According to Merriam-Webster, the term “literacy” dates back to the later half of the 19th century. In the first chapter of New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning, authors Colin Lanshear and Michele Knobel appear to focus on how the term “literacy” in education became a more important concept than “reading & writing” in the latter half of the 20th century. They give due credit to Paulo Freire’s findings regarding the importance of literacy, as well as the consequences of illiteracy, in the advancement of a society. In addition, Lanshear and Knobel cite the results of the 1983 policy statement, A Nation at Risk, which set off educational and political alarm bells in the English-speaking world at a time when economies were moving into the computer age. I reflected on this significance of this information when I thought back to my days in elementary school when we began learning how to use Texas Instrument personal computers. At home, my parents decided to purchase an Apple IIE computer. Back then, personal computers were more an investment in education rather than entertainment.
As with most assigned classroom readings, I found some of the information in this first chapter a bit difficult to understand, especially since my professional background is far from education. Yet, I was interested in how Lankshear and Knoble connected the literacy crisis of the 1970s and 1980s with importance of digital literacy today. In addition, the authors bring up the unique concept of “the literacy of participation’’(p. 26), which plays a major role in online education. Nowadays, it’s important to not just learn by yourself but also to learn within a group and exchange information and viewpoints. This dialogue of perspective seems to be the driving force behind digital storytelling.
If I had any criticisms about this first chapter, it’s that Lankshear and Knoble don’t talk enough about the role of technology in the discussion of digital literacy. The mouse simplified the user interface with the computer. The modem enabled both computers and users to communicate with one another across local and national boarders. Word processing software made the composition process less time-consuming. These advancements happened before Mark Zuckerberg launched the social network revolution in his Harvard dorm room. Granted, our class has only read the first chapter, but I think it’s important to mention computer technology when there is a discussion regarding digital literacy.
To be honest, I’m very curious as to what the next chapters will discuss. The cover of the textbook includes over a dozen technology icons that most people could identify, including a mobile phone, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and Wikipedia. In the last few pages of the first chapter, there’s a mention of a concept of “new literacies” in a social rather than a technological context. That’s certainly something I didn’t consider when I was staring into a green monochrome monitor of an Apple IIE learning how to type up a book report. It will be interesting to see how Colin Lankshear and Michele Knobel further view literacy in the Web 2.0 era.