Introduction-to-21st-Century-Literacies.pptx

Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum

1. Introduction of Key Concepts Prof Educ 110 – BENLAC Dr. Cristie Marie C. Dalisay (Faculty)

2. Literacy Defined by dictionaries as the state of being able to read and write (Literacy , Literate, n.d.) Such traditional definition no longer suffices in the information age, a thorough understanding of literacy and its past nuances will give us a solid foundation in exploring and discussing the “new” literacies of the 21 st century and why possessing them is now mandatory for both teachers and students on all levels of education.

3. Traditional or Conventional Literacy The word “literacy” stems from the word “literate” which first appeared in the 15 th century and is in turn derived from the Latin word litteratus , meaning “(a person) marked with letters” – that is, “distinguished or identified by the letters”-and it carried with it the idea that such a person was cultured and educated.

4. Miller (1973) divides this conventional concept of literacy into three sub-categories: Basic Literacy – it is the ability to correspond visual shapes to spoken sounds in order to decode written materials and translate them into oral language. Simply put, it is ability to recognize letters and words. This would be akin to recognizing that the sequence of letters “b-a-s-a” forms the word basa in Filipino, even without understanding what it means. Comprehension Literacy – it is the ability to understand the meaning of what is being read. To capitalize on the example above, this would be like knowing that basa can mean either “to read” or “to be wet”. Functional or Practical Literacy – it is the ability to read (i.e., decode and comprehend) written materials needed to perform everyday vocational tasks. This is the equivalent of reading the text “Ang bata ay nagbabasa ” and being able to understand that basa here refers to reading and not being wet.

5. Expanded Views of Literacy - Roberts (1995) notes that “in the past fifty years, hundreds of definitions of ‘literacy’ have been advanced by scholars, adult literacy workers, and programme planners,” with even the United Nations educational, scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2006) acknowledging that literacy as a concept has proven to be complex and dynamic, it being continually defined and interpreted in multiple ways. In 2004, UNESCO formally defined literacy as “the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society. Note that “reading” does not appear in UNESCO’s definition of literacy. Instead, literacy has taken on a definition more akin to “knowing about something and what to do with it.” This shift in the definition of literacy from “reading and writing” to ‘knowledge” is especially important as we explore the “new” literacies of the 21 st century that seem far-removed from the contexts upon which conventional literacy is based.

6. Literacy in the 21 st Century New Literacies arose from the increasing availability of communication technologies that were once unavailable to the average individual. Technologies like blogging and vlogging, social networking, and even text-messaging change and expand both the extent and the form of our communication blending text, sound and images in ways unforeseen and unprecedented (Richardson, 2014). Simply put, three things have been critical in the rise of the new literacies: Increase Reach – We are communicating with more people, from more diverse cultures, across vaster distances than ever before. Increased Means of Communication – We are communicating in more ways and at faster speeds than ever before. Increased Breadth of Content – We are communicating about more things than ever before.

7. Wrap Up Traditional Literacy is the ability to read and write. The traditional or conventional concept of literacy can be divided into sub-categories: Basic Literacy, which is the ability to recognize letters and words; Comprehension Literacy, which is the ability to understand the meaning of what is being read; and Functional/Practical Literacy, which is the ability to read written materials needed to perform everyday vocational tasks. Modern views of literacy equate it with knowledge. New literacies have risen due to increased reach, increased means of communication, and increased breadth of content. These new literacies are globalization and multicultural literacy, social and financial literacy, media and cyber/digital literacy, ecoliteracy , artistic and creative literacy, and critical literacy.

8. Early Literacy/Emergent Literacy

9. Early Literacy: Policy and Practice in the Preschool Years As early childhood education moves front and center in the public policy debate, more attention is being paid to early literacy. Early childhood professionals have long recognized the importance of language and literacy in preparing children to succeed in school. Early literacy plays a key role in enabling the kind of early learning experiences that research shows are linked with academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates and enhanced productivity in adult life. This report synthesizes the body of professional knowledge about early literacy and offers research-based recommendations.

10. Basic Literacy Basic Literacy refers to a type of knowledge that is expected to be known by everyone in a particular field. In the world today, people expect everyone to know basics of conventional literacy that is to know how to read and write. For example, everyone is expected to know how to read and write as a basic literacy skill.

11. Basic Literacy Skills (a) Initial Literacy – A type of literacy that looks at the time or stage an individual learns or is expected to learn the basics or the process of acquiring basic skills in a particular field such as reading and writing in a particular language. It is a critical foundation of conventional literacy as it has to do with knowing expected skills in a conventional manner.   (b) Critical literacy – A type of literacy that involves interpreting a piece more than mere piece of work such as determining what effect a writer is attempting to bring about in readers, why he or she is making that effort and just who those readers are. According to (Freire, 1970) Critical Literacy looks at the teaching of critical consciousness skills relating to an individual’s ability to perceive social, political, and economic oppression and to take action against the oppressive elements of society. Critical literacy involves the analysis and critique of the relationships among texts, language, power, social groups and social practices.

12. (c) Film Literacy – skills and abilities possessed by an individual to practice the art and craft of film making and its processes. Processing the messages packaged in films is also a form of film literacy. (d) Teaching literacy – A form of literacy that focuses on an individual’s abilities to teach effectively in a particular subject matter. He or she understand the craft of teaching and the necessities that can be applied for an effective teacher. (e) Computer Literacy – A type of literacy that look at an individual’s knowledge and ability to use computers and technology efficiently. It includes the comfort level someone has in using computer programs and other applications that are associated with computers.

13. (f) Technological literacy – This form of literacy refer to an individual’s ability to use technology tools to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create and communicate information. It also extends to the knowledge possessed to create or develop technology related products in a broad sense. This includes to that look at technological issues. (g) Information Literacy – A type or type of literacy that look at the ability to recognize the extent and nature of the information needed, to locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information in the manner that would befit it. It constitutes the abilities to recognize when information is needed and to locate, evaluate, effectively use, and communicate information in its various formats. A person is said to be information literate if they are able to recognize when the information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. Information literacy has to do with knowing when and why you need information, where to find it, and how to evaluate, use and communicate it in an ethical manner, implies knowing several skills.

14. (h) Media Literacy – A type of literacy similar to information literacy that look at an individual’s ability to understand information or read information from the different media by filtering or sifting through and analyzing the messages that inform, edutain and sell to us everyday. Media literacy is having the ability to bring critical thinking skills to bear on all media; from music videos and web environments to product placement in films and virtual displays on billboards   ( i ) Visual Literacy – A type of literacy that deal with an individual’s ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an images, graphic designs and other visuals aspects. Visual literacy is based on the idea that pictures can be “read” and that meaning can be communicated through a process of reading. It is an instance of Visual Memory: retaining a “picture” of what a word or object looks like and how to make sense out of it.