Which two concepts should a teacher be aware of to connect with students using out-of-school literacy and emergent technologies?

Which two concepts should a teacher be aware of to connect with students using out-of-school literacy and emergent technologies?

• A. Pop culture; connect
• B. Traditional media; engage
• C. Personal interests; relate
• D. Global trends; communicate

Answer: (A)

Connecting with students through out-of-school literacy and emergent technologies relies on tapping into pop culture as a shared, current set of texts and media students encounter outside school. When a teacher weaves references to popular TV shows, memes, video games, music, or social media formats into literacy tasks, students see the classroom as relevant to their everyday reading and digital lives. This approach uses pop culture as a bridge to engage reading, writing, and critical thinking, while also aligning with how they already interact with technology—through short videos, posts, collaborative online work, and other multimedia formats. By recognizing these interests and translating them into purposeful learning activities, teachers help students build skills in interpreting messages, making inferences, and communicating ideas in digital spaces. If we relied on traditional media or broad global trends alone, the connection to students’ personal, current experiences can feel distant. Personal interests are valuable too, but pop culture often provides a common language across diverse classrooms, making it easier to connect with a wide range of learners through the technologies they use every day.

Connecting with students through out-of-school literacy and emergent technologies relies on tapping into pop culture as a shared, current set of texts and media students encounter outside school. When a teacher weaves references to popular TV shows, memes, video games, music, or social media formats into literacy tasks, students see the classroom as relevant to their everyday reading and digital lives. This approach uses pop culture as a bridge to engage reading, writing, and critical thinking, while also aligning with how they already interact with technology—through short videos, posts, collaborative online work, and other multimedia formats. By recognizing these interests and translating them into purposeful learning activities, teachers help students build skills in interpreting messages, making inferences, and communicating ideas in digital spaces. If we relied on traditional media or broad global trends alone, the connection to students’ personal, current experiences can feel distant. Personal interests are valuable too, but pop culture often provides a common language across diverse classrooms, making it easier to connect with a wide range of learners through the technologies they use every day.