Ed.

110 – Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum

Module Title: Module in ED 110

Course Title: Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum
Course Number: ED 110
Course Description:
This course introduces the concepts of new literacies in the 21st century as an evolving
social phenomena and shared cultural practices across learning areas. The 21st century literacies
shall include (a) introduction to the 21 st century literacy (b) globalization, cultural and multi-
cultural literacy, (b) social literacy (c.) financial literacy (d.) media literacy and cyber
literacy/digital literacy, (e) ecological literacy and (f) arts and creativity literacy (g) Critical
Literacy. Field –based interdisciplinary explorations and other teaching strategies shall be used
in this course.

Total Learning Time: 3hrs per week for 18 weeks

Pre-requisites: None

Overview:

The first part of this module introduces the 21 st century literacies and the importance of
these literacies to all learners and what they can benefit from learning all these literacies. It is
then followed by topics on globalization, cultural and multi-cultural literacy. It also emphasizes
the importance of globalization, how we connect and interact with other countries around the
globe and unity in diversity in different cultures. It also discusses social literacy; it explains the
role of parents and teachers in teaching social skills to children. Financial literacy was also
discussed, its benefits and how to develop financial literacy. The next literacy discusses about
different social media platforms, how to be responsible in using social media, and also the
advantages of learning digital literacy "the newness of these literacies quite like those needed to
make sense of the absolute deluge of information brought to us by the internet. Ecological
literacy follows next. It distinguishes among environmental literacy, eco literacy and ecological
literacy. The next literacy, Critical literacy discusses the value of Arts to education and practical
life, identify approaches to developing/designing curriculum that cultivates the arts and
creativity of the learners. The last literacy discussed is Critical literacy discuss a brief
background of critical literacy theory; and apply principles of critical literacy in designing
lessons and classroom activities.

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 Ed. 110 – Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum

Course/ Subject Outcomes:

During and upon the completion of the course, the students may be able to:
1. appreciate and give value to the concepts of new literacies in the 21st century as an evolving
social phenomena and shared cultural practices across learning areas that will lead to effective
instruction and efficient student learning;
2. give meaning to the following 21st century literacy terms like (a) globalization and multi-
cultural literacy, (b) social literacy (c.) media literacy (d.) financial literacy (e.) cyber
literacy/digital literacy , (f.) eco- literacy and (g) arts and creativity literacy.
3. identify field – based interdisciplinary explorations creatively;
4. list innovative teaching strategies to motivate students to engage in learning new literacies ;
5. select one literacy that they give value most and be able to submit a team video clip
presentation on how such literacy can be used in their day to day life.

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 Ed. 110 – Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum

Module 1. Introduction to 21st Century Literacies

Learning Outcomes:
On completion of this lesson, one should be able to develop a clear and practical understanding
of the following:
1. definitions of conventional literacy: and
2. describe expanded views of literacy in the 21st century.

1. 1. Traditional or Conventional Literacies

What is Literacy?
Literacy is defined by dictionaries as the state of being able to read and write (Literacy,
Literate, n.d.). Although it is the ultimate thesis of this chapter that such a traditional definition
no longer suffices in the information age, a thorough understanding of literacy and its past
nuances will give us a solid foundation in exploring and discussing the "new" literacies of the
21st century and why possessing them is now mandatory for both teachers and students in all
levels of education.
This module explores several definitions of literacy and what being literate
means in the multiplicity of contexts in the 21st century, with the goal of raising awareness in
readers who might be presently unaware of the evolving perspectives on literacy and giving
teachers the opportunity to pause and reflect on their own literacies even as they attempt to teach
the new literacies to their students.

Traditional or Conventional Literacy

 The word "literacy" stem from the word "literate"
 “Distinguished or identified by meaning letters “
 The ability to read and write was therefore of prime importance, leading to the strong
association of being “literate” with the ability to read and write.

Miller (1973) divides this conventional concept of literacy into three

sub-categories

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1. Basic Literacy - It is the ability to correspond visual shapes to spoken sounds in order to
decode written materials and translate shapes them into oral language. Simply put, it is the
ability to recognize letters and words. This would be akin to recognizing that the sequence of
letter “b-a-s-a” forms the word basa in Filipino even without understanding what it means.
2. Comprehension Literacy-It is the ability to understand the meaning of what is
being read. To capitalize on the example above, this would be like knowing that basa can mean
either "to read" or "to be wet".
3. Functional or Practical Literacy - If is the ability to read (i.e., decode and comprehend)
written materials needed to perform everyday vocational tasks. This is the equivalent of reading
the text "Ang bata ay nagbabasa." and being able to understand that basa here refers to reading
and not to being wet.

Based on this conventional view of literacy, we notice two things for reading (and
therefore literacy) to exist: (1) a text (consisting of symbols and grammar) to be read; and (2) a
meaning or message being communicated by the text for the reader to extract. Without a text,
there would be nothing to read; without meaning, the text is reduced to series of
incomprehensible doodles.
It should therefore be noted that even in Miller's definition of literacy, the act of reading
implies a level of understanding. Simply knowing how to say a word (or a series of words) is not
the same as being able to understand what it means. Without understanding of the meaning of
the words, reading has not taken place. Based on this, Schlechty (2001) defines the concept of
functional literacy as the state of being able to read, but not well enough to manage daily living
and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level.
As the rest of this module will argue, this synchronicity between decoding
textual symbols and being able to extract and understand their meaning is necessary part of
being literate, even as the new contexts of the 21st change the nature of what the "text" is, and
what it means to "read 'write."

1.2. Expanded Views of Literacy

Despite the ubiquity of the traditional view of literacy, Roberts (1995) notes that "in the
past fifty years, hundreds of definitions of "literacy' have been advanced by scholars, adult
literacy workers, and program planners," with even the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2006) acknowledging that literacy as a concept has
proven to be complex and dynamic, it being continually defined and interpreted in multiple
ways.
In 2004, UNESCO formally defined literacy as "the ability to identify, understand,
interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed and written materials associated with
varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve
their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community
and wider society."
Note that "reading" does not appear in UNESCO's definition of literacy. Instead, literacy
has taken on a definition more akin to "knowing about something and what to do with it."
In this vein, Mkandawire (2018) more succinctly posits that literacy is "a form of
knowledge, competence, and skills in a particular field or area," being supported by UNESCO

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(2006), Barton (2007), and Mkandawire, Simooya-Mudenda, & Cheelo (2017), which
acknowledged that-as we have just pointed out-modern views appear to equate literacy with
knowledge.
This shift in the definition of literacy from "reading and writing" to "knowledge" is
especially important as we explore the "new" literacies of the 21st century that seem far-
removed from the contexts upon which conventional literacy is based.
When viewed from the perspective of conventional/traditional literacy the concept of
"new" literacies is a bit of a misnomer, as even these new literacies of the 21st century make
generous use of being able to read and write, rather than supplant them as skills necessary for
survival. However, when viewed from the perspective of literacy as knowledge, the new
literacies begin to make sense as they are the "skills and bodies of knowledge" that are necessary
for survival and productivity in the information age.
In the same vein of reasoning, the new literacies are not "new" per se-as in the sense that
they never existed before. Rather, we consider them to be new because the contexts in which old
skills and knowledge are being employed are new, both in nature and in scope. The ability to
translate textual information into images is not a new skill, but it is the ability to do so in way
that it is concise, complete, and clear that is certainly new, given that there will be ninety percent
of the population will be informed on the issue. Similarly being able to verify the truth-value and
veracity of a document is not a skill - but being able to do so when there are a hundred similar
document available to you online is.
Case in point: Throughout history, humans have communicated on levels apart from the
spoken and written word, for example, visually, using the long-distance communication system
of smoke signals used by the ancient Chinese, the ancient Greeks, and the indigenous peoples of
North America.
In the Victorian era, there was such a thing as the "Language of Flowers," where the
kind, color, and arrangement of a bouquet of flowers were used to communicate messages that
could not otherwise be spoken aloud in Victorian society (Greenaway. 1884). For example, a
bouquet of oak leaves (representing strength). purple roses (sorrow), white lilies (resurrection),
and pale yellow tulips and rosemary (memory or remembrance) would altogether communicate a
message of sympathy, usually over the death of a loved one.
Successfully interpreting these "visual languages" required a kind of "visual literacy to
understand the message being presented and to manage the information encoded therein--skills
which, as following chapters will further reveal, are coming into use again in the 21st century
literacies. The difference is that now we are not analyzing smoke signals or bouquets, but rather
sounds, texts, and images from a hundred different sources at a nearly non-stop rate to the point
where accuracy, validity, and reliability of the messages we interpret form the basis for some
very important personal and collective decision-making.
Another difference involves the question of necessity: One did not need to be literate in
the language of flowers to live a fruitful and fulfilled life in Victorian-era England, but to be not
media or digitally literate in the 21st century makes one vulnerable to manipulation by those
who are, and such manipulation can easily cost an individual time, money, property, and even
life.
These so-called "new" literacies arose from the increasing availability of communication
technologies that were once unavailable to the average individual. Technologies like blogging
and vlogging, social networking. And even text-messaging change and expand both the extent
and the form of our communication-blending text, sound, and images in ways unforeseen and
unprecedented (Richardson, 2014). Never before have the opinions of a twelve year-old child in
an unheard-of town in an unheard-of country been available for everyone on earth to read and
hear, and while adults might scoff at a child's opinions that child might have more than a

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thousand online subscribers who certainly think his or her opinions are important, maybe even
more so than the opinions of adults.

Simply put, three things have been critical in the rise of the new literacies:
1. Increased Reach - We are communicating with more people, from more diverse
cultures across vaster distances than ever before.
2. Increased Means of Communication -We are communicating in more ways and at
faster speeds than ever before.
3. Increased Breadth of Content - We are communicating about more things than ever
before.
How do we work together with people of different cultures who might have vastly
different perspectives on communication, work ethics, values, religious beliefs, and world
views? What do we do when some of these might be mutually exclusive to our own? In an age
where information is power-where knowing more and knowing first can spell the difference
between success and failure-how do we leverage both current and emergent technologies so that
our endeavours are both productive and profitable? Moreover, how do we navigate and manage
the veritable minefield of information that was once considered taboo and private and is now
online, for all the world to see and judge whether we like it or not?
Answering such complex questions requires new sets of skills and knowledge – ones that
our school system have never had to teach before. With these changes in with whom, now, and
why we communicate, new literacies are required not only to make sense of the changes, but
also to use these technologies and paradigms in meaningful and productive ways- something
required not only of students, but of teachers as well.,

1. 3. Literacy in the 21st Century

To better address the need for teachers to be literate in these new literacies,
this module discusses and explores them in the ensuing chapters, namely:
Globalization and Multicultural Literacy discusses how our increasing ability
to communicate with almost anyone, anywhere, in real time requires new skills and attitudes in
interacting with people with cultures, perspectives, worldviews, and priorities different from our
own, particularly with the end-view of not only peace and understanding, but also mutual benefit
and productivity.

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The module on Social and Financial Literacy meanwhile explores the need for the ability
to navigate our own social networks-of both the online and off- line variety-to not only
communicate clearly, but also to leverage resources which we ourselves might not possess. At
the same time, the chapter addresses the notorious problem of short-sightedness in Filipino
culture regarding personal finances and how this must be addressed at an increasingly earlier age
to help mitigate the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Media and Cyber/Digital Literacy explores the emerging need to locale, verify, and
ultimately manage online information, especially in an age where information is power and
where having the right (and wrong) information and the ability to communicate it with others
and use it to address real-world problems easily spell the difference between both personal and
career success and failure.
Eco-literacy, Arts, and Creativity Literacy explores the emerging natural demand for
knowing how to effectively and sustainably manage natural resources that our increased
industrialization and demands for productivity are so rapidly eating up. The module also
explores how this increase in productivity also brings with an increased demand for arts and
aesthetics and the need to develop ways of effectively communicating through the creative arts
in industries dominated by objective data.
Finally, Critical Literacy addresses the increasing need to discern the underlying (and
often tacit) messages behind the new "texts" of the 21 st century, particularly in an ever-
increasingly multicultural society where ideas, cultures, and ideologies vie with one another for
power and dominance in the minds of the masses.

Literacy in the 21st century involves more than teaching students to read books and write
using pen and paper; it’s essential that teachers prepare students to use the internet and other
information-communication technologies successfully (Karchmer, Mallette, Kara-Soteriou, &
Leu, 2005).

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Enhance your skills

One of the ways students can be trained in the new literacies is to engage them in digital
storytelling, wherein the students take part in the traditional process of storytelling, but with
some digital enhancements. They choose a topic, conduct research, write a script, develop a
story, and through the use of multimedia, create something that can be played online or on a
computer.
Digital Storytelling can be broken down into following six steps:
1. Writing -Write about a particular story from your life. The story must have a central
theme.
2. Developing a Script - Develop a script that identifies the important points of your
story.
3. Creating a Storyboard - Create a storyboard that visually organizes the flow of the
story. Assign a particular image to portions of the script.
4. Locating Multimedia - Use search engines to locate photos and videos. Photos and
videos from one's personal collection may also be used.
5. Creating the Digital Story - Record the voice over for your movie. Create the movie
using the software that is available to you.
6. Sharing and Uploading - Share your story in class and upload your work online.

INDIVIDUAL/and/or TEAM WRITTEN OUTPUT

Questions to Ponder (Personal/ Individual written output)

On your own, read the questions and instructions carefully. Write/type your
answer on a long size bond paper and submit it or place it in a box provided at the
CapSU CoEd Building.

1. Given the traditional/conventional concept of literacy, how literate are you?

2. How deep is your level of comprehension?
3. As a pre-service teacher, what kind of written materials should you able to read and
understand?
4. Which of the new literacies are you knowledgeable in? Which of the new literacies
do you lack knowledge in?
5. Although reading education in the Philippines aims to develop Functional/ Practical
literacy in learners, what level of literacy is being developed when classroom
practices focus more on memorization rather than on understanding and
application?

Evaluate (Team written output)

As a team, read the questions and instructions carefully. Write/type your

answer on a long size bond paper and submit it on the scheduled submission.

1. Compare and contrast the traditional concept of literacy to the modern view of
literacy.

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2. Describe the changes in the 21st century that have led to the rise of new literacies.

3. With a partner or triad, brainstorm and answer this question: What teaching strategies and
forms of assessment could you use to help develop functional literacy?

Written Exercises:
Read the questions carefully and give the correct answer.
1. Literacy as a concept has proven to be complex and dynamic since it is being continually
defined and interpreted in multiple ways.
A. True B. False
2. "The ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, and compute, using printed
and written materials associated with varying contexts." was the formal definition of literacy in
2004 according to UNESCO.
A. True B. False
3. As there is an increase in reach, means of communication, and breadth of content, the
literacies remain the same.
A. True B. False
4. Conventional literacy is limited to only reading and writing. In contrast, new literacy is
knowledge which is there are skills and bodies of knowledge that are necessary for
survival and productivity in the information age.
A. True B. False
5. According to Mkandawire, literacy is not a form of knowledge, competence, and skills in
particular field or area.
A. True B. False
6. Which of the following is a step in making a digital storytelling?
I. Reacting to the digital storytelling
II. Developing a script
III. Commenting on the post
IV. Creating the digital story
A. I, II, III , IV C. III and IV only
B. I and II only D. I and IV only
7. Eco-literacy, arts, and creativity literacy address:
A. It is a literacy that deals with the environment and people demands
B. It increases our knowledge about finances and connections
C. It has to do with multicultural literature
D. It increases our understanding about the “new” texts
8. The following are the literacy in the 21st century, except:
I. Basic literacy, globalization and multicultural literacy, critical literacy
II. Social literacy, financial literacy, media literacy
III. Multicultural literacy, media literacy, creativity literacy
IV. Eco-literacy, critical literacy, cyber-literacy
A. I and II B. II and IV C. I only D. II only

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9. According to Karchmer et al., it is the successful use of the internet and other
information-communication technologies.
A. Basic Literacy C. Media Literacy
B. Literacy in the 21st Century D. Critical Literacy

10. Mary is a science student-teacher; she made an infographic about flooding and posted it
on social media. A few days later, lots of people reacted and shared her post. What kind
of literacy did she participate in?
A. Eco-literacy C. Both a and b
B. Media Literacy D. Not a literacy at all
11. What subcategory of the conventional concept of literacy talks about the ability to recognize
letters and words?
A. Functional C. Basic
B. Comprehension D. Practical
12. Who divides the conventional concept of literacy into three subcategories?
A. Miller C. Schlechty
B. Erikson D. Thomas

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