UKLA Conference 2009

Greenwich University

A glorious location for another fantastic UKLA conference. A particular highlight for me was listening to Margaret Mackey present a paper on ‘Making Connections in Multiliterate Lives.’

This was the first time I had heard her speak and I went away form her talk reflecting on the diversity of  students’ literacy practices and the responsibility of educators to recognise and develop these. Margaret Mackey’s book ‘Literacies Across Media: Playing the Text‘ inflenced my thinking whilst I was writing up my MA thesis in 2003. I now look forward to reading ‘Mapping Recreational Literacies: Contemporary Adults at Play.‘

I also enjoyed Robin Alexander’s keynote speech.

This year I was presenting a paper alongiside Lynda Graham and Martin Waller as part of a symposium exploring digital literacies, chaired by Jackie Marsh. I was really pleased that Sue Ellis, the director of the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), was in the audience as I hadn’t seen her since the CLPE Assessing Creative Learning project. My work has has been shaped by my experiences on the CLPE Power of Reading Project and this was a great chance to share my developing ideas with a knowlegable and interested audience.

UKLA International Conference 2009

I’m really looking forward to this years UKLA Conference ‘Making Connections: Building literate communities in and beyond the classroom’ which is taking place at the University of Greenwich, London from July 10^th to 12^th 2009.

Last years conference was really exciting and inspiring. This year I will be presenting a paper entitled as part of a symposium in which will explore current digital literacy projects in primary classrooms.  Lynda Graham will present a paper entitled ‘Teachers and Children Shaping Digital Worlds‘ and Martin Waller will be discussing ‘Multiliteracies and Meaningful Learning Contexts in the Primary Classroom.’

Below is the abstract for my paper entitled ‘Designing Immersive Game-Narratives: Alternate Reality Teaching and Learning‘. I’m currently reviewing it as it’s 20 words too long!

“I will be presenting initial findings from an exciting literacy based cross-curricular media project which I undertook with my Year 6 class in which the children created an Alternate Reality Game for their peers to experience. During the project the children developed their writing skills across a range of genres. Using a novel as the basis for their game-narrative, they employed their understanding of message boards, webcams, web design, drama and other art forms to remediate it. In doing so, they demonstrated their deep understanding of narrative structures, characterisation and a heightened awareness of audience. They were also able to use their understanding of games and gaming to help them develop a language with which to articulate their literacy practices. Immersive gaming has so much to offer children in educational settings. As creators of the games, they plan, script, act and plot the events and plant the clues that the player is to encounter. In so doing, they apply real knowledge and skills to fictional settings. Their understanding of the media in which they communicate is thus embodied in the game. As educators, we do not need to strive to replicate children’s recreational literacy practices in the classroom – school is too official and overtly pedagogical for that to be very effective or even desirable. However, with critical awareness and within meaningful contexts, new technologies can be used in the classroom to extend and develop the children’s ability to communicate their ideas effectively, and reflect on their learning.”