Defining New Literacies and Why They Matter

-


New literacies and the practice of using them are highly pertinent to both my professional and personal life.  To understand why it is important in my life you must know what I mean by literacy. Many define literacy as being able to read and write, however my view of what literacy is is understanding. One can be digitally literate, culturally literate, visually literate, and critically literate to name a few as described by Constance Beecher in “What is Literacy? Multiple Perspectives on Literacy”. Those who demonstrate a deeper understanding in a specific field would then be literate in that field.  I believe traditional literacy as in being able to read and write and understand what you are reading and writing is important for everyone. Being able to comprehend information given to you or surrounding you is important to be able to thrive in a community. 

It is vital that I develop and continue to evolve with new literacies for both my career and my personal life. I am the Director of a child care center and we use new apps and technology to assess development, communicate with families, participate in therapies and evaluations, provide staff development, and support staff. Keeping up to date with media and technology is vital to provide best practice for the children in my care, support families, and assist staff in reaching their full potential. As for the personal life, I am a mother of three in an interracial family and it is crucial that my husband and I are culturally and critically literate when facing new information in the media and government. It is necessary that my children are not only taught traditional literacy but also be taught how to navigate the intersection of cultures, values, and identities. New literacies shape how I interact with social media, stay informed, and make sense of the vast amount of information in the world. 


References

Beecher, C. (2023). Chapter 1. What is Literacy? Multiple Perspectives on Literacy. 

https://iastate.pressbooks.pub/teachingearlyliteracy/chapter/what-is-literacy-multiple-perspectives-on-literacy/

Sang, Y. (2017). Expanded Territories of “Literacy”: New Literacies and Multiliteracies. Journal of Education and Practice


Comments

  1. LajasFebruary 2, 2025 at 10:40 AM

    Literacy is UNDERSTANDING! Yes. I agree. When I read your post I think of the difference between surviving and thriving. I think that being literate in terms of being able to read and write in the dominant language may allow us to survive for a short time but eventually in order to be able to thrive and succeed in an ever-changing world we must be prepared to truly comprehend all of the new literacies and how they apply to us. As stated in "Expanded Territories of 'Literacy': New Literacies and Multiliteracies" by Yuan Sang, we cannot just reproduce the existing language but rather "create new forms according to social and cultural change". (Sang, 2017)

    I will admit that with so many new literacies and my recognition of my weaknesses as it relates to navigating social media, I have struggled to "keep up" with all of the information being shared these days. I am leaning on the youth to keep me informed and to in fact teach me how to navigate these new literacies as they serve as an exemplar of what a person who is digitally literate looks like. I am not him. .lol.

    Sang, Y. (2017). Expanded Territories of “Literacy”: New Literacies and Multiliteracies. Journal of Education and Practice

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Research on Social Media Use and Children

-
        When examining topics related to new media, new literacies, and participatory culture there are many issues that piqued my interest. I typically look for issues that connect with my life either personal or professional. Both have children, education, and technology heavily involved. Not only have I cared for children for nearly 20 years and worked in the education field for 12 of them, but I am also a mother, so topics surrounding children are even more relatable and important to me. When researching these subjects I found many sources about social media and children. While social media platforms offer educational and social benefits, they pose significant risks to children's mental health, development, and online safety, requiring proactive measures from parents, educators, and policymakers to mitigate these risks and ensure a balanced, healthy digital experience.  Delving into the topic of children and social media has several practical applica...
Read more

Integrating games into the classroom-Super Elmo’s ABC Jump

-
Image
       For young learners, especially in preschool and early elementary grades, developing foundational literacy skills is essential.Teaching early literacy skills to young children can be challenging, particularly when striving to maintain engagement. Interactive tools like Super Elmo’s ABC Jump , a free and open-source game from Sesame Street, offer an effective and enjoyable way to support preschool and kindergarten students as they develop foundational reading skills. The game reinforces key concepts such as letter recognition, phonics, and alphabet sequencing in a developmentally appropriate format. In this blog post, I’ll explore how you can integrate this resource into your classroom to enhance literacy instruction while keeping learning both meaningful and fun. Super Elmo's ABC Jump is a simple, interactive game developed by Sesame Street that features the beloved character Elmo as he jumps from cloud to cloud as a superhero collecting the letters for Alpha...
Read more

Leveraging Tools, Texts, and Talking in My Teaching

-
    Designing classroom activities to support practices beyond the screen involves creating opportunities for students to engage in learning experiences that are not limited to digital platforms, fostering skills and competencies that extend into the real, modern-day world. This approach emphasizes hands-on, interactive, and collaborative learning that can complement digital literacies. As a director of a childcare center I understand that one of the key aspects of engaging students in meaningful conversations around new literacies practices is to encourage reflection on how these practices are used in real-world contexts. This could involve discussions about how digital tools interact with face-to-face communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving. However, in my case my students are my employees. My staff must understand the material they are exposing the children to, what perspectives and thoughts could be provoked and what skills will be taught from this material....
Read more