New Definitions of Literacy
As policymakers and educators ponder what it means to be literate in a digitized
society, an array of literacy definitions is emerging. Among them are the following
- Information Literacy: The ability to access and use information,
analyze content, work with ideas, synthesize thought, and communicate results.
- Digital Literacy: The ability to attain deeper understanding of content
by using data-analysis tools and accelerated learning processes enabled by
- New Literacy: The ability to solve genuine problems amidst a deluge
of information and its transfer in the Digital Age.
- Computer Literacy: The ability to accurately and effectively use
computer tools such as word processors, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation
and graphic software.
- Computer-Technology Literacy: The ability to manipulate the hardware
that is the understructure of technology systems.
- Critical Literacy: The ability to look at the meaning and purpose
of written texts, visual applications, and spoken words to question the attitudes,
values, and beliefs behind them. The goal is development of critical thinking
to discern meaning from array of multimedia, visual imagery, virtual environments,
as well as written text.
- Media Literacy: The ability to communicate competently in all media
forms--print and electronic--as well as access, understand, analyze and evaluate
the images, words, and sounds that comprise contemporary culture.
For additional information on 21st century skills that students will need to
effectively function in today's world, refer to digital-age
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