New Literacy

Blog Post – New Literacy


While reading the article, Toward A Theory of New Literacies…., I began to wonder what it means to be considered literate in today’s context. I realize that it is no longer limited to the ability to comprehended print or text. As stated in the article, the definition of literacy has moved far beyond the ability to decode words and interact with text. It now includes the ability to interface with the electronic environment. Therefore, classroom practices are no longer defined by pencil, paper and book technology alone; now there are web logs, word processors, web browses, e-mail and so on. Literacy instructions today must assist and equip students to the rapidly changing information and communication technologies.

The article points out that literacy has always been influenced by the demands of life. In ancient times literacy was used mainly to record business transactions, record taxes and spread religious dogma. In many countries however, governments denied the citizens the chance to become literate as a means of subduing them. They thought that literacy would influence the people to disobedience and heresy. Democracy has changed all that. True democracy requires literate citizenry who can make informed and intelligent decisions. Globalization and economic competition and the emergence of the internet have forced governments to put provisions in place to better prepare the citizens for the future challenges.

Here in the U.S.A. the NCLB act stipulates that all children should be proficient in reading and math within twelve years. It also speaks to narrowing the ‘digital divide’ by stating that by 8th grade, students should also be technologically literate. The role of teachers in all of this is one of facilitator. No longer do teachers just dispense literacy skills. The teachers’ and students’ roles in the classroom are sometimes reversed as teachers will not always be the most literate persons in the classroom. The article reiterates that although the new literacy has changed classroom practices, it still rests on the foundational literacy. It does not replace it. Therefore phonemic awareness, word recognition, decoding and vocabulary knowledge and so on are still very critical.

New literacy, says the article, provides us with the skills, strategies and disposition to interface with technology. Technology and literacy are interdependent. However, because technology changes so rapidly, its main limitations are our ability to adapt and ‘acquire the new literacies that emerge’. I truly can identify with the final statement because my limited technological abilities have certainly hindered me from accessing many opportunities.