Study Guide in ProfEd 110 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev.

0 03-June-2020
(Course Code & Title) Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum Module 1 _____________ (Unit/Chapter Title)

Module No.01

MODULE TITLE

Introduction to 21st Century Literacies

MODULE OVERVIEW

This is the first Module on ProfEd 110, this course introduces the concepts of new literacies in the 21 st
century as an evolving social phenomenon and shared cultural practices across learning areas. The 21 st
century literacies shall include (a) globalization and multi-cultural literacy, (b) social literacy, (c) media
literacy, (d) financial literacy, (e) cyber/ digital literacy, (f) eco-literacy, (g) arts and creativity literacy, and
(h) critical literacy. Field based- interdisciplinary explorations and other teaching strategies shall be used in
this course (CHED Memorandum Order No. 74 Series of 2017).

Module ProfEd110-01 is on the Introduction to 21 st Century Literacies. This explores several definitions of
literacy and what being literate means in the multiplicity of context in the 21 st century, with the goal of
raising awareness in readers who might be presently unaware of evolving perspectives on literacies even as
they attempt to teach the new literacies to their students.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this Module, you should be able to

2.1. Discuss Introduction to 21st Century Literacies
2.2. To develop a clear and practical understanding of the definitions of conventional literacy;
and
2.3. To develop a clear and practical understanding of the expanded views of literacy in the 21 st
century

LEARNING CONTENTS

General Instructions:
1. Please read the Module diligently.
2. If you have questions and suggestions, please write them specifically and send it to the Instructor’s
email: analyndiola@[Link]
3. Do not post any part of this Module on social media.
4. Please check references for more information.
If there are additional information and updated data, please write the reference (Author, Date of
Publication and Web Link, if available.)

Definition of Literacy

Literacy is defined by dictionaries as the state of being able to read and write. Alberta Education defines
literacy as the ability, confidence and willingness to engage with language to acquire, construct and
communicate meaning in all aspects of daily living. Language is explained as a socially and culturally
constructed system of communication.

Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute using printed and
written materials associated with varying context. 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 (UNESCO, 2004; 2017).

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 1

Study Guide in ProfEd 110 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 03-June-2020
(Course Code & Title) Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum Module 1 _____________ (Unit/Chapter Title)

Three key features of the UNESCO’ definition of literacy

- Literacy is about the uses people make of it as a means of communication and expression, through a
variety of media;
- Literacy is plural, being practiced in particular contexts for particular purposes and using specific
languages;
- Literacy involves a continuum of learning measured at different proficient levels

Traditional or Conventional Literacy

The word “literacy” stems from the word “literate,” which first appeared the 15 th century and is in turn
derived from Latin word “litteratus” meaning “(a person) marked with letters”- that is, “distinguished or
identifies by letters”- and it carried with it the idea that such a person was cultured and educated. Since the
subjects of the time (e.g. grammar, logic, arithmetic, geometry, etc.) all had written text (which were
composed of letters) that had to be studied, 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.

Alata and Ignacia cited Miller (1973) divides this conventional concept of literacy into three sub-categories:
1. Basic Literacy- It is the ability to correspond visual shapes to spoken sounds in order to decode
written materials and translate 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 letters “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- It is the ability to read (i.e. decode and comprehend) written
materials needed to perform everyday vocational tasks. This 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 (consistent 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 to read; without meaning, the text is
reduced to series of incomprehensive 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) as cited by Alata and Ignacia defines the concept of functional illiteracy 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.

Expanded Views of Literacy

Despite the popularity of American films in the Philippines, many Filipinos cannot follow the actors’
dialogue, and thus resort to guessing the overall story based on the actions onscreen.

Despite the ubiquity of the traditional view of literacy, Robert (1995) notes that “in the past fifty years,
hundreds of definition of ‘literacy’ have been advanced by scholars, adult literacy workers, and programme
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,
communication, and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying context. Literacy

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 2

Study Guide in ProfEd 110 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 03-June-2020
(Course Code & Title) Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum Module 1 _____________ (Unit/Chapter Title)

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 particular field or area,” being supported by UNESCO (2006), Barton (2007), and Mkandawire,
Simooya- Mudenda, & Cheelo (2017), which acknowledge 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.

Literacy in the 21st Century

When viewed from the perspective of convention/ traditional literacy, the concept of “new” literacies is a bit
of a misnomer, as even these new literacies of the 21 st 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 “skill and bodies of
knowledge” that are necessary for survival and productivity in the information age.

In the same vein of reasoning, 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 context 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 ability to do so in a way that is concise, complete, and clear that is certainly new, given
that it will be how ninety percent of the population will be inform on the issue. Similarly, being able to
verify the truth-value and veracity of a document is not a new skill- but being able to do so when there are a
hundred similar documents available to you online is.

Case in point: Throughout history, humans have communicated on their 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 “Language of Flowers,” where the kind color and
arrangement of a bouquet of flowers were used to communicate messages that could not otherwise spoken
aloud in Victorian Society (Greenaway, 1884). For example, a bouquet of oak leaves (representing
strength), purple roses (sorrow), white lilies (resurrection), pale yellow tulips and rosemary (memory of
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 21 st century literacies. The difference is that
now we are not analysing smoke signals of 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

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 3

Study Guide in ProfEd 110 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 03-June-2020
(Course Code & Title) Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum Module 1 _____________ (Unit/Chapter Title)

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 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 in an unheard-of town in an unheard-of country been available for
everyone on earth to read and hear, and while adults might scoffs at a child’s opinion, that child might have
more than a 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 communication in 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 Breath of Content- We are communicating about more things than even 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 worldviews? 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 more and knowing first can spell the difference between success and failure- how do we leverage
both current and emergent technologies so that our endeavors are both productive and profitable? Moreover,
how do we navigate and manage 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 new sets of skills and knowledge- one that our school system have
never had to teach before. With these changes in with whom, how, and why we communicate, new literacies
are required not only to make sense of the changes, but also to use these new technologies and paradigms in
meaningful and productive ways-something required not only of students, but of teachers as well.

LEARNING POINTS

• Traditional Literacy is the ability to read and write

• The traditional or conventional concept of literacy can be divided into sub- categories:
o Basic literacy, which is the ability to recognize letters and words
o Comprehension Literacy, which is the ability to understand the meaning of what is being
read; and
o Functional/ Practical Literacy, which is the ability to read written materials needed to
perform needed everyday vocational tasks
• Modern views of equate it with knowledge
• New literacies have risen due to increased breadth of content. These new literacies are globalization
and multicultural literacy, social and financial literacy, media and cyber/digital literacy, ecoliteracy,
artistic and creative literacy, and critical literacy.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Read the questions and instructions carefully. Write your answers in the space provided.

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

PANGASINAN STATE UNIVERSITY 4

Study Guide in ProfEd 110 FM-AA-CIA-15 Rev. 0 03-June-2020
(Course Code & Title) Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum Module 1 _____________ (Unit/Chapter Title)

4. Lesson Planning and Lesson Demonstration: Prepare and deliver a lesson that incorporates
some of the new literacies.

REFERENCES

Alata and Ignacio (2019) Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum. Rex Bookstore,
Inc. (RBSI) Manila, Philippines

[Link]

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