New Literacies

Milo

1. Most examples of new literacies involve some knowledge of technology. I imagine new literacies are constantly emerging as our society and culture shifts and changes. 
2. Most of the examples were fairly obvious (like video making, social networking, and podcasting. Text messaging was one that surprised me, but after some thought, I agree wholly with that. I used to work at Apple and there were a lot of people that would come in with no understanding of how to comprehend and utilize their devices. Simple things that we take for granted, like understanding the function of a swipe across the screen to get to the homescreen, how to adjust the volume, and charge the battery, are completely foreign to people who haven’t grown up in an age of more advanced technology. A lot of people saw the Siri function in the iPhone as an act of magic rather than a voice controlled operating system that aids in automating tasks and providing information. This gap only widens with the exponential development and utilization of tech in every day life. 
3. This week’s assigned reading was surprisingly eye opening. The part where the author talks about how reading comprehension has declined in popularity and students are more apt to skim before pausing to fully understand what they’re reading hit a bit too close to home! I like how the author pointed out the importance of adjusting learning techniques for students. I graduated high school right as social media and personal use technology started to become popular and I remember a lot of the teachers talking about how out of their depth they felt with newer technology. I’m glad that sentiment has shifted to acknowledge the importance of meeting students where they’re at. 
4. This week’s TedTalk opened my eyes to the amount of new literacies that exist. The concept of confidence as a literacy and how it applies to learning strategies was a new concept I’ve not heard put into real world terms before. Critical literacy was equally as surprising. It’s an extremely under-valued and ultra-important type of literacy that involves making informed decisions regarding issues like power and control and developing the ability to think and act ethically. Ethics tend to be overlooked in today’s political and socioeconomic climate in favor of acquisition/hoarding of wealth and resources. 
5. A few new literacies that have helped me with my schooling are cognitive and critical literacies. I’m proud of my ability to be aware, internalize, realize, and apply information. This goes hand in hand with critical literacies as I also have a passion for ethical living, learning, and social change. My ability to positively affect the world and my environment only grows with more education. 
6. See #2
7. One new literacy that I can’t live without would be artistic/creative literacy. Being able to connect both personally and meaningfully to works of art allows us to connect to our humanity and the humanity of others. This leads to perspective shifts and change in perspective can create the fastest, most effective change, especially when it comes to social change as empathy and connection fuel the fire for the pursuit of justice and equality. 
8. 🌱👽🐕