What is technological literacy and what does it entail?

[Vasi]

We live in a world increasingly mediated by information and communication technologies that impact every aspect of our lives and have changed and will continue to change our literacy practices. As educators we need to understand the changes so that we can learn how to use the new technologies ‘efficiently, ethically and responsibly with a view to tapping their educational potential’ (Synder, 2001).

Researchers such as Luke (1997), Gagel (1997), Leu (2004), Bruce (1997) and others indicate that one of the critical literacies of our times is the Technological Literacy witch is about the ability to understand and effectively use emerging and converging technologies.

How would you define technological literacy? What do you think it entails?

[Roxana Sordo]

I think technological literacy involves both Anderson´s declarative and procedural knowledge about technology. In other words, it consists of knowing how to use technology for any purpose and all its content. I believe that ethical issues are always implicit in any activity and knowledge so we, as teachers, should make them explicit as part of our practices.

[Vance Stevens]

This is a great question, the topic of our first week in this course: http://goodbyegutenberg.pbworks.com/2010Sept_Week1; and if we can answer it in the next 4 weeks we'll have succeeded in defining this multiliteracies course.

In the years I have taught this course I have focused on a number of frameworks. The seminal multiliteracies work was by the New London Group

New London Group. (1996). A Pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review 66 (1). Retrieved August 31, 2010 from http://wwwstatic.kern.org/filer/blogWrite44ManilaWebsite/paul/artic....

or so I thought until I interviewed Stuart Selber who wrote the book we used the first few years I taught the course

Selber, S. (2004) Multiliteracies for a Digital Age. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press.

and HE said when I asked that he hadn't paid that much attention to that article. But Selber breaks the field into Functional, Critical, and Rhetorical literacies. Meanwhile Mark Pegrum wrote a book that I really liked where he considered tech competencies via the 5 lenses he mentions in his introduction "Many Lenses" in Mark Pegrum's From Blogs to Bombs: http://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/isbn/9781921401343.htm; available here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/multilit/files/EVOMlit2010/pegrum_blo...

Meanwhile, as we continue to ponder this, can you reveal your sources please? i.e. (Synder, 2001), Luke (1997), Gagel (1997), Leu (2004), Bruce (1997), and Anderson´s declarative and procedural knowledge about technology.

Thanks, waiting for others to chime in here :-)

p.s. links to Informal conversation with Stuart Selber, author of Multiliteracies for a digital age

* The session was recorded in Elluminate: http://tinyurl.com/090205selber
* An mp3 recording of this session, and subscription to all recordings in this series, are all available here:
http://vance_stevens.podomatic.com/entry/eg/2009-02-07T07_04_29-08_00

[Vanessa Vaile]

I do a lot of online networking with community, writing and academic groups unlikely to use the full range on online communication and networking tools. I have also taught non-traditional students and tutored humanities graduate students in basic computer skills as well as using computers in a Family Literacy program and teaching GED. It might be more useful to be less binary and think of computer literacy in the same terms as reading literacy, e.g. consisting of levels rather than either/or//Yes/No

[Vasi]

Hi Vance,
Here are the references sorry for not including them in the initial post:

Bruce, C.B. (1997). Critical Issues. Literacy Technologies: What Stance Should We Take? Journal of Literacy Research, 29(2), 289-309. http://www.nrconline.org/jlr/archive/v29/article_29_2_5.pdf

Gagel, W.C. (1997). Literacy and Technology: Reflections and Insights for Technological Literacy. Journal of Industrial Teacher Education. 34(3). http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JITE/v34n3/Gagel.html

Leu Jr, D. J., Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J.L., & Cammack, D.W. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the internet and other information and communication technologies. Reading Online. http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=leu/i...

Luke, C. (1997). Technological literacy. http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed253a/Luke/TECHLIT.html

Synder, I. (2001). A New Communication Order: Researching Literacy Practices in the Network Society. Language and Education, 15(2&3). http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.124.1298&a...

these are the bookmarks I have collected in my delicious
http://www.delicious.com/playnice_nz/literacy

will keep an eye on your #evomit ;0)
Vasi

Vance Stevens said:br /> Meanwhile, as we continue to ponder this, can you reveal your sources please? i.e. (Synder, 2001), Luke (1997), Gagel (1997), Leu (2004), Bruce (1997), and Anderson´s declarative and procedural knowledge about technology.

Thanks, waiting for others to chime in here :-)

[Vanessa Vaile]

Such a rich, complex question ~ too good a thread not to keep going through #evomlit11. I suspect each of us has our own personal and situational definition of technological literacy based on tool/apps we use, how we use them ~ and above all the needs and limitations of our own particular situations. 

 

Personal definitions could number more than just one for every person using technology and defining technological literacy, We need benchmarks and baselines if only for chaos management. Is there a clear concise definition that cover technological literacy for different fields, levels, perspectives? Do bear in mind though that benchmarking ~ never an end in itself ~ carries its own perils and pitfalls.

[Luciana Caldeira]

I think it's about being able to use technology effectively for all of one's necessities and problems. If I am a teacher I should know how to use technology in my work and studies. I should also know how to use it as a mother, a wife and everything related to my life. As any other language no one will ever know everything, but we can perfectly use the languages we speak to communicate effectively making the best use of it.

[Vanessa Vaile]

Multiple literacies for multiple interests, purposes and networks... I like that image (even if it can be something of a many headed Hydra)

I wonder what a Venn diagram mapping how our multiple networks overlap might look like ~ except that it would need to be dynamic, not static. Using multiliteracies in multiple arenas influences how we use them, select and adopt new ones

 

I've been collecting definitions of technological literacies: most are from either education or engineering ~ imagine the  ERIC + NAE (National Academy of Engineering) mashup  ... my oh my

Luciana Caldeira said:

I think it's about being able to use technology effectively for all of one's necessities and problems. If I am a teacher I should know how to use technology in my work and studies. I should also know how to use it as a mother, a wife and everything related to my life. As any other language no one will ever know everything, but we can perfectly use the languages we speak to communicate effectively making the best use of it.

[Kami]

Hi!

I am under the impression that the very idea of multiliteracies or literacies entails a socio-constructivist view.  At least the quick read I did of the paper A pedagogy of multiliteracies gave me that impression.

I would like to know if you are aware of how the cognitive part works in this theory.

[Vance Stevens]

Hi Kami,

It's been a while since I've read this particular article but I've just printed it out. I'm flying tonight to Austria (hope to hook up with Graham Davies in St Johann for a bit of skiing) but I'll re-read this paper on the plane and hopefully come back to you with a more cogent commentary.

 

Vance

Kami said:

Hi!

I am under the impression that the very idea of multiliteracies or literacies entails a socio-constructivist view.  At least the quick read I did of the paper A pedagogy of multiliteracies gave me that impression.

I would like to know if you are aware of how the cognitive part works in this theory.

[Vanessa Vaile]

The rest of what I looked up on technological literacy includes both education and engineering definitions but seemed long for a comment so I turned it into a separate blog post: http://multiliteracies.ning.com/profiles/blogs/what-is-technologica... (pending approval?)