Module 2: Literacy in the 21st Century

When viewed from the perspective of conventional/traditional literacy, the concept of the
“new” literacies is a bit a misnomer, as even these new literacies of the 21 st century make generous use
of being able to read and write, rather than supplant them as skills necessary for survival. However,
when viewed from the perspective of literacy as knowledge, the new literacies begin to make sense as
they are the “skills and bodies of knowledge” that are necessary for survival and productivity in the
information age.

In the same vein of reasoning, the new literacies are not “new” pre se ─ as in the sense that they
never existed before. Rather, we consider them to be new because the contexts in which old skills and
knowledge are being employed are new, both in the nature and in scope. The ability to translate the
textual information into images is not a new skill, but is the ability to so in a way that is concise,
complete and clear that is certainly new, given that it will be how ninety percent of the population will
be informed on the issue. Similarly, being able to verify the truth-value and veracity of a document is not
a new skill-but being able to do so when there are a hundred similar documents available to you online
is.

Case in point: Throughout history, humans have communicated on levels apart from the spoken
and written word, for example, visually, using the long-distance communication system of smoke signals
used by the ancient Chinese, the ancient Greeks and the indigenous peoples of North America.

In the Victorian era, there was such a thing as “Language of Flowers”, where the kind, color, and
arrangement of a bouquet of flowers were used to communicate messages that could not otherwise be
spoken aloud in Victorian society (Greenway, 1884). For example, a bouquet of oak leaves (representing
strength), purple roses (sorrow), white lilies (resurrection), and pale yellow tulips and rosemary
(memory or remembrance) would altogether communicate a message of sympathy, usually over the
death of a loved one.

Successfully interpreting these “visual languages” required a kind of “visual literacy” to

understand the message being presented and to manage the information encoded therein ─ skills which
are coming into use again in the 21 st century literacies. The difference is that now we are not analysing
smoke signals or bouquets, but rather sounds, texts, and images from a hundred different sources at a
nearly non-stop rate to the point where accuracy, validity, and reliability of the messages we interpret
from the basis for some very important personal and collective decision-making.

Another difference involves the question of necessity: One did not need to be literate in the
language of flowers to live a fruitful and fulfilled life in Victorian era, but to be not media or digitally
literate in the 21st century makes one vulnerable to manipulation by those who are, and such
manipulation can easily cost an individual time, money, property, and even life.

These so-called “new” literacies arose from the increasing availability of communication
technologies that were once unavailable to the average individual. Technologies like blogging and
vlogging, social networking, and even text-messaging change and expand both the extent and the form
of our communication─blending text, sound, and images in ways unforeseen and unprecedented
(Richardson, 2014). Never before have the opinions of a twelve year-old child in an unheard-of town in
an unheard-of country been available for everyone on earth to read and hear, and while adults might
scoff at a child’s opinions, that child might have more than a thousand online subscribers who certainly
think his or her opinions are important, maybe even more so than the opinions of adults.

Simply put, three things have been critical in the new literacies:

1. Increased Reach ─ we are communicating with more people, from more diverse cultures, across
vaster distances than ever before.

2. Increased Means of Communication ─ we are communicating in more ways and at faster speeds than
ever before.

3. Increased Breadth of Content ─ we are communicating about more things than ever before.

How do we work together with people of different cultures who might have vastly different
perspectives on communication, work ethics, values, religious belief and worldviews? What do we do
when some of these might be mutually exclusive to our own? In an age where information is power
─where knowing more and knowing first can spell the difference between success and failure – how do
we leverage both current and emergent technologies so that our endeavors are both productive and
profitable? Moreover, how do we navigate and manage the veritable minefield of information that was
once considered taboo and private and is now online, for all the world to see and judge, whether we like
it or not?

Answering such complex questions requires new sets of skills and knowledge─ones that our
school systems have never had to teach before. With these changes in with whom, how, and why we
communicate, new literacies are required not only to make sense of the changes, but also to use these
new technologies and paradigms in meaningful and productive ways─something required not only of
students, but of teachers as well.

Enhance

One of the ways students can be trained in the new literacies is to engage the in digital
storytelling, wherein the students take part in the traditional process of storytelling, but with some
digital enhancements. They choose a topic, conduct a research, write a script, develop a story, and
through the use of multimedia, create something that can be played online or on a computer.

Digital storytelling can be broken down into following six steps:

1. Writing – write about a particular story from your life. The story must have a central theme.
2. Developing a Script – Develop a script that identifies the important points of your story.

3. Creating a Storyboard – Create a storyboard that visually organizes the flow of the story. Assign a
particular image to portions of the script.

4. Locating Multimedia – Use search engines to locate photos and videos. Photos and videos from one’s
personal collection may also be used.

5. Creating the Digital Story – Record your voice over for your movie. Create the movie using the
software that is available to you.

6. Sharing and Uploading – Share your story in class and upload your work online.

Reflect

Wrap Up
 Traditional Literacy is the ability to read and write
 The traditional or conventional concept of literacy can be divided into sub-categories
1. Basic Literacy, which is the ability to recognize the letter and words
2. Comprehension Literacy, which is the ability to understand the meaning of what is
being read; and
3. Functional/Practical Literacy, which is the ability to read written materials needed to
perform everyday vocational tasks.
 Modern views of literacy equate it with knowledge.
 New literacies have risen due to increased reach, increased means of communication, and increased
breadth of content. These new literacies are globalization and multicultural literacies, social and financial
literacies, media and cyber literacies/digital literacies, ecoliteracy, artistic and creative literacy, and critical
literacy.

Questions to Ponder

Read the questions carefully; write your answers on a yellow paper.

1. Which of the new literacies are you knowledgeable in? Which of the new literacies do you lack knowledge in?
2. Describe the changes in the 21st century that have led to the rise of new literacies.
3. What teaching strategies and forms of assessment could you use to help develop functional literacy?