The New Web of Litracies

In our new world of Information Technology, having reading and writing skills alone will not make a person literate. According to NCTE the 21st Century literacy involves having the capability to use the tools of technology, use social forums for collaborative problem solving, create and share information, and engage in critical thinking. Blogs are an excellent example of this Literacy, because it uses visual and writing skills in conjunction with technology. Information is shared and exchanged amongst a community that can be personal or informative. 21st Century Literacy encompasses the terms Digital Literacy, Visual Literacy, Reproduction Literacy, Branching Literacy, Information Literacy and Socio-Emotional Literacy (Aviram, 2006).

Digital Literacy
This literacy involves using hardware (cell phones, Ipads, etc.) and software (applications) to find, understand and evaluate information, then creatively using this information to communicate, share and collaborate. Digital literacy includes Visual literacy, Reproduction literacy, Branching literacy and information literacy (Aviram, 2006). Programming literacy would also be included in Digital Literacy (Prensky, 2008).

Visual Literacy
It is the ability to see the creativity, the implication, the hidden meaning or the purpose of an image or graphic. To able to understand the visual messages(Aviram, 2006). This skill is used in playing video games, and can be used to capture the attention of students in a classroom. YouTube videos are a

good medium to show difficult concepts that are hard to grasp, like DNA translation and transcription.

Reproduction Literacy
This literacy uses existing text, graphics, or sounds that are available on the internet, to create new material. This could involve putting together text items from many sites to present new interpretations or creating new visuals by combining images from various sites. This type of digital reproduction would require the user to ensure that proper citations are included for the material that is copied. Reproduction Literacy is used in many forms of presentations in the classrooms, from graphics and sound in power point slides to quotations in essays. (Aviram, 2006)

Programming Literacy
This literacy involves using applications to make digital tools do what the user wants. In other word, being able to program devices, and manipulate technology (Aviram, 2006). Skills like programming the home security system to turn on lights at a certain time, or using an app on your phone to remind you of an appointment are programming literacies. In the classroom computer programs can be used to conduct science experiments, like using weather patterns to make predictions or forecasts.

Branching Literacy
This skill is also called hypermedia literacy. It is the ability to remain on task while searching in hyperspace for information. Since the internet presents the user with information from many sources, it is easy to go from one link to the next and lose sight of the direction of the search. Instead of using linear thinking, this literacy gives the ability to bring all the information together, from the various branches of a search, in a coherent fashion (Aviram, 2006). Students could use this skill to do research on how one hormone can affect many organs in a human body. Since there are so many hormones and they in turn interact with other hormones, the student would have to focus the branches of his search to find and use information that reflects only the interactions of that hormone.

Information Literacy
This literacy enables the user to critically analyze information to judge its accuracy or bias. The identity of the author, the purpose of the writing, the audience, who does it benefit or harm, are some aspects of evaluating information that is presented. This kind of literacy is important because anyone can post information on the internet, and it could be false, inaccurate or biased. To be informed consumers, it is important to use this literacy as a filter(Aviram, 2006). We can teach this skill to our students by having them research a topic from various sources and comparing the presentation in each.

Socio-Emotional Literacy
This literacy can also be called Social Media Literacy. It uses branching, information and visual literacies to share data and create data. Users need to develop a sense of what, when and how to share information keeping in mind that information posted on the internet is mass communicated. Creating data can be done individually or as a collaborative effort. (Aviram, 2006). This form of literacy has put a new emphasis on the social skill of networking. Using this skill people are finding jobs, staying in touch with family and friend, sharing information with professionals in their field, and getting involved in government policies. Teachers can teach this skill by using Google Docs to open a forum for discussing a topic or a book. Quotes can be posted and students can be encouraged to post questions or comments. The teacher would have to make sure that certain rules of communication were followed in these discussions.

Media Literacy
Being informed about and being able to create and use information in all forms of exchanging data is considered Media Literacy. It involves Information literacy and Socio-Emotional literacy. Knowing the audience, the source of information (either in a social context or for research), techniques used to influence audiences and critical thinking are all part of Media Literacy (David, 2009).

http://screencast.com/t/bu0qIgLDx

Each of these literacies are part of the web of components in 21st Century Literacy. Digital Literacy includes Hardware Literacy and Software Literacies, like Visual, Reproduction, Branching, Information, and Programming Literacy. Visual Literacy and is part of Programming Literacy, and Branching Literacy is part of Information Literacy. Information Literacy can tie into SocioEmotional Literacy, but they both are part Media Literacy.

References Jones-Kavalier. (2006). Connecting the Digital Dots. Educause, 2, 8-10.

David, J.L. (2009, March).Teaching Media Literacy. Educational Leadership, 66, 6.

Aviram, A. (2006). Towards a Theory of Digital Literacy: Three Scenarios for the Next Steps. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, I, 1-16.

NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/positons/21stcenturyliteracy

Prensky. M. (2008). Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/programming-the-new-literacy