Unit 1

BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES

ACROSS CURRICULUM
Module 1. Introduction to 21st Century Literacies
Lesson 1. Traditional or Conventional Literacy
Lesson 2. Expanded Views of Literacy
Lesson 3. Literacy in the 21st Century

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BUILDING AND ENHANCING

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 NEW LITERACIES ACROSS CURRICULUM

INTRODUCTION
Module 1 explores several definition of literacy and what being literate
means in the multiplicity of contexts in the 21st century, with the goal of
raising awareness in readers who might be presently unaware of the evolving
perspective on literacy. It also gives them the opportunity to pause and reflect
on their own literacies even as they attempt to teach the new literacies to their
students.

OBJECTIVES

After studying the module, you should be able to develop a clear and
practical understanding of the following:
1. definitions of conventional; and
2. expanded views of literacy in the 21st century.

DIRECTIONS/ MODULE ORGANIZER

This module deals with the different concepts of literacy. It has a

number of lessons with the following parts:

 Discussion- it provides you the discussion of the lesson.

 Initial Tasks- It lets you find out how much you know about the
lessons which you will study.
 Final Tasks- It serves as the final output of the entire module. It will
assess your skills developed in the lesson.
 Wrap Up- It provides you a brief review of the lesson.

As a student, you are expected to read, to comprehend, and to study

each lesson. In addition, you are compelled to answers all the assigned
activities in each lesson. Do not plagiarize. If you copy someone’s research or
work, please do cite them at the end of your papers. It is also important to
follow instructions. Should you need any further information, do not hesitate
to ask your teacher.

Lesson 1: Traditional or
Conventional Literacies

Discussion

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 Literacy is defined by dictionaries as the state of being able to read and
write.

Although it is the ultimate thesis of this chapter that such a 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 21st century and why possessing them is now
mandatory for both teachers and students in all levels of education.

Traditional or Conventional Literacy

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

Since the subjects of the time (e.g., grammar, logic, arithmetic, geometry, etc.)
all had written texts (which were composed of letters) that had to be studied, the
ability to read and write was therefore of prime importance, leading to the strong
association of being “literate” with the ability to read and write.

Miles (1973) divides this conventional concept of literacy into three

categories:

1. Basic Literacy
 Ability to correspond visual shapes to spoken
sounds in order to decode written materials and
translate them into oral language.
 Ability correspond letters and words.

2. Comprehension Literacy
 Ability to understand the meaning of what is
being read.

3. Functional or Practical Literacy

 Ability to read (i.e., decodes and comprehend)

written materials needed to perform everyday
vocational tasks.

Based on this conventional view of literacy, we notice two things for reading
(and therefore literacy) to exist: (1) a text (consisting of symbols and grammar) to be
read; and (2) a meaning or message being communicated by the text for the reader to
extract. Without a text, there would be nothing to read; without meaning, the text is
reduced to series of incomprehensible doodles.

It should therefore be noted that even in Miller’s definition of literacy, the act
of reading implies a level of understanding. Simply knowing how to say a word (or a
series of words) is not the same as being able to understand that it means. Without
understanding of the meaning of the words, reading has not taken place. Based on

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this, Schlechty (2001) defines concept of functional illiteracy as the state of being able
to read, but not well enough to manage daily living and employment tasks that require
reading skills beyond a basic level.

As the rest of this chapter will argue, this synchronicity between decoding
textual symbols and being able to extract and understand their meaning is a necessary
part of being literate, even as the new contexts of the 21st century change the nature of
what the “text” is, and what it means to “read and write.”

Lesson 2: Expanded Views of

Literacy‘'

Despite the ubiquity of the traditional view of literacy, Roberts (1995) notes
that “in the past fifty years, hundreds of definition 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.”

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 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.”

In this vein, Mkandawire (2018) more succinctly posits that literacy is “a

form knowledge, competence, competence, and skills in a particular field or
area,” being supported by UNESCO (2006), Barton (2007), and Mkandawire,
Siooaya Mudenda, & Cheelo ( 2017), which acknowledged that— as we have just
pointed out— modern views appear to equate literacy with knowledge.

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.

‘'

Lesson 3: Literacy in the 21st

Century

When viewed from the perspective of conventional/traditional literacy, the

concept of “new” literacies is a bit of a misnomer, as even these new literacies of the
21st century make generous use of being able to read and write, rather than supplant
them skills necessary for survival, However, when viewed from the perspective of
literacy as knowledge, the new literacies begin to make sense as they are the “skills”
and bodies of knowledge” that are necessary for survival and productivity in the
information age.

In the same vein of reasoning, the new literacies are not “new” per se— as in
the sense that they never existed before. Rather, we consider them to be new because
the contexts in which old skills and knowledge are being employed are new, both in
nature and in scope, The ability to translate textual information into images is not a
new skill, but it is the ability to do so in a way that is concise, complete, and clear that
is certainly new, given that it will be how ninety percent of the population will be
informed on the issue. Similarly, being able to verify the truth-value and veracity of a
documents is not a new skill— but being able to do so when there are a hundred
similar documents available to you online.

Case in point: Throughout history, humans have communicated on levels part

from the spoken and written word, for example, visually, using the long-distance

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communication system of smoke signals used by the ancient Chinese, the ancient
Greeks, and the indigenous people of North America.

In the Victorian era, there was such a thing as the “Language of Flowers,”
where the kind, color, and arrangement of a bouquet of flowers were used to
communicate messages that could not otherwise be spoken aloud in Victorian society
(Greenaway, 1884). For example, a bouquet of oak leaves (representing strength),
purple roses (sorrow), white lilies (resurrection), and pale yellow tulips and rosemary
(memory or remembrance) would altogether communicate a message of sympathy,
usually over the death of a loved one.

Successfully interpreting these “visual language” required a kind of “visual

literacy” to understand the message being presented and to manage the information
encoded therein— skills which, as following chapters will further reveal, are coming
into use again in the 21st century literacies. The difference is that now we are not
analyzing smoke signals or bouquets, but rather sounds, texts, and images from a
hundred different sources at a nearly non-stop rate to the point where accuracy,
validity, and reliability of the messages we interpret form the basis for some very
important personal and collective decision-making.

Another difference involves the questions of necessity: One did not need to be
literate in the language flowers to live a fruitful and fulfilled life in Victorian-era
England, but to be not media or digitally literate in the 21 st century makes one
vulnerable to manipulation by those who are, and such manipulation can easily cost
an individual time, money, property, and even life.

These so-called “new” literacies arose from the increasing availability of

communication technologies that were once unavailable to the average individual.
Technologies like blogging and blogging, 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).
Never before have the opinions of a twelve year-old child in an unheard-of town in an
unheard-of country been scoff at a child’s opinions, that child might have more than a
thousand online subscribers who certainly think his or her opinions are important,
maybe even more so than the opinions of adults.

Simply put, three things have been critical in the rise of the new literacies:
1. Increased Reach
 We are communicating with more people, from more
diverse cultures, across vaster distances than ever before.

2. Increased Means of Communication

 We are communicating in more ways and at faster speeds
than ever before.

3. Increased Breadth of Content-

 We are communicating about more things than ever before.

How do we work together with people of different cultures who might have
vastly different perspective on communication, work ethics, values, religious beliefs,

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and worldviews? In an age where information is power— where knowing more and
knowing first can spell the difference between success and failure— how do we
leverage both current and emergent technologies so that our endeavors are both
productive and profitable? Moreover, how do we navigate and manage the veritable
minefield of information that was once considered taboo and private and is now
online, for all the world to see and to judge, whether we like it or not?

Answering such complex questions requires new sets of skills and

knowledge— ones that our school system have never had to teach before. With these
changes in with whom, how, and why we communicate, new literacies are required
not only to make sense of the changes, but also to use these new technologies and
paradigms in meaningful and productive ways— something required not only of
students, but of teachers as well.

To better address the need for teachers to be literate in these new literacies this
book discusses and explores them in the ensuing chapters, namely:

Globalization and Multicultural Literacy

 It discusses how our increasing ability to communicate with
almost anyone, anywhere, in real time requires new skills
and attitudes in interaction with people with cultures,
perspective, worldviews, and priorities different from our
own, particularly with the end-view of not only peace and
understanding, but also mutual benefit and productivity.

Social and Financial Literacy

 It explores the need for the ability to navigate our own
social networks— of both the online and offline variety—
to not only communicate clearly, but also to leverage
resources which we ourselves might not possess. At the
same time, the chapter addresses the notorious problem of
short-sightedness in Filipino culture regarding personal
finances and how this must be addressed at an increasingly
earlier age to help mitigate the ever-widening gap between
the rich and the poor.

Media and Cyber/Digital Literacy

 It explores the emerging need to locate, verify, and
ultimately manage online information, especially in an age
where information is power and where having the right (and
wrong) information and the ability to communicate it with
others and use it to address real-world problems easily spell
the difference between both personal and career success and
failure.

Other New Literacies

Eco-literacy, and Creativity Literacy

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  It explores the emerging demands for knowing how to
effectively and sustainably manage the natural resources
that our increased industrialization and demands for
productivity are so rapidly eating up. The chapter also
explores how this increase in productivity also brings with
it an increased demand for arts and aesthetics and the need
to develop ways of effectively communicating through the
creative arts in industries dominated by objective data.
Critical Literacy
 It addresses the increasing need to discern the underlying
(and often tacit) messages behind the new “texts” of the 21st
century, particularly in an ever-increasingly multicultural
society where ideas, cultures, and ideologies vie with one
another for power and dominance in the minds of the
masses.

 INITIAL TASK

On your own, read the questions and instructions carefully. Write your answers on the
space provided.

1. Given the traditional/conventional concept of literacy, how literate are you?

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2. How deep is your level of comprehension?

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3. As a pre-service teacher, what kind of written materials should you be able to read
and understand? Are you reading these written materials? How well can you
understand them?
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4. Which of the new literacies are you knowledgeable in? Which of the new literacies
do you lack knowledge in?
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5. Although reading education in the Philippines aims to develop Functional/Practical

literacy in learners, what level of literacy is being developed when classroom
practices focus more on memorization rather than on understanding and application?
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6. Describe the changes in the 21st century that have led to the rise of new literacies.
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FINAL TASK
A. Make an activity that could help students to develop functional literacy. (20
points)

B. Make a lesson plan that incorporates some of the new literacies. (30 points)

WRAP UP

This chapter introduces you to the various concepts of the 21st

century literacies. We have also discussed the traditional or
conventional notion of literacy which can be divided into sub-
categories, namely basic literacy, comprehension literacy, and
functional/practical literacy.
New literacies have risen due to increased reach, increased
means of communication, and increased breadth of content.
These new literacies are globalization and multicultural

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 literacy, social and financial literacy, media and cyber/digital
literacy, eco-literacy, arts, and creativity literacy, and critical
literacy.

Congratulations for finishing the module 1!

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