CHANGE IN LITERACY 1

Change in Literacy

Hsieh, Sheng-Kang

Graduate School of Education

University of Pennsylvania
CHANGE IN LITERACY 2

Change in Literacy

In the 21st century, the biggest change in literacy comes from the

advancement of digital technologies, e.g., email, social media, multimedia, which has

greatly expanded the possibilities for communicating encoded meanings (Lankshear,

2011, p.57). Email enables us to send a single message to hundreds of people at the

same time. YouTube is a video-sharing site where we can share meanings across time

and space, and even across language and culture barriers (Lankshear, 2011, p.58).

Human reading habits have transformed from printed books to smartphones and

tablets. As long as the smartphone is in hand, you can learn about all important

international events, send messages to friends, take notes, and read recipes, etc. Such

shifting in reading and writing has resulted in the emergence of digital literacy. At

first, digital literacy is referred to as the ability to understand, evaluate, use a wide

range of computer resources in multiple formats (Gilster, P., 1997).

However, there was a broader concept of digital literacy has been presented,

which was based on the five other literacies–– photo-visual literacy, information

literacy, reproduction literacy, branching literacy, social-emotional literacy (Bawden,

D., 2008), all of which are the necessary skills of modern people to cope with daily

life. Photo-visual literacy is a skill that we can understand visual representations, such

as emoji and stickers in instant communication apps. Information literacy is

CHANGE IN LITERACY 3

understood as a skill that enables users to select effectively, and evaluate online

resources, such as understanding how to use search engines to find the information by

evaluating resources and filtering out incorrect information from tons of data.

Reproduction literacy requires us to create new combinations from existing materials,

such as writing an original academic work with the aid of digital techniques for

text reproduction (Eshet-Alkalai, 2004). Branching literacy is referred to as an

essentially ability to construct knowledge from non-linear information (Eshet-Alkalai,

2004), such as when doing research, knowing where to look for data and information,

analyzing it, and using it. The most complex of all types of digital literacy––– socio-

emotional literacy, which is the social and emotional skills of being present online. To

be specific, it involves the ability to share emotions in digital communication, and to

avoid traps on the Internet (Eshet-Alkalai, 2004).

From the educational perspective, information technology and outbreaks of

the COVID-19 pandemic have changed the way material is taught in the classroom. It

forced educators to alter traditional forms of teaching to a more digital and online

way. The switch to online learning has also brought about some impacts on educators

and learners. For educators, the teaching materials must be digitized and presented in

slides, videos, etc.; for learners, they must get used to the way of remote learning,

especially the interaction mode between educators and learners and learning
CHANGE IN LITERACY 4

effectiveness will be greatly changed. As Jackman (2021) noted that changes in

learning patterns will result in students being exposed to abuse on social media and

lack of socialization, putting social communication skills at risk. Therefore, we need

to make changes to the way how learners develop digital literacy.

Kennedy (2013) mentioned that individuals who were born between the

years 1996 to 2010 are “digital natives”, they are the first generation that has never

known a world without the Internet. Interestingly, they are more willing to accept

digital learning than other groups. It also means that contemporary education should

pay more attention to digital literacy. According to Purnama (2021), children who

have low digital literacy abilities have negative self-control behavior, so children tend

to be suspects or victims of cyber-world crimes.

As an educator would need to rethink how to reduce the negative influence

on online learning, such as the low quality of education with less stimulating, boring

lessons, and more meaningless homework to do. Hence, educators not only need to be

well-prepared for digital teaching, invest more time and effort in education

technology, but also empower students and support their critical thinking skills,

ensures accessibility to learning sources and the use of technologies to foster learners’

active and creative engagement (Tejedor, 2020).

CHANGE IN LITERACY 5

References

Bawden, D. (2008). Origins and concepts of digital literacy. Digital literacies:

Concepts, policies and practices, 30(2008), 17-32.

Eshet-Alkalai, Y. (2004). Digital Literacy: A Conceptual Framework for Survival

Skills in the Digital Era. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia,

13(1), 93-106.

Gilster, P. (1997). Digital literacy. New York: Wiley Computer Pub.

Junco, R. (2014). Engaging students through social media: Evidence-based practices

for use in student affairs. John Wiley & Sons.

Jackman, J. A., Gentile, D. A., Cho, N.-J., & Park, Y. (2021). Addressing the digital

skills gap for future education. Nature Human Behaviour, 5(5), 542-545.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01074-z

Kennedy, D. M., & Fox, R. (2013). ‘Digital natives’: An Asian perspective for using

learning technologies. International Journal of Education and Development

using ICT, 9(1), 65-79.

Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2011). New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social

Learning. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

Pool, C. R. (1997). A new digital literacy a conversation with Paul Gilster.

Educational Leadership, 55, 6-11.

Purnama, S., Ulfah, M., Machali, I., Wibowo, A., & Narmaditya, B. S. (2021). Does

digital literacy influence students’ online risk? Evidence from Covid-19.

Heliyon, 7(6), e07406.

Tejedor, S., Cervi, L., Pérez-Escoda, A., & Jumbo, F. T. (2020). Digital Literacy and

Higher Education during COVID-19 Lockdown: Spain, Italy, and Ecuador.

Publications, 8(4), 48.