LABELING AND DEFINING LITERACY IN 2016
Lanham’s definition of literacy is “the ability to understand information however presented” (p. 21) including being able to decode sounds and images (Lankshear and Knobel, 2006). Literacy has always included many skills, such as decoding and comprehension. Now we are adding new skills to the existing definition of literacy. Lankshear and Knobel (2006) addressed the notion that sometimes “literacy” is viewed as “competence,” “proficiency,” and “being functional” (p. 20). Lankshear and Knobel (2006) state that “the pedagogy of multiliteracies focuses strongly on how cultural and linguistic diversity and the burgeoning impact of new communications technologies are changing demands on learners in terms of what we have identified here as the operational and cultural dimensions of literacies” (p. 16). Here, literacy is viewed as multifaceted; it requires the decoding of “words, images and sounds” (Lanham, 1995, p. 198). Alvermann (2003) cites Lankshear and Knobel stating that “instruction that is exemplary should be embedded in the regular curriculum and make use of the new literacies” (p. 15). Alvermann (2003) also states, “instruction that is exemplary should address issues of self-efficacy and engagement” (p. 15). Essentially, literacy instruction should utilize new literacies, be based on literacy curriculum, and teach students self-efficacy while being engaged. I think that some see literacy as singular, consisting of numerous skills, while others see literacy as plural embodying those skills as a part of the literacy process.
Lanham (1995) believes that “to be deeply literate in the digital world means being skilled at deciphering complex images and sounds as well as the syntactical subtleties of words. Above all, it means being at home in a shifting mixture of words, images and sounds.” (p. 198). I love that Lanham uses the analogy of institutional practices where words, images, and sounds are separated into literature, art, and music (Lanham, 1995). Literacy today requires readers to be familiar with reading words, images, and sounds in a way that has never existed previously. I agree that the definition of literacy from this point forward will always be changing; as Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, Castek and Henry state, “to be literate tomorrow will be defined by even newer technologies that have yet to appear and even newer discourses and social practices that will be created to meet future needs” (p. 1150).
I think that there is a benefit to discussing online reading comprehension and digital inquiry, but I think that these are components of digital literacy. It is essential for students to be able to navigate the Internet in order to be able to read online. “What differs from earlier models of traditional print comprehension is that online reading comprehension is defined by not only purpose, task, and context but also as a process of self-directed text construction that occurs as readers navigate their own paths through an infinite informational space to construct their own versions of the online texts they read” (Castek, Coiro, Henry, Leu, and Hartman, 2015, p. 325). Online reading comprehension requires students to know what to click in order to create a text that makes sense and aids in their search for information online. We as teachers must teach students how to evaluate sources and think before they click online. “Never before has it been more necessary that children learn to read, write and think critically. It’ s not just point and click. It’s point, read, think, click (Tapscott, 1998, p. 63)” (cited in Coiro, 2003, p. 459). Children should be asking questions and seeking answers online. One piece of digital literacy is teaching students how to ask good questions and how to think and evaluate as they create new texts by clicking online.
| new literacies (as described by Leu et al, 2013) | New Literacies (as described by Leu et al, 2013) |
| · “explore a specific area of new literacies and/or a new tech- nology, such as the social communicative transactions occurring with text messaging”
· “also include those that explore a focused disciplinary base, such as the semiotics of multimodality in online media” · “or a distinctive conceptual approach such as new literacy studies” · “better able to keep up with the rapidly changing nature of literacy in a deictic world because they are closer to the specific types of changes that are taking place and interest those who study them within a particular heuristic” · “permit our field to maximize the lenses we use and the technologies and contexts we study” |
· “includes those common findings emerging across multiple, lowercase theories”
· “benefits from work taking place in the multiple, lowercase dimensions of new literacies by looking for what appear to be the most common and consistent patterns being found in lowercase theories and lines of research” · “permits everyone to fully explore their unique, lowercase perspective of new literacies, allowing scholars to maintain a close focus on many different aspects of the shifting landscape of literacy during a period of rapid change” |
I think the fact that anyone in any context can participate in new literacies is great, but it does muddy the water because at what point does this contribution to lowercase new literacies become uppercase New Literacies? Who is responsible for looking for patterns in lowercase findings and lines of research? Who has the credibility as a scholar to look at shifts in literacy?
I prefer the term “literacy,” but my definition of literacy is very broad. It includes reading images, audio, visuals, and digital text. I have witnessed students who struggle in reading excel when provided a different genre of text. I know that motivation plays a huge role in the ability to read. I want my undergraduate students to share in my appreciation and understanding that literacy and being able to read doesn’t necessarily mean written text. Each week, they have readings or videos to watch for class and sometimes they have the option to complete a handmade thinking (http://www.handmadethinking.com/) to share with the class and me what they have learned by reading. This allows them to create a graph, draw a picture, make a web, etc. because literacy isn’t just written text. I hope that they remember this when they have classrooms of their own.
IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING
I think in primary grades, offline reading comprehension is more important than online reading comprehension because students are just learning to decode text for the first time. They need to work on strategies for phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Until students are reading fluently and comprehending text offline, they cannot comprehend when reading online.
I think by the time students reach intermediate elementary school grades, that offline reading comprehension is equally as important or more important for today’s students as online reading comprehension. Online reading comprehension allows students to ask questions and seek answers that they may not have access to without access to online reading. Online reading teaches students to become curious, ask questions, and become problem solvers.
Alvermann, D. (2003). Exemplary literacy instruction in grades 7-12: What counts and who’s counting.
Castek, Coiro, Henry, Leu, & Hartman (2015). Research on Instruction and Assessment in the New Literacies of Online Research and Comprehension.
Coiro (2003). Expanding our understanding of reading comprehension to encompass new literacies.\
Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2008). From ‘reading’ to ‘new literacy studies. In C. Lankshear & M. Knobel, New literacies: Everyday pracices and classroom learning. Berkshire, England: Open University Press/McGraw-Hill Education.
Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, Castek, & Henry (2013). New Literacies: A dual level theory of the changing nature of literacy, instruction, and assessment.