The following write-up is a reflection commentary on an original article published by Marc Prensky, Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.
A cursory glance at society around us reveals that digital technology is coming to embody a way of life rather than simply extending former routines. From handheld devices that allow unprecedented mobility to simplified production software that spurred a recently emerging do-it-yourself subculture, one inevitably needs to consider how such technology fits into the approach towards 21st Century education. Taking place in parallel is a paradigm shift from teaching content knowledge to contextual skills that emphasize higher order thinking and digital literacy.
Complicating the notion of 21st Century literacies is the fact that the notion of “literacy” today has differentiated across subject areas and away from the traditional sense embodied in the Ontario Ministry’s Language Curriculum document. The differentiation is intended to fulfill the qualities of the well-rounded 21st Century learner: one who is a critical thinker and inquirer, a self-directed learner, is globally aware, and is ready for civic engagement. This is not to say that literacy as oral communication, reading, and writing is diluted through its interdisciplinary nature. In fact, it is the opposite; that literacy as civic engagement has seeped into virtually all aspects of students’ technology-driven academic, social, and emotional lives. Prensky thus coins the term “digital native” as a label for the generation of youth who grow up under this influence. This nativity entails three major literacies: digital literacy, information literacy, and media literacy. Though often used interchangeably, educators should be able to distinguish these literacies so as to attain specific 21st Century learner qualities in specific contexts. Especially because most of current teachers identify as what Prensky further calls “digital immigrants”, educators themselves are strongly urged to understand the economic and cultural dimensions of the digital world before they can hope to empower their own students with those literacies.
Media literacy essentially refers to an individual’s ability to negotiate meanings in a culture of image, text, and sound media, and thus assert an “autonomy relationship”. Specifically, media-literate students should be taught to decode, evaluate, and analyze both print and digital media. The Ontario Association for Media Literacy emphasizes the “autonomy” aspect, adding that media is constructed and constructs reality, and that students should recognize conventions in form and content that aim to persuade. As an educator, I would further propose that media literacy enables students to enjoy participating productively in “real-world” society, rather than obliviously consuming media in ignorance.
Information literacy is less concerned with whether students can detect a text’s insinuations or intent than with whether they are able to use those texts to solve a particular problem. With the internet and other communicative services right at their fingertips in mobile devices, students are forced to address an excess of information, unlike previous generations of students who spent more time searching for content. Thus, it is more important than ever for students to recognize message authenticity and credibility in order to select the best information from a pool of knowledge. The most recent version of the Ontario Curriculum for Language outlines an Overall Expectation in the Media Literacy strand that students will “identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning.”
Digital literacy is potentially the most estranging for teachers as it involves skills that were only relevant in recent years, becoming more necessary as information and communications technology (ICT) becomes integrated into our everyday lives. An individual’s ability to read or comprehend hypertext is only one facet of digital literacy. Just as important is the ability to extract information from various digital sources with competence in internet searching, content evaluation, and other issues unique to ICT. Digital literacy has notable overlap with information literacy, particularly in critical thinking.
One significant (and unique) element of digital literacy is its consideration of the user (or the student) as a producer of texts. Yet, many Ontario classes in most subject areas only train students with assessments that merely digitize written work, with Microsoft PowerPoint or Prezi as the platform of choice for digital presentation. The latest revisions to the Ontario curriculum have opened many more possibilities for contextualized forms of digital communication, such as hosting social networks or creating blogs and vlogs. For students to truly attain digital literacy, teachers should be mindful of the technology’s specific functions and protocols on which their students host their work. For example, although Twitter is intended for users to express quick thoughts, its 140-character limit and hashtag function inherently shape protocols of peer-to-peer communication that doesn’t exist in traditional modes.
Furthermore, as progressive schools have noticed even more recently, digital literacy now acknowledges the emerging “maker subculture” of the 2010s. With affordable and intuitive production technology no longer restricted to industry professionals, today’s youth are thoroughly engaged in “bedroom production”; audio podcasts, blogs, vlogs, and personal websites can be literally created in the comfort of one’s own bedroom within mere hours. Informed guidance would empower the student to participate productively in online practice and discourse. On the other hand, misuse of digital media—even if unintentional—can have tragic results such as the suicide of Amanda Todd in Port Coquitlam in October 2012.
The difficult reality is that some of the teachers who agree that students need to be prepared to adjust to the technological demands of the 21st Century are the same teachers who identify with paper-and-pencil models of literacy and shun technology use in the classroom. Two thirds of teachers in Canada currently feel underprepared to integrate ICT in the classroom, and likely default to outdated pedagogical approaches. As a result, the classroom is seen by students as a place of regression where learning entails unilateral delivery of isolated content knowledge. Even if transmissive modes of teaching are the status quo, students are better prepared than ever to access such knowledge with a quick Google search on their own devices. Educators need to recognize that students possess a working degree of digital literacy (nurtured everyday through their social interactions outside the classroom), but may be lacking in media literacy and information literacy. They may know how to operate cutting-edge technology, but need guidance to operate them in a productive manner that aligns with psychosocial norms of broader society.
In a formal literacy class, students may check their e-mail at the beginning of class and watch a TED fellow present a revolutionary idea, then respond with their reactions in a comment much like those on YouTube. If the students in the class are connected via a secure social learning platform like Edmodo, they may engage in an exchange of comments, replies, and “Likes”—the standard features of contemporary networking platforms. The teacher benefits by catching a glimpse of the social networking phenomenon in action. In other words, 21st Century education needs to bring the pedagogical focus from content to context. Teachers who are particularly “tech-anxious” do not necessarily have to design a revolutionary approach to teaching. A less daunting way to frame the movement towards 21st Century education is to remind educators that they are not expected to become masters of technology. But rather, they are urged to be mindful of their shifting role from “the sage on the stage” to “the guide on the side.”