Reading in the digital age

As society and technology change, so does literacy and the way we access literacies. Technology has increased rapidly in the 21st century and the demands of being literate have increased, in that a literate person needs to be competent in many forms of literacies to function effectively in society. During my teaching career I witnessed students coming into my classroom experienced in computers and tablets, text messaging and social media, and they were used to constant internet connectivity outside of the classroom. I also noticed that my usual ways of reading to my class and the teaching of reading no longer fully engaged these same students. I came to realise that to engage students in the digital age, teachers needed to build onto students' home life experiences and utilise digital content in the form of computers and tablets, interactive whiteboards, wikis, learning objects, blogs, downloads, internet channels and digital broadcasts as a supplement to traditional print-based forms of reading.