BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS

MODULE THE CURRICULUM

CHAPTER 1: Introduction to the Concept of New Literacies

Objectives:
 Explore the concept of new literacies
 Differentiate traditional literacy and new literacy
 Acquire the types of new literacies learning strategies

What Is Literacy?

The time we wake up to the time we go to sleep, we are constantly making meaning of
the world around us. Literacy has traditionally been thought of as reading and writing.
Although these are essential components of literacy, today our understanding of literacy
encompasses much more.
Alberta Education defines literacy as the ability, confidence and willingness to engage
with language to acquire, construct and communicate meaning in all aspects of daily
living. Language is explained as a socially and culturally constructed system of
communication.

An Overview of Traditional Literacy

Traditional literacy is about print on a page, or

decoding and making sense of words, images
and other content that a reader can string
together and then begin to comprehend.
They are the words and pictures students read
and pore over that are contained in textbooks, in
novels, on standardized tests, and even in comic
books.

Page 1
 BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS
MODULE THE CURRICULUM

The traditional literacy skillset contains the traditional literacies of reading, writing,
speaking, and listening.
It is the integration of listening, speaking, reading, writing and critical thinking. It includes
a cultural knowledge which enables a speaker, writer or reader to recognize and use
language appropriate to different social situations.

The ’’new literacies’’ encompass much more.

Defining New Literacies

These rise of ―new literacies‖ necessary to

wield these new technologies effectively place
new demands on all of us – not just on
students. We are all expected to move much
more quickly to identify problems. It becomes
clear that in today’s ever-evolving,
technological society, having new literacy skill
is not an option – it’s a must.
New literacies refer to new forms of literacy
made possible by digital technology
developments. Commonly recognized
examples include instant messaging,
blogging, social networking, podcasting, photo
sharing, digital storytelling, and conducting
online searches.

The world is changing. "We live in a new media age, where technological advances
brought on by the digital forces of the computer are transforming the way we
communicate, collect information, make meaning, and construct knowledge"
This new media is becoming a bigger part of our lives every day.

While traditional literacy and a liberal education are still in the 21st century
students need to know more and be able to do more than they did in the
past. Students need 21st century literacy. This new literacy includes traditional
literacy skills, such as reading, writing, and arguing. But more importantly, it
includes new literacy skills, such as critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and
multi-cultural awareness.

Like older forms of literacy, the new literacy requires both the "effective use" of
language and "large amounts of specific information" about the world.

Page 2
 BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS
MODULE THE CURRICULUM

In addition to traditional literacy, students also need to learn about how

knowledge is created, especially how the most reliable knowledge is made
through scientific methods. Science has become the primary tool of the 21st
century knowledge economy; therefore, students should be exposed to all major
scientific methodologies.

Students need an understanding of both qualitative and quantitative literacy. And

while knowledge of most scientific methodology does require advanced
mathematical literacy, students with only minimal mathematical knowledge can
still be introduced to both qualitative and quantitative scientific methods through
an understanding of key concepts, theories, and data (Wilson, 2013).
To fully understand scientific methodology, students need to know about the
research university, academic disciplines, and the specific work that scientists do
within their disciplines. Only then will students be able to concretely grasp how
knowledge is created, debated, and refined through the scientific process.

21st Century Literacy is more than just reading and writing. It is knowing how to
learn and know.

The 5 components of the new literacies perspective

 New technologies create new visions of literacy, and therefore, we must see
new potentials to literacy tasks.
 New Literacies are deictic.
 New literacies are central to full civic, economic, and personal participation in
a world community.
 New literacies change as relevant technologies change.
 New literacies are multiple, multimodal, and multifaceted and thereby produce
multiple meanings

Multiple- The term multiple literacies refers to our ability to interpret

the many formats, sources, or media through which we obtain
information. The four competencies that comprise multiple literacies
are visual literacy, textual literacy, digital literacy, and
technological literacy.

Multimodal- Combination of multiple different ways of

communicating in everyday life (multiple modes) the
term multiple literacies refers to our ability to interpret the many
formats, sources, or media through which we obtain information.

Page 3
 BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS
MODULE THE CURRICULUM

Multifaceted- The term multifaceted refers to our ability to interpret

many features sources, or media through which we obtain
information.

Types of New Literacies Learning Strategies

Wikis-A wiki is a collaborative tool that allows students to contribute and modify one or
more pages of course related materials.
Internet Workshops- An instructional model that educates students on a newly
emerging form of literacy, the Internet.
Internet Inquiries- A question you ask in order to get information from internet-based
resources.
Internet Projects- Internet-based projects like presentations and etc.
Web Quest- An inquiry-oriented activity in which students get all information from the
web.

Nicholson and Galguera (2013) suggest five skills that must be taught to
address the gap in students’ new literacy skills. These skills include:
a) The ability to identify questions and frame problems to guide reading
on the internet.
b) The capacity to identify information that is relevant to one’s needs.
c) Competence with critically evaluating online information.
d) Facility with reading and synthesizing information from multiple
multimedia sources.
e) Understanding how to communicate with others in contexts where
information is learned about and shared collectively.

How to Evaluate Websites?

1. Examining what bias the site might contain.

2. Determining how reliable the site is.
3. Determining the accuracy of information on the site.
4. Synthesizing the information presented on the site in a meaningful way.

Expanding Our Conception of Literacy there is extensive debate about what new
literacies are— the term is used to mean many different things by many different
people.

Page 4
 BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS
MODULE THE CURRICULUM

However, there are at least four common elements that apply to nearly all of the
current perspectives being used to inform the broader dimensions of new literacies
research:

 The Internet and other ICTs require new social practices, skills, strategies, and
dispositions for their effective use.
 New literacies are central to full civic, economic, and personal participation
in a global community
 New literacies rapidly change as defining technologies change
 New literacies are multiple, multimodal, and multifaceted; thus, they benefit
from multiple lenses seeking to understand how to better support our
students in a digital age.

Because of rapid changes in technology, it is likely that students who begin school this
year will experience even more profound changes in their literacy journeys. Changes to
literacy are defined by regular and continuous change.
Finally, networked communication technologies such as the Internet provide the most
powerful capabilities for information and communication we have ever seen, permitting
access to people and information in ways and at speeds never before possible.
Such changes have important implications for instruction, assessment, professional
development, and research. The literacy community needs to quickly turn its attention to
these profound changes.

New literacies will bring about new challenges for schools, because in no small part, new
technologies (and the cultural practices around them) are changing incredibly quickly.
All this in turn raises important questions about how – indeed, whether – new literacies
―fit‖ into current school practices, and how schools will respond.

 New literacies provide opportunities for students to experience and represent

learning in many different forms, beyond the traditional ideas.
 Such representations should be guided more by student interests and skills
and should grant them the opportunity to display their unique talents and
learning style.
 "Because of the lack of pressure to hold some kind of curriculum
standard...students have more space to explore intersecting literacies
and to identify with work" (Kist, 2005, p. 8).
 We can utilize new literacies in after school programs because, "After-
learning activities have been shown to allow for learning environments
that let students author herself or himself into the world as someone
empowered" (Kist, 2005,p. 8)

Page 5
 BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS
MODULE THE CURRICULUM

Source: http://usingtechtodeliverci.weebly.com/

 There would be more media in the classroom such as music, theater, and visuals
arts.
 Students can immediately communicate with others around the world and begin
to understand different cultures, communication, and different ways to exist in the
world.
 Students can use the internet to move beyond a traditional text and into a rich
and complexly networked information resource to learn new material.
 Each user can take a completely different path and acquire different information
about a subject.

Changes in the Classroom

The 21st Century classroom is student centered, not teacher centered.
Teachers no longer function as lecturers but as facilitators of learning.
The students are learning by doing, and the teacher acts as a coach, helping students
as they work on projects. Students learn to use the inquiry method, and to collaborate
with others--a microcosm of the real world they will experience once they leave the
classroom

The focus of student learning in this

classroom is different. The focus is no
longer on learning by memorizing and
recalling information but on learning
how to learn.

Now, students use the information

they have learned and demonstrate
their mastery of the content in the
projects they work on.

Page 6
 BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS
MODULE THE CURRICULUM

Students learn how to ask the right questions, how to conduct an appropriate
investigation, how to find answers, and how to use information.

The emphasis in this classroom is on creating lifelong learners. With this goal in mind,
students move beyond the student role to learn through real world experiences.

To become fully literate in today’s world,

students must become proficient in the
new literacies of 21st-century
technologies. As a result, literacy
educators have a responsibility to
effectively integrate these new
technologies into the curriculum,
preparing students for the literacy future
they deserve.

The Internet and other forms of information and communication technologies (ICTs)
are redefining the nature of reading, writing, and communication.
These ICTs will continue to change in the years ahead, requiring continuously new
literacies to successfully exploit their potentials.
Literacy educators have a responsibility to integrate these new literacies into the
curriculum to prepare students for successful civic participation in a global
environment.

The International Reading Association believes that students have the right to
the following:

• Teachers who use ICTs skillfully for teaching and learning effectively
• Peers who use ICTs responsibly and actively share effective strategies
applied to a range of literacy purposes and settings.
• A literacy curriculum that offers opportunities to collaboratively read, shares,
and create content with peers from around the world.
• Literacy instruction that embeds critical and culturally sensitive thinking into
print and digital literacy practices.
• State reading and writing standards that include new literacies
• State reading and writing assessments that include new literacies
• School leaders and policymakers committed to advocating the use of ICTs
for teaching and learning
• Equal access to ICTs for all classrooms and all students

Page 7
 BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS
MODULE THE CURRICULUM

Teachers need to engage students in a variety of activities that allow them to practice
and perfect other skills.

Source: https://teachallreachall.weebly.com/new-age-new-literacies-new-ways-of-educating-
students.html

It is our duty as teachers to help create and shape the future citizens of our nation.
To survive in this ever changing technological world, we need to be able to
Access, interpret, analyze, evaluate and weigh information portrayed in multiple
mediums. The ultimate goal and necessity not only for students but for teachers as well,
is to become a critical thinker and reader.

Different Types of Literacy

Page 8
 BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS
MODULE THE CURRICULUM

The demands of teachers being technologically literate are constantly increasing as

technology changes. Additionally, teachers need to develop their technology,
pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK).
This framework recognizes that teachers should integrate technological knowledge
with subject matter learning, rather than focusing only on technological knowledge at
the expense of appropriate pedagogy or the content.

This framework also promotes the understanding that teaching with technology
requires a whole other set of pedagogical skills and that each program, tool, and
piece of software requires different genre knowledge.
At the same time, while technological knowledge is important, it is not necessarily a
prerequisite or even a predictor of who will integrate technology.
Other challenges noted in the literature relate to planning and establishing a
classroom culture that supports creative designing as part of learning.

Classrooms and schools are not typically organized in ways that allow for the easy
use of technology for instruction.
Many teachers report that using technology is more elaborate and time-consuming
than more traditional teaching practices, and they do not feel they have an adequate
amount of time to teach with technology or to plan for how to teach with it.

Develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology;

 Build intentional cross-cultural connections and relationships with others so

to pose and solve problems collaboratively and strengthen independent
thought;
 Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of
purposes.
 Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous
information;
 Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts;
 Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex
environments. (NCTE, 2013)
 Culturally relevant literacy is vital to ensuring that students receive the
quality education that they deserve.
 Demonstrate cultural competence, the understanding that their own
worldview and understandings may or may not align with those of their
students.

Page 9
 BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES ACROSS
MODULE THE CURRICULUM

Every teacher is a teacher of literacy: Literacy across the curriculum

What is true of all schools, however, is that the best way to improve literacy is
neither extravagant nor exotic; it is always simple and it is always concerned
with the fundamentals.
Each school should:
 Involve all teachers and demonstrate how they are all engaged in using
language to promote learning in their subject.
 Identify the particular needs of all pupils in reading, writing, speaking and
listening.
 Plan for the longer term, emphasizing the integral relationship between
language for learning and effective teaching in all subjects.
 What’s also true of all schools is that literacy learning should:
 Be enjoyable, motivating and challenging.
 Be actively engaging.
 Activate prior learning, secure understanding and provide opportunities to
apply skills.
 Literacy across the curriculum in all schools should also operate across
three domains: speaking and listening, reading, and writing.

In order for our pupils to be literate, we need to:

 Activate prior knowledge in order to build on what pupils already know.
 Model in order to make language conventions and processes explicit.
 Scaffold in order to support pupils’ first attempts and build confidence.
 Explain in order to clarify and exemplify the best ways of working.
 Question in order to probe, draw out and extend pupils’ thinking.
 Explore in order to encourage critical thinking.
 Discuss and engage in dialogue in order to shape and challenge developing
ideas.

REFERENCE
https://teachallreachall.weebly.com/new-age-new-literacies-new-ways-of-
educating-students.html
http://newliteracy605.weebly.com/characteristic-1.html
https://learningwithnewliteracies.weebly.com/
https://www.readingrockets.org/article/new-literacies

VIDEO LINKS
https://youtu.be/Da4D43K2ahA
https://youtu.be/FxyKHp47EnQ
https://youtu.be/O35n_tvOK74

Page 10