Feb 27 2008
21st Century Literacies - in plain language
Toward A Definition of 21st-Century Literacies
Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers to participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, and malleable. As in the past, they are inextricably linked with particular histories, life possibilities and social trajectories of individuals and groups. Twenty-first century readers and writers need to• Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
• Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and
cross-culturally• Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of
purposes• Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous
information• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts
• Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments
While I’m a big fan of these kinds of explanations I think we can drill this down to a much more digestable level:
- Work with others
- Share what you know
- Learn to manage your sources
- Read critically
- Do no evil
Thoughts?
Art,
I wish I spent more time reading blogs, especially blogs like yours. I think your pared down, easily read list is perfect. As I read it, every time I heard a “Yeah, but…” start to rise, it was countered in my head by the realization that you had covered that.
Thanks.
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