Literacy in an Innovative World
What does literacy mean to you? When I was first posed this question, I immediately thought of the definition of literacy: to be able to read and write. I thought to myself, could the definition really be that simple? The longer and deeper I delved into my thoughts I realized the question was much trickier. The context of literacy is constantly changing. The definition of literacy is different based on who you ask. Also, there are so many different types of literacy. As I researched and discussed what all literacy meant, a new question arose: What does it mean to be literate in the 21st century? To be literate in the 21st century means to be literate in a multitude of ways. To be literate in the 21st century one must not only know how to read and write print texts, but also have the skills, understanding, and open-minded to innovation. Innovation is key. For the means of this post, innovation will specifically mean the changes and advancements of technology.
To understand literacy in the 21st century, we must first understand the innovative, digital society that we live in. In the digital age of today, the Internet is key. Students have access starting as early as elementary school to search the web for anything and everything their heart desires. Rebecca Alber (2013), an instructor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education, wrote that “It [the Internet] undoubtedly gives access to an unending wealth of information and has revolutionized our lives.” Thanks to the Internet, students do not learn solely from written mediums or texts. A lot of what they learn comes from social media or affinity spaces, that function as texts. So,we must understand that the word “text” can be used to describe anything that conveys a meaning. A text does not only encompass, for example, print-based texts like textbook anymore. A text could be a graph, picture, video, song, or a multitude of other things. This means that our society today is multimodal, which Alber (2013) defines as “using more than one medium of expression or creation to communicate.” Since the Internet has revolutionized our lives, it has also undoubtedly altered the definition of literacy and the way students learn.
To be literate in the 21st century, one must possess the skills to operate within our digital society. This means that one must be “digitally literate.” You might be thinking that since I am “literate,” meaning I know how to read and write then I must also be “digitally literate.” However, this might not be the case. According to Jennifer Rowsell and Anne Burke (2009), the reading path of printed texts versus digital texts vary greatly. By this they mean that the “reading path of printed texts is well established… and the trajectory is linear” and with “digital texts, the reading path is to-be-constructed” (p. 107). So even though one might be able to read and write they must also be able to operate within the norms of digital texts to be considered literate in the 21st century.
Another example of being “digitally literate” means that one must know the rhetoric of technology. My Grandmother always says that technology is taking over our lives! In a sweet old lady voice, of course. But, I do not think that is necessarily a bad thing. Technology can be used as a tool, especially in a school setting. However, for technology to be used as a tool and not as a distraction one must possess the skills to work with it. To understand the rhetoric of technology, one should make the effort to keep up with the continuous transformation. An example of this is illustrated in Julie Warner’s book “Adolescents’ New Literacies with and through Mobile Phones” (2017). Warner argued it is important to understand the architecture and affordances of digital media. Students today can easily understand the architecture and affordances of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, for example. So it is especially important for schools and teachers to be literate in these senses as well. To be considered literate in the 21st century, you must be “digitally literate” by possessing the skills to adapt to change.
Although someone might possess the skills to be literate in the 21st century, one must also understand the constantly changing nature of technology. Since information is not just presented as printed text anymore, we must understand that the definition of “literacy” and “text” will be forever changing. In a YouTube video published by Reading Rockets (2016), Lisa Guernsey explained how it is important for students to be able to make sense of information in all forms. This can be done in a classroom by the teacher allowing various technological devices to be used so students gain knowledge about a variety of devices. Understanding innovation and technology is key to being literate in the 21st century, but there is something even more crucial to being considered literate in our digital society.
To be literate in the 21st century, one must be impartial and open-minded to technological advancements. It has already been established that technology is constantly changing and improving. To go hand-in-hand with that, one’s mind must remain open to new ideas and be willing to change along with them. An example of this is best illustrated in an article from Center for Media Literacy where Tessa Jolls argued that “schools and classrooms must be transformed from being storehouses of knowledge to being more like portable tents providing a shelter and a gathering place for students as they out to explore, to question, to experiment, to discover!” A classroom acts as a “portable tent” by providing a flexible learning environment for students, perhaps by incorporating technology into lessons. This means that teachers especially must be open-minded to changes in innovation because printed texts are not the way of the future.
Being literate in the 21st century means far more than being able to solely read and write print texts. In the digital age of today to be considered literate you must have the skills, understanding, and open-mindedness to innovation. Innovation and technology dictate our lives today and as a result of that they also dictate our literacy. As the world and society we will live are constantly changing, our definition of literacy will also constantly change.
Bibliography
Alber, R. (2013, January 21). Deeper Learning: Defining Twenty-First Century Literacy.Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/twenty-first-century-literacy-deeper-learning-rebecca-alber
Burke, A., & Roswell, J. (2009). Reading by Design: Two Case Studies of Digital Reading Practices. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 107.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byzoDZAdzmU
Literacy for the 21st Century: The Hope and the Promise. Retrieved September 21, 2018, from http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/literacy-21st-century-hope-and-promise
Warner, J. (2017). Adolescents’ New Literacies with and through Mobile Phones. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.
