One of my main takeaways from the reading is that digital literacies are not just about technical skills, but also about meaning making, communication, and identity. We have learned that literacy is and has been a collection of communication and sociocultural practices shared amount communities and that involves communities withing schools ("Definition of literacy in a digital age," 2022). They include the way we use texts, images, and multimedia to represent themselves, give knowledge and participate in communities. In my preschool classroom, I already see how children express themselves through movement, images, or even technology-assisted play. In my area literacy is about communication in its many forms, not just reading words on a page. It can be said that I am using the concept of multiliteracies. Multiliteracies came about as a way to move beyond the old idea that literacy is just reading and writing and instead recognize all the new ways to share (Sang 2017).

    Literacy is not static; it changes as technology and society change. "The new " was the idea that literacy is always tied to social practices rather than just skills (Knobel and Lankshear's 2007). They describe how new literacies often focus on participation, collaboration, and creativity. What children bring into a classroom today often looks very different from the school-based literacy practices we use to have and value. In my reading I learned that digital literacies are not just access to tools but about using them critically and equitably (International Literacy Association 2018). This challenges me to think about how I introduce technology in my preschool special education classroom. It is not enough to put a tablet in a child's hands, I need to be intentional about how it is used, making sure it promotes expression and inclusion not just rote learning. In this article I learned that it is just not about how one often thinks that about digital literacy in terms of helping students keep up with technology, but it shifted my thinking towards how literacy can also empower students who are marginalized. This challenged me because as an educator. I sometimes worry that very young children may not be ready for "big" concepts.  

    In my preschool classroom I see how important it is to expand what counts as literacy. Some of my students may not communicate through traditional reading or writing, but they can tell a story with pictures, movements, or digital recordings. Expanding the definition of literacy allows me to meet them where r they are and give them the tools to grow into confident communication in a digital world.

                                                                        

                                                        References

Definition of literacy in a digital age. (2022, April 19). National Council of Teachers of English. https://ncte.org/statement/nctes-definition-literacy-digital-age/

(n.d.). ERIC - Education Resources Information Center. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1139059.pdf

(n.d.). International Literacy Association. https://www.literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-improving-digital-practices-literacy-learning-justice.pdf

(n.d.). Narrate Annotate – Storytelling and Learning in the Open. https://narrateannotate.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/lk2007ch1.pdf