Literacy in the Digital Age
To quote a famous phrase (famous but old!)…We aren’t in Kansas anymore Toto!
And education just isn’t the same any more. Gone are the days of a student needing to be trained for the industrial revolution. Gone are the days of bells to signal a workers break time, start time, end time, and lunch time. I live across the street from a factor. Right now cars are entering the parking lot for the start of the first (and only) shift which begins at 6:00am and is done by 2:30pm. That is not the “normal” American way of life any more. Increasingly people are up at 5:00am (like me!) They get some computer work in, catch up on various forms of communication, and then head out into the cyber world to conduct business and commerce.
More and more people are entrepreneurs. They have business freedom in America and with technology even more freedom to make their way as they choose. Even if they work for big companies they increasingly work at home more often. No boss watches over them each and every day. They are free to take a break when they need to and they are free to work longer and longer hours especially if they work on commission or own their own business where more work truly is more money for the family.
So what are some literacys that schools now need to teach? What are skills people will need to work at jobs that haven’t even been invented yet? I propose to examine the following taken from the book “Literacy in the Digital Age” by R.W. Burniske:
* Use language critically and tactfully
* Assess visual content on the Web
* Critically evaluate Web sites for validity and reliability
* Practice ethics and etiquette on the Internet
* Analyze online information for credibility, logic, and embedded emotional content
Each of the next five weeks will be an exploration and explanation of each topic. Follow along, respond, interact, and enjoy!!
Andrew Willems
www.twitter.com/awillems9
