GSEA Spring 2009 conference proposal

Identity and Identification as Literacy Training in the Daily Kos Interface Design

In learning to navigate and participate on a website, users develop literacy skills. Expanding the definition of literacy developed by Gee, literacy in web spaces becomes an active process of learning to make meaning while participating in spaces. A part of this process includes developing an understanding of identity, and what identity means within the space. As users become more comfortable in their literacy, in their meaning making in the space, they can create identities within the space that demonstrate their identification with the community using the space. Drawing on Burke’s theories of identification, identity and literacy within a space become a way a web user signals their understanding and membership to other users. This mixing of identity, literacy and identification make recognized identification as a member of a space a motivating factor for learning the space. To better understand created identities in virtual spaces, the site design of Daily Kos (dailykos.com) will be discussed to show how it trains new members in the literacy practices of the site, allowing members time and space to develop their literacy. As literacy develops, users can become members, and begin participating and communicating with other members of the site. Through this communication a conversation about politics forms, but more importantly members are able to demonstrate their identification as a member of the Daily Kos community through their conversations on the site. The site is specifically designed to foster literacy by providing a space for users to work toward members through designed training in how communication within the community works. Members then demonstrate their identity as Daily Kos members by participating in the conversation in a way that demonstrates their understanding of group identification. This site design will be discussed as a very common way web spaces provide literacy training to web users.

what do videogames have to teach us?

Since initial publication scholars have looked to Gee’s What Video Games Have to Teach Us as a way to incorporate things kids are already doing into classroom space. Gee’s theories ultimately argue for re-imagining literacy and how it functions in education and everyday life, but many still see Gee as arguing for the incorporation of games into classes. Some scholars discussed have argued for specific games, other scholars have continued Gee’s work by pointing out how new media literacy can function in a classroom if a teacher is critically aware of their own assignments and requirements. Ultimately Gee is trying to move educational understanding of literacy beyond reading and writing skills, and scholars who take up Gee’s work argue the same thing. Each has a slightly different use of the term literacy, but all are moving toward seeing literacy as a meaning making practice in a specific space that involves ways of being in addition to reading and writing skills as they relate to the space. This re-imagining of literacy allows composition classrooms to become more meaningful to students when new media literacy skills are also worked into the curriculum as a way to blatantly demonstrate literacy skills students are already using.