21st Century Literacies: Now and in the Future

            I have not posted a proper introduction on my blog since making it back in September, so hello! My name is Christina and currently I am a teacher in the making – being in my fourth year of my teaching degree has taught me a lot and also made me realize I have plenty to learn before getting into my own classroom.   

            A new term that has been popping up in my education classes recently is one that has not been around for an overly long period of time – 21^st century literacy. The development of new technologies and having new ways of understanding the world calls for a shift in understanding what education is and what it looks like. By letting education stagnate and not grow alongside the needs of the 21st century learner is doing a great injustice to students – deeper learning is vital for students and developing their 21^st century literacy skills is where progress within the educations system needs to begin. Before implementing and teaching 21^st century literacy skills in the classroom, the first step we need to do is understand what 21^st century literacies are and the skills attached to it.

            The main issue with 21^st century literacy skills is that having a concrete definition of it is quite a complex problem that has not yet been solved. Since it is a relatively new term in the world of education, there is no single definition; rather, it encompasses a range of multiple things that can potentially encompass what 21^st century literacy skills truly are. The best definition I was able to find comes from the writings of Drake, Reid, and Kolohon (2014):

“Various frameworks define the skills considered necessary for life in the twenty-first century. These skills include complex interdisciplinary skills such as communication, higher-order thinking skills, design and construction (creativity), as well as disciplinary

literacies and new literacies.” (p. 175).

The reason as to why I believe this definition does a great job on explaining the intricacies of 21^st century literacy skills is because it integrates being able to use skills such as communication and creativity, but delves deeper into acknowledging that 21^st century literacy skills encompass various forms of other literacies that are placed under the umbrella term of 21^st century literacy.

21st Century Bicycle - Retrieved from Trilling and Fadel (2009)

Students are learning in unique ways that differ greatly to how they used to learn with the develop of the internet and new technology that helps facilitate deeper learning – no longer is literacy simply understanding how to read and write, but 21^st century literacy involves a plethora of new ways of understanding and accessing information. Several new literacies that have developed as a result of 21^st century literacies include: critical literacy, media literacy, financial literacy, and mental health literacy. All of these new forms of literacies are a necessity for 21^st century learners to understand because they all come together in different ways that being able to interpret these multiple literacies allow us to live out our daily lives with the ability to understand the information that we have access to.

New Literacies. Image made by myself on Canva.

For myself personally, gaining a more in-depth understanding of 21^st century literacies and being able to become a 21^st century teacher who is capable of helping students become 21^st century learners will be an exhilarating process and also be a huge learning curve for me from the way I recall traditionally being taught. 21^st century literacy is a new term that over time will develop a concrete meaning, but for now, is a term that both teachers and students alike need to delve into together and create meanings that reflect the values of what it means to be someone living in the 21^st century. Throughout this next semester of my degree, I hope to be able to understand more thoroughly what 21^st century literacies are and be able to unlock the value that new literacies hold for myself as a future teacher and for the students I will teach in the future.

References

Drake, S. M., Reid, J. L., & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom

            Assessment: Engaging the 21^st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University

            Press.