The New Illiteracy

Can you express yourself? Could you teach your child how? The fact that you are reading this article makes these questions ridiculous — of course you can. We spend our days expressing our opinions through emails, reports and articles, and by discussing matters. While doing this, we probably also learn a few new things and reflect on issues that are important to us. We might even have a completely new idea. Written and verbal communication is crucial to make sense of things, and to change them. If you cannot express yourself properly, you are vastly disadvantaged, an illiterate.

Recently, my husband and I went to dinner along with our five year-old son. Our boy had already eaten so I brought two books for him to read at the restaurant. Halfway through dinner, one of the servers came to our table and said, “I just wanted to let you know that I think your boy is so lucky. I see families here every day, but they all give their kids smartphones and tablets. Nobody brings books anymore. I can tell your son is getting a good education.”

At first I glowed from the unexpected compliment, but soon I started thinking. Was it true that just because our son had a couple of books instead of an iPad, he was at an educational advantage? Not only do I love playing with my son on our iPad, but in this case my husband and I were paying as little if not less attention to our son and his books than the other parents whose kids had tablets.

The way I see it, the server was mistaken — and she is not alone. Many people vilify parents who let their children play with technology. But the issue is more nuanced. What the child does with the technology is more important than how much he or she is allowed to use it.

It is reasonable to assume that very soon, if not already, children with dreams and ideas wishing to be heard will be using technology — software tools, programming languages, and hardware, as their main creative outlet. Being able to write and speak clearly and convincingly will still be as important as ever, but those are only two tools in a vastly expanded tool kit. Today children no longer have to be passive consumers of YouTube videos and commercial apps. Kids as young as five can make their own video games in real programming languages. They can record original music and make movies. They can simulate complex systems, tinker with microscopic worlds, and get a visceral feeling for otherwise abstract concepts. They can invent objects, 3D print them, and share it all by uploading a video to a chorus of global feedback. They can write and publish their own fan-fiction, and join a community of global writers. But only if they know how.

As a Digital Media graduate student I spend my days thinking about two things: how can we provide access to the low-cost and high-quality tools of modern expression, and how can we teach people to invent, create and learn with these tools throughout life?

Those of us feeling confident because we know how to use every app on our smartphones should consider two big questions. Can I build something of significance with my technology? Can I create something new?

In a world where creative expression is inextricably linked to technology, many of us are the new illiterates.

Illiteracy is a sensitive topic, and the silence on the issue may be a measure our the fear and guilt we feel. For instance, can you make a very simple app for your Android phone, or a small program on your computer within a reasonable time frame? Would you be able to edit and publish a short video documentary? Do you know any programming languages? Do you know how to animate a moving stick figure or compose music on your laptop? Can you upload your child’s digital creations to a place where they can get feedback and learn from each other? Can you edit a photo to today’s standards? Do you know how to find and make meaning of big data sets? Can you visualize the results? Can you program a simple robot to follow a straight line? Do you know how to simulate a system — or the trajectory of a football? If you were given a 3D printer, could you use it meaningfully?

More importantly, do you know how to learn how to do these things? Do your child’s teachers know? It’ is a problem — and an opportunity, that comes with extremely rapid developments in technology. Kids today are able to make and learn things that were impossible ten years ago because they now have the tools — tools that most parents and teachers never had access to. But children need someone to show them how.

So what are we to do? In a way, unlike the digital divide (which is about poverty and access to quality education in general) this is a problem that might improve with the passing of time. Next generation parents and teachers will be better equipped to understand the importance of learning how to learn, and therefore they’ll be more prepared to keep pace with technological developments.

Until then, we can look to our own interests and take it upon ourselves to learn a basic tech skill in a field, and perhaps learn together with our kids. Online, free, self-paced education is widely available, www.edX.org is a good place to start. Beginner courses in digital photography, software development, illustration, robotics, digital storytelling, big data, biotech, visualization, environmental systems, videography, writing for online, and hundreds of other topics are being taught for free by some of the best schools in the world. With relatively little effort, you’ll gain access to some very useful, fun and powerful technologies.

A final note on the digital divide. Many children living in or near poverty lack the access to the teachers and technological tools that they have a right to. It is a devastating problem for individual families and it will hold back our entire society until we get serious about equalizing opportunity. It is a topic that deserves it’s own article, and what I discuss above is a more subtle issue. It is the difference between starvation and poor nutrition. Countless people are starving, and we need to get them food, any food — now. At the same time, millions of others are malnourished due to poor nutritional choices amidst overflowing grocery isles.

We cannot fix malnourishment by just rolling in a convoy of calories, just as we cannot become fluent in useful technologies by playing Candy Crush — it is a more complex problem. Likewise, what I discuss above is a general illiteracy that spans all economic strata. It is a malnourishment that is not only about the ability to find a job in the new economy, but about being able to express oneself and build the things we’ll need. Technological illiteracy will be like a lone musician on a large stage, not knowing how to hook up the amplifiers. The idea of music will be there, but no one will get to hear it. If we can’t express ourselves through the media people use, how are we going to put our mark on the world?