Definitions
of Literacy
What is
literacy? An online dictionary defines it as being, “the condition or
quality of being literate, especially the ability to read and write”
(available: www.dictionary.com).
Many sources aggress that the definition of literacy has changed over the
years and continues to change (Jones, 1996; Langford, 1998; Shapiro and
Hughes, 1996). For most of its long history in English, literate
has meant only “familiar with literature,” or more generally,
“well-educated, learned”; it is only during the last hundred years that
it has also come to refer to the basic ability to read and write. Even more
recently, the meaning of the word literacy has been extended from
the original connection with reading and literature to any body of
knowledge. For example, computer literacy, information literacy, critical
literacy and many others, are new literacies that have become common,
everyday words (Langford, 1998; Shapiro and Hughes, 1996).
Lankshear and Knoebel (Muspratt, Luke, and Freebody (eds.), 1997, p. 96), define literacies as:
“Literacies are many, not singular. Moreover, what all cases of literacy seem to have in common – such as a basis in a technology (eg. Print, alphabetic script), or a set of techniques or competencies or some combination of these – is now widely seen as in many ways less significant than the differences among literacies. We can now understand literacies as socially created constitutive elements of larger human purposes and values.”
Shapiro and Hughes (1996) identify seven dimensions of information literacy which include, tool literacy (includes software and hardware), resource literacy, social-structural literacy, research literacy, publishing literacy, emerging technology literacy, and finally critical literacy. They define critical literacy as the ability to evaluate critically the intellectual, human and social strengths and weaknesses, potentials and limits, benefits and costs of information technologies, which includes a historical perspective. Critical thinking takes the learner beyond thoughtful reflection to analysis and a determined course of action (Jones, 1996). It is this process that we need to teach our students.
Critical Literacy as a Tool of Empowerment
“To be literate is not to be free, it is to be present and active in the struggle
for reclaiming one’s voice, history, and future.”
(Friere and Macedo, 1987)
Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, the term critical literacy was probably most strongly affiliated with the work of Paulo Friere and his colleagues. Freire outlined an orientation to education that began from the proposition that language and literacy, and control over how issues, problems and aspects of the world are “named”, are directly tied to issues of political power, and that reconstructed, literacy education could therefore be used as a force for political liberation and emancipation for disenfranchised social groups. Friere and Macedo define literacy in a political sense. They iterate that literacy is best understood as a myriad of discursive forms and cultural competencies that construct and make available the various relations and experiences that exist between learners and the world. Friere and Macedo (1987, p. 25) best say this in the following quote:
“Reading
the world always precedes reading the word, and reading the word implies
continually reading the world…. [T]his movement from the word to the world
is always present; even the spoken word flows from our reading of the world.
In a way, however, we can go further and say that reading the word is
not preceded merely by reading the world, but by a certain form of writing
it or rewriting it, that is, of transforming it by means of conscious,
practical work. For me, this
dynamic movement is central to the literacy process.”
This
is an important element for critical literacy on the Internet. Not only must
students learn how to read the Internet but for a critical element they must
also construct texts. Andersen (2000) discusses how users of the Internet
construct their own text when surfing the web. Their journey is
individualized as each student uses different sequences and duration.
Opportunities also arise for discussion on the vocabulary of searching,
surfing, evaluating sites, and processing retrieved information (Andersen,
2000; Jones, 1996).
The
Internet: Creating a need for Critical Literacy
Thus
far students have had neither the need nor the opportunity to develop
critical literacy in the class. The authoritative nature of the didactic
approach, combined with the use of textbooks as the primary delivery
mechanism for information favors the largely uncritical acceptance of
information (Mather, 1997). Textbooks come to the students already pre-filtered by the
author, librarian, industry, or curriculum instructors. Somebody has already
decided for the student if the material is relevant, worthwhile, and
appropriate for the student’s needs. For these reasons, up to now,
students have had little access to raw, unfiltered, even contradictory
information with which to challenge their critical literacy (Andersen, 2000;
Morgan, 1997).
Knowledge continues to increase at an exponential rate. Requiring students to learn facts in traditional classrooms is not longer appropriate. Many courses in our schools are still working from this framework and are continuing to take a didactic approach to teaching. We, as teachers, need to equip students with a new set of skills, which will enable them to locate, analyze, evaluate, and synthesize the vast amounts of information available. Students must become information managers; they must become critically literate (Shapiro & Hughes, 1996).
"23 million kids and teens now access the Internet regularly, visiting on average almost 40 different Web sites each month." (CENTER FOR MEDIA LITERACY, Oct. 25, 2000)
"The introduction of computers and the Internet to schools and libraries has heightened the need to teach students to critically analyze an ever-expanding range of information sources." AMLA's first president, Frank Baker, Coordinator of Distance Education, K-12 School Services, South Carolina.
"Media literacy is concerned with helping students develop an informed and critical understanding of the nature of the mass media, the techniques used by them, and the impact of these techniques. More specifically, it is education that aims to increase students' understanding and enjoyment of how the media work, how they produce meaning, how they are organized, and how they construct reality. Media literacy also aims to provide students with the ability to create media products." From: Resource Guide: Media Literacy , pages 6-7, Ministry of Education, Ontario, Canada.
Critical Literacy as a Solution
What is the best solution for this problem? Again, how do we best protect
our students from the ‘dark side’ of the Internet? Blocking and
filtering software is not the answer. Although Acceptable Use Policies have
their place in schools we should not rely on them to teach students
acceptable online behavior. In fact most students (and their parents) sign
this form without giving much of its contents any serious thought. What
students need is to spend time in the classroom where discussion and other
teaching methods, tools, strategies and activities can help them develop
critical literacy in this area.