Evolving Literacy

According to Lanshear and Knoble (2011) functional literacy can be boiled down to ones ability to cope with the world. It implies and ability and an awareness when it comes to modes of communication. In an increasingly digital landscape, the scope of literacy changes. There are more aspects of the world and many more modes of communication beyond just the written word to take into account. Digital literacy emerges as less of a competitor to traditional literacy and more of a companion. 

If we as instructors do not expand our understanding of literacy to embrace digital media we are doing our students a disservice. One cannot function in today's world without a base level of digital literacy, and to thrive they must exceed it- much like the ideas of functional literacy expressed previously. Applying for school, applying for jobs, applying for government aid; all are done online. Popular modes of communication have moved towards the digital and away from the physical. These trends aren't going to stop just because we have decided not to teach digital literacy formally in schools. But we should carefully and thoughtfully start to work digital literacy into our curriculum. 

If we are concerned that students are not getting anything out of internet use, they they are wasting their time flitting about from distraction to distraction and ignoring the books we would like them to read, let's address it. Work with them in the digital and find ways to work in the traditional as well.

Motoko, R. (July 27, 2008) Literacy Debate: Online, R U really reading? The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

Lanshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2011) Literacies: Social, cultural, and historical perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.