What does it mean to be literate in the 21st century?

As teachers in the 21st century it is imperative that we are aware of the changing times our students are encountering. Students today have so much information at their fingertips it can sometimes be hard to sort through what is relevant to them and what can be dismissed. To me being literate in the 21st century means having the ability to differentiate between relevant/important information and then having the ability to craft a unique, individual perspective from this information and effectively communicate it to others. There are many steps teachers themselves can take to encourage the building of these 21st century skills in the classroom. We as teachers can help students incorporate their own affinity spaces into the classroom, we can incorporate social media use into our classrooms, and most importantly we can implement more technology as a whole for students to use in order to cultivate their 21st century skills.

In order to encourage 21st century literacy it is imperative that we teach our students the 21st century skills they need. The Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21) developed a framework for teachers to implement into their classrooms in order to develop set 21st century skills. In the image below “ the P21 Framework represents both 21st century student outcomes (as represented by the arches of the rainbow) and support systems (as represented by the pools at the bottom)” (P21, 2018). Working with students to increase these 4 key dimensions will allow them to develop their 21st century skills to promote 21st century literacy.

The video below gives a better explanation of these skills and how they can be implemented into a school district environment. In this video the P21 framework is better explained as well as tips on how to implement this framework into a school system.

Once we have taken the time to foster these 21st century skills in our students we can then move further into allowing our students to become digital learners through the use of affinity spaces. According to Jen Scott Curwood “affinity spaces are physical, virtual, or blended spaces where people interact around a common interest or activity” (2013, pg. 417). Teachers can use these affinity spaces in order to encourage students participation in class. If a student is interested in what the teacher is talking about then the teacher will have that students attention. These affinity spaces can be anything whether it’s a book like The Hunger Games as Curwood discusses or if it’s an online digital platform like Webkinz as discussed in a 2009 article by Roswell & Burke. This article showed how students can truly open up when they are placed in their correct affinity space. Being literate in the 21st century is having the ability to navigate these affinity spaces while following the correct rules and conventions for these areas. By allowing students to incorporate their own affinity spaces into the classroom you are allowing them to create a “third space”. This concept was coined by Elizabeth Moje in her 2004 article Working toward the third space in content area literacy: An examination of everyday funds of knowledge and Discourse. The “third space” is the combination of “the first space” or a students home life and the “second space” or a students school life (Moje, 2004). By creating this “third space” you allow students to bring their outside knowledge into the classroom. Students can learn how to process information they may be seeing on twitter, instagram, facebook, parents, friends, etc… and hence utilize their 21st century literacy skills.

An especially crucial affinity space for almost every student in today’s schools is social media. Rather than fight against the use of social media in the classroom, teachers can instead use it to their advantage. According to an article by the Digital Citizen Foundation students can utilize Twitter in the classroom as a form of communication, organization, writing skills and education exercises (Watanabe-Crockett, 2014). Teachers can use twitter to allow students to ask them questions about material they are learning, have students question and respond to one another, have students respond to material presented in class and so much more.

In the first image above, the teacher is using twitter as a form of communicating with their students. Twitter is the perfect spot to post reminders for students, encourage student work, and give instructions for things like projects. In the second image above the teacher is using twitter as a form of discussion and question and answer. Students can ask questions they may have about their assignments and get an almost immediate answer. This encourages student participation in class.

Lastly, it is imperative to utilize technology in our schools and classrooms. Many schools have become one to one with every student having a Chromebook or tablet. If utilized correctly, teachers can turn these technologies into awesome classroom tools! Things like google drive can encourage collaboration and innovation between students. Programs like Kahoot and SurveyMonkey can give teachers easy ways to present formative assessments to their students. Tools such as 3D printers and online lab programs can give students a more hands on approach to their learning. Teachers can also encourage student creativity and step away from the traditional summative assessments. Allowing students to utilize these technologies in the classroom encourages their development of 21st century literacy. It is up to the teachers to foster these abilities in students through correct and informative technological use. In the video below released by Pearson, York County school teachers discuss what collaboration through technology has done for their students in the classroom.

It is imperative to encourage student development of 21st century literacy skills. There are many steps teachers themselves can take to encourage the building of these 21st century skills in the classroom. We as teachers can help students incorporate their own affinity spaces into the classroom, we can incorporate social media use into our classrooms, and most importantly we can implement more technology as a whole for students to use in order to cultivate their 21st century skills. Through these skills students will be able to prosper throughout school and into the world beyond.

References:

A. (n.d.). Framework for 21st Century Learning. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/about-us/p21-framework

Scott Curwood, J. (2013). The Hunger Games: Literature, Literacy, and Online Affinity Spaces. Language Arts, 90(6).

Rowsell, J., & Burke, A. (2009). Reading by Design: Two Case Studies of Digital Reading Practices. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(2), 106–118. doi:10.1598/jaal.53.2.2

Moje, E. B., Ciechanowski, K. M., Kramer, K., Ellis, L., Carrillo, R., & Collazo, T. (2004). Working toward third space in content area literacy: An examination of everyday funds of knowledge and Discourse. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(1), 38–70. doi:10.1598/rrq.39.1.4

Watanabe-Crockett, L. (2018, July 20). The Critical 21st Century Skills Every Student Needs and Why. Retrieved from https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/21st-century-skills-every-student-needs