybe these teachers have been able to get by with that mentality for a while, but what about now, when teachers expect students to read and learn information from packets?
Let’s go back to Student B that we read about in the beginning of this post. What happens when Student B attempts to read the various materials in the packet, but lacks the reading skills and vocabulary knowledge to be successful? What happens when Student B comes face to paper with this touted packet, but has never read in the safe space of the classroom from which this assignment hails?
I know you care about your students and you want the best for them. The way for students to get the best is for teachers to give their best selves.
If you have delivered professional development in content area reading and writing strategies, deliver a virtual professional development for your colleagues.
This is a call I will also need to answer. Why should we wait until our various summer academies to learn with and from our colleagues?
In South Carolina, we know one of our biggest mountains to climb in education is increasing student literacy. We also know that our greatest tools we have to climb that mountain are the educators in South Carolina classrooms. When we enter our classrooms again, will you be a part of the change? Will you help us climb the mountain? Let’s do the work…together!
If something of this magnitude happens again, we do not want to leave our students to fend for themselves. Instead, we want to leave our students with the knowledge and practices necessary to take ownership of their learning.
Elizabeth McCauley McDonald is a high school social studies teacher in Manning, South Carolina, where she served as District Teacher of the Year for 2018-2019. She holds a Bachelor’s in Secondary Social Studies from Clemson University, a Masters in Education from Anderson University and a Masters in Educational Administration from the University of South Carolina. Elizabeth is currently pursuing a PhD. in Literacy, Language and Culture at Clemson University. Elizabeth also edits blogs for LiD.
If you are a South Carolina educator, complete this survey developed by LiD to learn more about the literacy teaching and learning in secondary classrooms in our state. (Link).
