BSBT COLLEGE, INC.

434 Magsaysay Ave., Baguio City

Tel. Nos. (074) 442-2986/300-2707
P.O. Box 904

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Professional Education Subject

Course Title: Building and Enhancing New Literacies (Prof Ed 11)

No. of Units: 3 Units
No. of Hours: 3 hours every week for 18 weeks or 54 hours in a semester
Duration: SY 2021-2022/ 2nd Semester
Instructor: DANMAR C. CAMILOT
Course Description: This course introduces the concepts of new literacies in the 21st century as an
evolving social phenomena and shared cultural practices across learning areas. The 21ST century literacies
shall include (a) globalization and multi-cultural literacy, b) social literacy, c) media literacy, d) financial
literacy, e) cyber literacy/digital literacy, f) eco-literacy and g) arts and creativity literacy. Field based-
interdisciplinary explorations and other teaching strategies shall be used in this course. The last part of the course
focuses on the catechetical instruction of the students. Active engagement in the planning, implementation and
documentation of service learning project vis-a-vis catechetical instruction will be the course’s culminating activity.

LEARNING MODULE IN BUILDING AND ENHANCING NEW LITERACIES

Dear student,
As you work on this module, you will be guided on the learning tasks that would enhance your creative and
critical thinking skills in accomplishing the learning outcomes required in every lesson of the course. Your answers
in the learning assessment (specifically in analysis and reflection) will be scored with the following criteria: clarity
(10 points), organization of ideas (10 points) and content (10 points) for each question. Tasks activities shall be
written in a separate sheet/s attached.
For the hard copy modules, detach and return the performed learning tasks preferably a day before the
period of retrieval. A group of faculty members assigned as the dispatch and retrieval committee will be in charge of
distributing and collecting the modules at your respective cluster areas. Retain the module reading materials in your
custody for your further reference. Soft copy modules will be off load to Google Classroom. However, submission
of answered learning tasks should be uploaded to my messenger or gmail/email account. Do not submit in our GC
for the confidentiality of your outputs.

Submission/Requirements: The learning assessment pages and the answer sheets should be detached for
submission. Take note that every lesson in a module is designed as your weekly task (equivalent to 3 hours/week).
Please be strictly observed on the period of working out your module/s. January 17, 2021 is the first day of flexible
learning classes, 2nd Semester. For the first round of distribution, you will receive 1 modules in Prof Ed 11 which is
equivalent for two weeks contact classes. Delayed in the submission of outputs is strongly discouraged. Follow the
calendar of activities implemented. Good luck!

WEEK MODULE AND UNIT TOPICS

LESSON NUMBER OF
HOURS
Chapter 1. Introduction to the 21st Century Literacies (Globalization
WEEK 1 and Multicultural Literacies) 3hr
Chapter 2. Social Literacy
WEEK 2  Effective Communication 3hr
 Prosocial and Intercultural
Communication
Chapter 3. Media Literacy
WEEK 3  Importance of Media literacy 3hr
 Media Literacy Skills
 Examining the Media
WEEK 4 PRELIMINARIES EXAMINATION
(Online Exam) 3hr

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

Professional Education Subject
RETRIEVAL OF FIRST LEARNING ON OR BEFORE
MODULE
Introduction FEBRUARY
to the 21st Century Literacies (Globalization 11, 2022 Literacies)
and Multicultural
MODULES

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 BSBT COLLEGE, INC.
434 Magsaysay Ave., Baguio City
Tel. Nos. (074) 442-2986/300-2707
P.O. Box 904
This lesson explores several definitions of literacy and what is being literate in the
multiplicity of contexts in the 21st century. The goal is to raise awareness in readers who might be
presently unaware of the evolving perspectives on literacy and giving teachers the opportunity to
pause and reflect on their own literacies even as they attempt to teach the new literacies to their
students.

At the end of this Module One Lesson 1, you must have:

1. defined the meaning of traditional or conventional literacy.
2. expanded views of literacy in the 21st century from different sources.
3. came up a digital storytelling that would engage for the 21 st century new
literacies learning
4. valued the importance of new literacies to the skills and bodies of knowledge of the
information age.

Literacy is defined by dictionaries as the state of being able to read and write (Literacy/Literate).
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.
Miller (1973) divides this conventional concept of literacy into three (3)
subcategories:
1. Basic Literacy – It is the ability to correspond visual speaks to spoken sounds in order to
decode written materials and translate them into oral language. Simply put, it is the 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.

2. 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.”
3. 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 to being wet.
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) 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 doobles.
It should therefore be noted that even in Miller’s definition of literacy, the act 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 what it means. Without understanding of the meaning of the words, reading

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 BSBT COLLEGE, INC.
434 Magsaysay Ave., Baguio City
Tel. Nos. (074) 442-2986/300-2707
P.O. Box 904
has not taken place. Based on this Schlechty (2001) defines the 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 able to extract and understand their meaning is a necessary part of being literate, even as
the “text” is, and what it means to “read” and “write.”
EXPANDED VIEWS OF LITERACY
Despite the popularity of American films in the Philippines, many Filipinos cannot follow the
actors’ dialogue, and thus resort to guessing the overall story based on the actions onscreen.
Despite the ubiquity of the traditional view 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 program 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.”
In this vein, Mkandawire (2018) more succinctly posits that literacy is “a form of knowledge,
competence, and skills in a particular field or area,” being supported by UNESCO (2006), Barton
(2007), and Mkandawire, Simooya-Mudenda, & Cheelo (2017), which acknowledge 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 21st century that seem far-removed from the
contexts upon which conventional literacy is based.
LITERACY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
When viewed from the perspective of conventional/traditional literacy, the concept of “new”
literacies is a bit of a minomer, as even these new literacies of the 21st century make generous use of
being able to read and write, rather than supplant them as 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 seas 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 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 document is not a new skill – but being able to do so when there are a hundred similar documents
available to you online is.
Case in point: Throughout history, humans have communicated on levels apart from the
spoken and written word, for example, visually, using the long-distance communication system of
smoke signals used by the ancient Chinese, the ancient Greek, and the indigenous peoples 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 a loud 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.

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 BSBT COLLEGE, INC.
434 Magsaysay Ave., Baguio City
Tel. Nos. (074) 442-2986/300-2707
P.O. Box 904
Successfully interpreting these “visual languages” required a kind of “visual literacy” to
understand the message being presented and to manage the information encoded therein – skills which, as
following lessons 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 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 question of necessity: one did not need to be literate in the
language of flowers to live a fruitful and fulfilled life in Victorian-era England, but to be not media or
digitally literate in the 21st 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
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). Never before have the opinions of a twelve year-old child in an unheard-of town in
an unheard-of country been available for everyone on earth to read and hear, and while adults might
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 (3) 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 who might have vastly
different perspectives on communication, work ethics, values, religious beliefs, and world views? What
do we do when some of these might be mutually exclusive to our own? 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
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 this 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 lessons, namely:
Globalization and Multicultural Literacy discusses how our increasing ability to
communicate with almost anyone, anywhere, in real time requires new skills and attitudes in interacting
with people with cultures, perspectives, world views, and priorities different from our own, particularly
with the end- view of not only peace and understanding, but also mutual benefit and productivity.
The lesson on Social and Financial Literacies meanwhile explores the need for the ability to
navigate our own social networks – of both the online and off-line 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.

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 BSBT COLLEGE, INC.
434 Magsaysay Ave., Baguio City
Tel. Nos. (074) 442-2986/300-2707
P.O. Box 904
Media and cyber/Digital Literacies explore the emerging need to locate, verify, and ultimately
manage online information, especially in an age where ability to communicate it with others and use it
to address real-world problems easily spell difference between both personal and career success and
failure.
Eco-literacy and Artistic and Creative Literacy explore the emerging demands for knowing how
to effectively and sustainably manage the natural resources that our increased industrialization and
demands for 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.
Finally, Critical Literacy addresses the increasing need to discern the underlying (and often tacit)
messages behind the new “text” of the 21st century, particularly in an ever-increasingly
multicultural society where ideas, cultures, and ideologies vie with one another for power dominance in
the minds of masses.
One of the ways students can be trained in the new literacies is to engage them in digital storytelling,
wherein the students take part in the traditional process of storytelling, but with some digital
enhancements. They choose a topic, conduct research, write a script, develop a story, and through the use
of multimedia, create something that can be played online or on a computer.

Digital Storytelling can be broken down into following six (6) steps:
1. Writing – write about a particular story from your life. The story must have a central theme.
2. Developing a Script Develop a script that identifies the important points of your story.
3. Creating a Storyboard- Create a storyboard that visually organizes the flow of the story. Assign
a particular image to portions of the script.
4. Locating Multimedia- Use search engines to locate photos and videos. Photos and videos from
one’s personal collection may also be used.
5. Creating the Digital Story- Record the voice over for your movie. Create the movie using the
software that is available to you.
6. Sharing and Uploading- Share your story in class and upload your work online.
 Traditional Literacy is the ability to read and write.
 The traditional or conventional concept of literacy can be divided into sub-categories:
1. Basic Literacy is the ability to recognize letters and words;
2. Comprehension Literacy, which is the ability to understand the meaning of what is being read;
and
3. 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, eco-
literacy, artistic and creative literacy, and critical literacy.

Read the questions and instructions carefully. Write your answers on the space attached. (Give at
least 50 words for each question given below the analysis section)
1. Give the traditional/conventional concept of literacy.
2. Compare and contrast the traditional concept of literacy to the modern view of literacy.

1. As a would-be teacher, do you think that the views of new literacy upgraded the level of teaching and
learning skills of the present age? Share your opinion in not less than 50 words.

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 BSBT COLLEGE, INC.
434 Magsaysay Ave., Baguio City
Tel. Nos. (074) 442-2986/300-2707
P.O. Box 904

1. What are significant contexts of the new literacy to the enhancement of the 21 st
century learning environment? Give at least 5. Write those things in a sentence form.

1. Create a digital short storytelling. Write a true story of your life and develop a script that identifies
the important points of your story. You can use photos or other symbols that would represent every panel
of your story. A voice over record can be utilized in narrating your story. Once you are done, upload this
either in my messenger email or gmail account reflected at the footer of this page. If you are an offline
student, put your work in a CD drive and label it with your name, course, subject and title. Send the hard
copy outputs to retrieval area on or before February 12, 2021. You can ask in our GC room for further
clarification regarding this task.

 Elen Joy Alata and Eigen John T. Ignacio,(2019).Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across
the Curriculum. REX Book Store. Manila, Philippines.
IN CASE OF ASSISTANCE: If you find trouble in answering your module, please do not hesitate to
contact me from the following:

CONTACT NUMBER: 09123753332-smart

09666232633-globe
EMAIL ACCOUNT: dancamilot07@gmail.com
dhanmarcamilot@bsbt.ph.education
MESSENGER ACCOUNT: DM CAMILOT II

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