Technology and Literacy in the 21st Century
What does it mean to be literate in the 21st century? This question is very complex and heavily packed with terms that are hard to define. The word “literate” has always been a word that has multiple accepted and valid answers. The National Council of Teachers of English defines literacy as, “ a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy.” This definition places an emphasis on how literacy changes which time, playing directly into the second portion of the question which addresses the current 21st century. So, if literacy is a constantly evolving and changing idea, what is it in the 21st century? This article will talk about how 21st century literature is the use of valued text and language in cultural spaces to learn, communicate, participate, and use technology in social practices.
Under this huge tree of being literate in the 21st century falls several key ideas. The first is the idea of developing relationships with others and confronting and solving problems collaboratively and cross-culturally. The saying, “the world gets smaller and smaller everyday,” is directly correlated with this change in what it means to be literate. When technology grow to the point that you can literally talk face to face with someone all the way across Earth in a matter of minutes, that calls for collaboration. In the 21st century you should be able to collaborate with other no matter what culture they or you are. This means working together who might not share your personal beliefs to solve a common problem you both have. This is important in the 21st century because the world is such a connected place, allowing cultures to interact with each other in a way never done before.
The second idea under this tree of 21st century literature is the ability to manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information. This idea also comes with the rise of technology, as students today have more at their fingerprints with the use of the internet than anyone has ever had. That means that the way society works is that information is somewhat thrown at people and they are expected to be able to multitask. In the journal of Adolescent Literacy, Roswell and Burke say that, “Some scholars in the field suggest that digital reading involves a different logic and set of practices governed by multimodality. In this context, multimodality is defined as an understanding of different modes of communication (visual, acoustic, spatial) working together without one being dominant” (Roswell, Burke 106). This idea presented shows how digital reading, the future of reading in classrooms, requires students to use multiple ways to gather the information.
To be literate in the 21st century also calls for being able to create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts. This is seemingly one of the most important things for people to be able to do, as the rise of fake news precedes itself. This is also crucial for students who not only need to know how to choose reliable resources for their research and knowledge seeking, but also in real life situations such as politics. PBS wrote an article addressing this issue, saying, “Lawmakers in several states have introduced or passed bills calling on public school systems to do more to teach media literacy skills that they say are critical to democracy.” This direct quote shows just how dire it is for valuable members of society to be able to accurately and efficiently access sources that are truthful and not skewed with lies and personal agendas. Edutopia also writes, “In preparing children to be literate in today’s world, it’s urgent that we teach the skill of scoping websites with a critical eye. Kids need to be explicitly trained in spotting everything from blatant pseudo-facts to slightly questionable content. This ability to “filter” will be required of them in both university and work.” On top of being able to find credible services, one should be able to take these sources and effectively evaluate them. That means knowing how to find the most information as well as being able to take your sources and turn them into other sources. This could be seen in looking in the references of a article to dive further into the research.
The final thing being talked about in this article that is crucial to being literate in the 21st century is the ability to gain proficiency with tools of technology. As people living in the technological age, it is obvious that one of the most important parts to being literate would be to be proficient with technology. This can be seen in the large shift from paper to a paperless society. This can be seen in ebooks, emails, and even classrooms. In the majority of school districts around the United States, Google classroom has become widely used. This development allows students to electronically issue all assignments and work while also allowing the student to submit any work without ever using any paper. Outside of the classroom, this is also crucial, as almost all types of jobs require you to be proficient in some type of technology, and technology is always changing. Also falling under this subcategory of 21st century literature is the ability to use technology to solve problems. An easy example of this would be looking up an article or video on how to change the oil in a car.
In conclusion, being literate in the 21st century is essential to being a productive member of society. These ideas centered around technology are so important to the future of society and in particular education. Warner writes, “In the span of just twenty years, schools in the United States have moved from an ethos of fear and a place of scarcity when it came to technology integration to acceptance and celebration. In fact, technology in some places is regarded as a cure-all for what ails low-income and rural schools” (Warner 34). 21st century literacy is the ability to function in a growing and ever changing society that is based in technology.
References:
Alber, Rebecca. “Deeper Learning: Defining Twenty-First Century Literacy.” Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation, www.edutopia.org/blog/twenty-first-century-literacy-deeper-learning-rebecca-alber.
“The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies.” NCTE, 25 Oct. 2017, www2.ncte.org/statement/21stcentdefinition/.
Foley, Ryan J. “Spread of Fake News Prompts Literacy Efforts in Schools.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 31 Dec. 2017, www.pbs.org/newshour/education/spread-of-fake-news-prompts-literacy-efforts-in-schools.
Warner, Julie. Adolescents’ New Literacies with and through Mobile Phones. Peter Lang Publishing Inc. New York, 2017.
Roswell, & Burke. (n.d.). Reading by Design: Two Case Studies of Digital Reading Practices. New York, NY: International Reading Association.
