Is reading and writing enough?
If you put “literacy” in Google search, the first thing that comes up is its definition.
The definition from Merriam-Webster reads as follows, “the ability to read and write.” There is also another definition that states, “knowledge that relates to a specified subject.”
When I asked my roommate, who is an English major, what literacy is she said, “being able to read and write.” What does that mean though?
By definition it means that if I can write my ABCs and read then I am literate. For the most part, most of my friends’ and my high school education was structured as you read this and answer these questions and viola you are literate in this subject, or you get lectured on this specific content and you memorize what it means then you regurgitate that on the test or quiz
I do remember that once I got to my AP Language course being asked to look at multi-modal pieces and asked to analyze them and I remember it being incredibly difficult for me because it was out of my comfort zone.
In Nick Sousanis’ Unflattening, he uses comics to redefine literacy. He argues that we are trained to see literacy in this flat, one-dimensional way (p.10). Much like most of my high school career where I sat at a desk, read a book, and answered questions.
Instead, Sousanis argues that literacy is much more dynamic than that and we need to open our eyes to the possibility that literacy is multi-dimensional (p. 146–152). So, by defining literacy as being able to read and write, we are hindering students’ ability to learn. With the world getting more and more digital being able to analyze and synthesize information from different modes is becoming increasingly important.
According to the NWEA, “Studies investigating new literacies for online research and comprehension indicate significant differences in the skill sets required for literacy in the offline and online environments.” That means that to be literate in the 21st century where the digital age is taking over, students need a different set of skills than just being able to read and write. This same study points out that just because students seem to understand how to use technology it doesn’t mean they are literate in technology. So, educators need to find ways to teach that allow students to become literate in technology as well as reading and writing and not assume that just because students can use Google that they can weed out the unnecessary and find exactly what they are looking for.
An article in The Guardian talks about Belisle’s three models for literacy, the functional, socio-cultural, and transformational. The functional refers to the practical skills needed to function in society, socio-cultural says that literacy will only be useful within the social context, and the transformational states that a new way to see the world becomes achievable when new cognitive processes start being used.
Based on this theory, to be literate in today’s society you need to be able to utilize objects, such as technology, to be able to function in society. Technology is how everyone communicates these days so being literate in technology along with reading and writing will allow you to be useful in society today. Finally, we need to look at literacy in a more dynamic way that uses different cognitive processes than just reading and writing so as to see the world differently and be able solve real-world problems.
The definition of what being literate is has been evolving and becoming less about reading and writing and more about being able to explain what is going on in the world around us and developing skill sets that allow us to solve real-world problems. The world is not static; it changes on a daily basis, so why should the way we think about it or teach it be static.
In conclusion, reading and writing are not enough anymore for a student to be literate, he/she will need to be able to develop skills to analyze and synthesize multi-modal information in the classroom and apply those skills to real-world problems. For them to do that teachers will have to start looking at literacy like Sousanis does as dynamic and multi-dimensional.
References:
Anyangwe, E. (2012, May 15). 20 ways of thinking about digital literacy in higher education. Retrieved July 01, 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2012/may/15/digital-literacy-in-universities
Lincicum, S. (2014, November 20). Redefining Literacy. Retrieved July 01, 2016, from https://www.nwea.org/blog/2014/redefining-literacy/
Literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved July 01, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literacy
Sousanis, N. (2015). Unflattening. Canada.
