Raising the barrier arm in the 21st century ...

Kia ora koutou

For this blog, I talk about 'A day in the life of me', to highlight the literacy skills we utilise in our everyday lives.  A stand-out moment for me was my experience of the barrier arm failing to open at the Waikato Hospital car park, in the midst of peak traffic flows.  Whilst I didn't quite employ the same antics as Mr Bean to escape this dilemma, I hope you enjoy his video all the same ... 😊

LITERACY AND DIGITAL MEDIA

Part A:  Please fill in the following table.  The objective is for you to reflect on the amount of digital technology and non-digital you use in an average day for reading and writing.  

Tick	Tick	Tick	Tick
Read	Write	Study/ Work	Neither study nor work	Source (Non digital)  e.g. pen, book	Source (digital) e.g. email, Internet	Time (approx. how long)
ü	ü	ü(work)			Read and reply to email messages	1 hr
ü	ü		ü		Internet (research hospital website for location, visiting times/policies/parking etc)	15 mins
ü	û		ü		Read (personal) email from hospital admissions outlining ward location, entrance, parking, etc	5 mins
ü	ü		ü	Printed booklet: re-read hard-copy of booklet on CABG (Cardio Artery Bypass) surgery	Booklet on CABG surgery downloaded and printed from internet/Heart Foundation website)	15 mins
û	û		ü		Drive to Waikato Hospital – use GPS on smart phone for location/directions (use Google voice search and follow GPS audio instructions)	Final 20 mins of journey
ü	ü	ü(work)			Check txt and phone messages (smart phone) – reply to and forward messages (eg. to tutors re. student absences, student course enquiries, etc).	30 mins
ü	û		ü		Enter hospital carpark building (carpark building self-serving ticket machine).  Read instructions - take ticket, retain ticket to pay at specially located pay stations before exiting building, drive through open barrier arm (which then failed to open L).	1 min
ü	û		ü	Read (static) instructions notice on Carpark ticket machine on how to get help (0800 number).	Contact carpark security – as barrier arm failed to open.  Ring 0800 number on smart phone for help.	5 mins
ü	û		ü	Read and follow hospital signage to locate ward.		10 mins
ü	û		ü		Self-serving carpark pay machine.  Read and follow instructions to pay for ticket using EFTpos for payment.	2 mins
ü	û	ü(included some work purchases)	ü		Self-serving supermarket checkout machine.  Read and follow instructions to scan grocery items and use EFTpos system for payment.	4 mins

Part B:  Write a short reflection on your results from your table.  What significance do your results have for teaching reading and writing to your literacy students.  

I chose to complete this table on the first day of my Mum’s stay-over in Waikato Hospital (i.e. a semi non-work day).  As a small-town girl, this was a day in which I would be encountering new terrain - finding my way to and around a large public hospital, and contending with health system protocols.  Simply negotiating the 800-space parking building was an exercise in itself. 

What this exercise outlined for me was that much of what we encounter in our everyday lives (grocery shopping, car parking, making payments) require engagement with digital technology.  What was even more evident, is that in most cases now, the ‘people component’ of these activities has largely been removed, or at least, moved to invisible background operations.  The individuals negotiating these activities therefore are required to complete their transactions, unaided.  This requires an ability to follow written instructions provided by way of static information, or text that is digitally provided by machines (with the exception of talking lifts, I personally have encountered few occasions where this information has been provided by way of audio instruction).  My experience with the barrier arm failing to open further alerted me to the fact that often these activities are carried out under pressure, with queues of others waiting behind you.  Unfamiliarity with the workings of the machines combined with a limited ability to read instructions, coupled with the pressure of time, can therefore make these activities highly stressful.

Fletcher, Nicholas and Davis (2011) define literacy as “making and sharing meaning by constructing and interpreting text in oral, written, graphic, or electronic forms”.  They also state that “All aspects of e-learning and computer-related skills are part of literacy in the 21^st century” (Winch, Johnston, March, Ljungdahl & Holliday, 2007, cited in Fletcher, Nicholas & Davis, 2011, p. 19).  In relation to teaching, for me, every-day life activities that we encounter can provide the basis for learning opportunities.  As many of these everyday activities now involve digital technology, in order for individuals to participate fully and independently with ‘literacy in the 21^st century’, e-learning and the development of computer skills has to be an essential component of literacy learning, in the 21^st century.  Individuals not only need to be able to read (and write) - they also need to know how to operate the technology.

In retrospect, the literacy-educator in me wished that I had filmed or photographed my hospital experiences, to utilise this material for teaching.  In the community education context in which I work, whilst it is possible, for example, to accompany our learners to the supermarket to exploit these real-life situations for learning (i.e. situated and contextual learning), the public nature of these activities can make the situation uncomfortable, or even quite inappropriate.  It would be good to see a simulation of these activities incorporated into a tool such as Pathways Awarua, to allow such learning to be managed discreetly. 

REFERENCE

Fletcher, J., Nicholas, K. & Davis, N. (2011). Supporting adults to address their literacy needs using e-learning. Journal of Open, Flexible, and Distance Learning, 15(1), pp. 17-29.