Three Levels of Literacy for the 21st Century

The evolution of technology has rapidly gained momentum. From the preschooler to the senior citizen, we all have a need to sharpen our 21st century technology skills.

Photo:  cc licensed by Dell(2010)

Not only have our employers embraced technology in order to heighten workplace productivity, but we consistently utilize certain forms of technology in our personal lives from online banking to communicating with family and friends via the social network.  With the emergence of new technology every day, one can tackle these new tools willingly and strengthen his/her foundation of technology skills or risk getting left behind. Our children, also known as “digital natives”, don’t know what it’s like to run home to check the answering machine nor will they ever have to worry about tripping over the television’s wired remote controller. Consider the 5.25 floppy disk or even its successor, the jump drive.  Now consider the cloud and bask in the glory of its mobility.  You can’t scratch the “cloud” or pack it away in your Trapper-Keeper only to misplace it.  The “cloud” follows you wherever you go and can be accessed from ANY networked device.    As an educator in the 21st century and an online student myself, I have considered the importance of learning to learn.  There is a need for our students to become more self-directed and accountable for the process of their own learning.  In a nutshell, there are three levels of literacy our students must acquire in order to become those accountable learners in the 21st century digital age: Technological literacy, Information literacy, and Visual literacy.    Technological literacy is a foundation of knowledge for basic software applications.  Students learn how to create, manipulate, and store digital information.  Programs like word processing, spreadsheet, and multimedia programs are used in the real-world workplace and students who have learned how to apply these programs to a variety of given tasks have a strong technology foundation as they enter the workforce.      Information literacy involves analyzing and using information.  The 21st century is known as the Information Age with the explosion of information output and information sources. With so many media outlets pushing information our way, it is imperative that we teach our students how to develop and apply their critical thinking skills.  Don’t just tell me if you believe it or not, tell me why you feel that way. Visual literacy, according to the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is the ability to recognize and understand ideas conveyed through visible actions or images. Everywhere we go, from the highway billboards to the superhighway infographic, we are inundated with endless bits of information.  In order to retain this important information, the creators have strategically made the data more memorable by combining it with images we can recall through association. Images are increasingly replacing text as communication media.  In order to learn how to interpret, understand, and appreciate the meaning of visual messages, students must apply the basic principles of visual design while producing their own messages using technology. As students prepare for their higher education and the workforce, we as educators (parents and teachers) must understand what the “nature of work” will mean to our children.  It will look differently than it did 50 years ago.  It will look differently than the workplace looks today and technology will be an even bigger part of their lives.  Laying the foundation of digital literacy will help them adapt as new technologies emerge and impact their lives. Resources: P21 - Parent resources to 21st Century Skills