Embracing Digital Literacy
“We may not be teaching online here, but does that mean we shouldn’t be preparing our future educators to do that, if that’s what their jobs may require? The area of education has been impacted by new media considerably.” – Ray Riley
While Raymond Riley’s background is primarily in applied music, new media is his research interest. During his sabbatical last year, he explored this interest while living in the suburbs of Chicago, where he worked with Apple Computer, Inc. and studied digital literacy and Web collaboration technologies.
With the help of Apple Distinguished Educators and creative trainers at the Apple Store, Riley studied digital literacy and advised in the One to One Program. He was not only trained under the program, which gives customers buying a Mac computer hour sessions of individual digital instruction for a year, but he also was a trainer. By experiencing the program from all aspects, he was able to get a clearer understanding of where the type and levels of digital skills reside.
Riley, at the keyboard (right)
“It was amazing to see what kind of people came in to learn,” says Riley. “Some were older professionals, and some were college-aged. Some were retired but because of the economy, had to go back to work. They were trying to develop their digital skills because they discovered they were not very marketable.”
He also worked with small business owners and bands that were putting together digital music projects, allowing him to use his background in both music and new media.
Interactive elements and online collaboration are increasingly major parts of Web sites today, as the Web looks to build more participation and foster knowledge communities. Riley, who is interested in watching this phenomenon develop, tries to bring some of these ideas to education.
“We may not be teaching online here, but does that mean we shouldn’t be preparing our future educators to do that, if that’s what their jobs may require? The area of education has been impacted by new media considerably,” says Riley.
For most faculty, sabbaticals are opportunities to devote generous amounts of time to research. For Riley, it was especially crucial, given the fast-paced world of emerging technologies. Where new media is headed can be difficult to study closely when managing an academic year.
“When you teach in the area of emerging technology, you don’t really have the luxury sometimes of building on what you did five years ago. Information and communication technologies are changing so rapidly, that the biggest challenge is narrowing in on what you want to look at,” says Riley.
During his sabbatical, in addition to participating in a number of virtual conferences, he also was a presenter at technology and new media conferences in Atlanta and Monterey, Calif.
— Ellen Doepke
Posted: Thu, November 5th, 2009 at 2:07PM
