21st Century Literacies

Why blog?
The blog is a little nudge in the direction of 21st Century Literacy...using the tools of technology in your educational life as well as in your social life.

When it comes to literacy, there are always insiders and outsiders. Insiders have access to text, technology and information, and use it to deepen and enrich their lives. I want you to get used to the idea that there are virtual classrooms and communities that you will be asked to participate in. This is not silly little busy work...it is dipping your toe into the world that you will be invited to join as you move into your professional lives.

The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies

Adopted by the NCTE Executive Committee, February 15, 2008

Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers to participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, and malleable. As in the past, they are inextricably linked with particular histories, life possibilities and social trajectories of individuals and groups. Twenty-first century readers and writers need to

* Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
* Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally
* Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes
* Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information
* Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts
^ Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments