Take a quick tour around the education systems of the world and you’ll increasingly hear talk of ‘21st century skills’ (the USA and the UK), ‘new media literacies’ (the USA), ‘digital literacy skills’ (Australia) and, perhaps more commonly, discussions to ensure that learners acquire the ‘digital competences’ (Norway and Spain, to name but a couple) they will need in an ever-more connected world, and workplace. But just what are these ‘new’ literacies?
An umbrella term for the media literacy skills and digital competences which appear in national curricula, digital literacies refer to our ability to effectively make use of the technologies at our disposal. We are not just talking about a checklist of technical skills, but also about the social practices that surround the use of new media. So not just knowing how to create a blog entry, but knowing how to use this to connect with a wider community of readers and writers, and what sort of online persona one projects though one's post. Not just knowing how to upload photos to Flickr (a photo sharing site), but knowing whether to publish them under a Creative Commons license and what this implies in terms of digital rights and usage.
A digital literacy taxonomy
In our 2014 book Digital Literacies (co-written with Nicky Hockly and Dr. Mark Pegrum) we explore these new literacies in detail, offering a range of practical ideas of how they can be developed in the English language classroom. We also attempt a taxonomy of the new literacies by breaking them down into four main areas: those with a focus on language, on connections, on information, and on (re)design:
A detailed look at each literacy is beyond the scope of this brief article, but here is a brief overview:
A focus on language: print and texting literacies, mobile, gaming, hypertext, code
Here we start with the basics of literacy (print) and numeracy, and supplement them with more modern genres such as texting and mobile literacy. Whilst print literacy is a familiar typology, texting literacy remains the domain of regular mobile phone users and is much maligned in educational circles for the supposedly negative effect it is having on literacy. In fact, as David Crystal points out, "typically less than 10 percent of the words in text messages are actually abbreviated in any way". We also include hypertext literacy – the ability to navigate complex sets of linked information, gaming literacy - the ability to understand and work with games and game-like systems, and code literacy – the ability to manipulate and change data, rather than simply consuming it.
A focus on connections: personal, participatory, network and intercultural literacies
These literacies come to the forefront in social networking spaces and other online media. They may include blogs (personal literacy) and wikis (participatory), as well as social networks such as Facebook (network). In such spaces users not only write about themselves and their lives, but also participate in wide social groupings that transcend geographical, religious and ethnic boundaries (intercultural literacy).
A focus on information: search, information and tagging literacies
In many ways, these are three of the most important literacies for any learner to acquire - the ability not only to find information amongst the mass of sites and sources afforded by technologies, but also to evaluate that information and to store it for later retrieval. These literacies are key to success in any of the other areas.
A focus on (re)design: remix literacy
Clearly, then, this is a complicated mix of skills to master, and teachers can play a part in helping learners acquire some of the necessary skills by integrating them into their classroom practice alongside the regular 'content' they deal with. In this way we can make a difference in our learners' comfort level, helping them beyond the 'tech comfy' to the 'tech savvy' which will contribute to their life beyond the classroom, in the professional workplace and in our (increasingly) knowledge-based economies.
Digital literacies in the language classroom?
What has this got to do with language teaching, you may be asking yourself. Well, everything. Quite apart from the emphasis put on lifelong learning and the acquisition of ICT skills in all areas of education in many countries in Europe, we are teachers of the language of global communication. And that communication is increasingly digitally mediated. If our learners are to be fully functional citizens in the 21st century, they need digital skills. We can promote these skills in parallel with teaching English. Digital skills and English can help many of our adult learners get ahead in the workplace, or prepare our younger learners for better future job opportunities. And equally important, they can make our classes a lot more relevant and interesting in the here and now. According to Henry Jenkins (2009):
“What students do in their online lives has nothing to do with what they are learning in school, and what they are learning in school has little or no value to contribute to who they are once the bell rings.”
By integrating digital literacy work into our English classes, we can make them a little more relevant to who are learners are once they are outside the school environment.
References:
Crystal, D. (2008) On the Myth of Texting, [ https://www.visualthesaurus.com:443/cm/wc/david-crystal-on-the-myth-of-texting/ ]
Jenkins. H. (2009) ‘Geeking out’ for democracy. Confessions of an Aca-Fan. [ http://henryjenkins.org/2009/05/geeking_out_for_democracy_part_1.html ]
What to read next:
- Gavin Dudeney: 21st Century Skills and Digital Literacies in Action http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/gavin-dudeney-21st-century-skills-digital-literacy-action
- Dudeney, G., Hockly, N., & Pegrum, M. (2014): Digital Literacies. Routledge.