The New Challenges for Literacy in the New Digital Age
Guest Authors: Alana Czurakowska and Wiktoria Choińska
2nd Year Students at the MA in English Philology, University of Białystok, Poland
Only in recent times, has literacy been considered to be something more than reading and writing. However, people still tend to understand the idea of literacy as only these two notions. Literacy is a complex and dynamic term that has undergone several transformations over the course of time and linguistic development. The aims, functions, attitudes, forms, channels, meanings, and uses associated with literacy and the notion of being literate in various situations have reflected these changes (Abdallah, 2008). In the digital era, the concept of literacy has acquired expanded meaning as well as new challenges.
Literacy has a huge impact on everyday life. It is a critical social practice that emerges through daily interactions across cultural contexts. It entails reasoning and constructing effective verbal and written statements based on facts and evidence (Baker et al, 2017). The literacy social practice model is founded on the belief that literacy is also constructed in everyday experiences (Larson & Marsh, 2014). Figure 1 portrays the whole scope of New Literacies.
On the other hand, texting, posting, social networking, podcasting, and video making are examples of “new literacies” that result from new technology. Digital technologies transform and expand our communication capacities by combining text, music, and visuals at once (Watters, 2014). While the younger generation is familiarized with it, the great extent of elderly people is not used to the accumulation of various modes at once.
While talking about the new literacies, it is necessary to mention digital literacy. Namely, it is the capacity to read and comprehend digital information as well as generate them in a variety of digital forms (Green, 2020). Digital literacy manifests itself when the figure’s elements overlap.
To be a valuable member of society, it is necessary to have critical thinking and evaluating skills, as the internet is full of fake news, hackers, and haters. Hague and Payton emphasize that digital literacy should never be viewed as a static idea, but rather as a dynamic combination of tools and practices:
People’s interactions with digital technologies are multiple, rich, and complex; there is a wide array of practices involved in digital literacy. One useful definition for digital literacy is “the constantly changing practices through which people make traceable meanings using digital technologies.” The components above refer to different dimensions of digital literacy; they all support the creation and sharing of meaning and are not separate but mutually reinforce one another. (Hague and Payton 2010:20).
Nowadays, everyone is affected by the rapid developments in technology, however, teenagers and children are at the core of it as they acquire new abilities in an uncontrolled way in order to handle the information and make use of new technologies on a daily basis (Aguaded-Gómez, 2011). By employing technological advances in everyday life, people are exposed to numerous hazards.
In industrialized countries, the era of just employing blackboards and books is rapidly fading. Even the elderly teachers are nowadays challenged to use digital tools while working with the learners. As schools invest in the new technologies, they often implement, for instance, screen-sharing instead of using traditional notes.
Digital solutions are considered to be attention-grabbing and entertaining, but here lies the first challenge. Educators should apply technology responsibly in order to improve their students’ proficiency and avoid being distracted by flashy modern innovations (also known as the “wow” factor) (Clark, 2008). In other words, instructors should not apply digital resources for the sake of using them. The appliance of the new technologies should be deliberately thought-out to serve as a support for the students, not as a distraction.
Another challenge is that in comparison to their instructors, learners have a far higher experience with newly installed equipment in their classrooms. Furthermore, while considerable money is spent on technology, relatively little is spent on training instructors on how to apply it (Clark, 2008). Often, teachers must spend private resources to be more qualified in new technologies.
To use digital solutions the proper network infrastructure is inevitable. Developing, constructing, and maintaining a stable network infrastructure requires a considerable deal of effort and planning since it is required for the successful and safe use of technologies in schools (Patel, 2021). Working with technology may be frustrating or even impossible when the school does not provide fast WiFi.
Literacy is a complex and evolving term that has extended its horizons throughout the years and expanded into new literacies which further developed into the notion of digital literacy. Technology affected every part of daily life, including the teaching process. It brought new possibilities as well as new challenges which are not always easy to overcome. Despite the problems with digital solutions, such advancements are examples of positive ongoing development in the field of literacy and teaching.
References
Abdallah, M. M. S. (2008). “ New Literacies Or New Challenges?”: The Development of the Concept of Literacy in the Context of Information and Communication Technologies and Language Teaching. ERIC Clearinghouse.
Aguaded-Gómez, J. I. (2011). Niños y adolescentes: nuevas generaciones interactivas= Children and Young People: the New Interactive Generations. Niños y adolescentes: nuevas generaciones interactivas= Children and Young People: the New Interactive Generations, 1–4.
Baker, S.K., Turtura, J., & Gearin, B. (2017). Succeeding in school: Essential features of literacy development. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Special Education Programs, National Center on Improving Literacy. Retrieved from http://improvingliteracy.org
Clark, T. D. (2008). The New 21st Century Literacy: Problems and Challenges for the Digital Age. Interfaces, 2(1).
Green, C. L. (2020). Digital literacies and the skills of the digital age. Learning in the Digital Age.
Hague, Cassie, & Payton, S. (2010). Digital literacy across the curriculum, Futurlab
Larson, J., & Marsh, J. (2014). Making literacy real: Theories and practices for learning and teaching. Sage.
Patel, H. (2021, March 28). The 7 greatest challenges facing Education Technology Today. Managed IT Services in Midtown, NY. Retrieved June 1, 2022, from https://www.wpgconsult.com/the-7-greatest-challenges-facing-education-technology-today/
Rowena, R. M. (2016). The QR Code as a Mobile Learning Tool for Labor Room Nurses. San Pablo Colleges Medical Center.
Watters, A. (2014, November 11). New literacies in the classroom. Hack Education. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from http://hackeducation.com/2014/11/11/new-literacies-in-the-classroom
