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GUIDE TO
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Overview

Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum is a course intended for all students
enrolled in Bachelor of Secondary Education and Bachelor of Elementary Education programs. This is a
course that focuses on the contemporary age characterized by knowledge and information, industrialization,
and increasing cultural and global integration. It allows learners to possess new skills, competencies, and
dispositions as emerging technologies, industries, and relations have become more complex.

Course Guide
Course Details
Course Number : CPE 109
Course Name : Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum
Number of Units : 3 units
Pre-requisite :
Co-requisite : None

Course Outcomes
At the end of the course, students can:
1. Understand literacy teaching and learning in the contemporary age
2. Examine new literacies through multiple theoretical lenses
3. Appreciate interactive discourse and exchanges towards interdisciplinary explorations on new
literacies

Course Outline
MODULE 1 Introduction to 21st Century Literacies
Lesson 1: Traditional or Conventional Literacy
Lesson 2: Expanded Views of Literacy
Lesson 3: Literacy in the 21st Century

MODULE 2 Globalization and Cultural and Multicultural Literacies

Lesson 1: The effects of Globalization
Lesson 2: Cultural Literacy
Lesson 3: Multicultural Literacy
Lesson 4: Issues in Teaching and Learning Multicultural
Literacy in the Philippines

MODULE 3 Social Literacy

Lesson 1: The role of Parents and Teachers in
Teaching Social Skills
Lesson 2: Issues in Teaching Social Literacy

MODULE 4 Financial Literacy

Lesson 1: The benefits of Financial Literacy
Lesson 2: Financial Literacy in the Philippines
Lesson 3: Developing personal Financial Literacy

MODULE 5 Media and Cyber or Digital Literacy

Lesson 1: Media Literacy
Lesson 2: Digital Literacy
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References:
Ignacio, E.J. and Alata, E.J. (2019). Building and Enhancing New Literacies Across the Curriculum. Rex
Bookstore
https://www.hau.edu.ph/intra/courseoutline/pdf/sed-mprofed/ENEWLITERACY.pdf
https://northfieldssc.org/curriculum/literacy-across-the-curriculum

Grading System:
Component Weight
Written Works 30%
Quizzes/E-Portfolio Outputs 30%
Major Exams 40%
100%
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Learners’ Guide
This module was prepared and designed to guide you through the sequence of topics and required
tasks in an organized manner. In order to achieve the module’s purpose and your success in this course, your
proactive and dedicated response, diligence, honesty and independent compliance to all requirements is
needed. Remember to do the following guidelines as you go through each unit or topic.

 Read first the Study Schedule and Course Guide.

 All learning activities will be given via Google Classroom. You are required to use gmail account with
your firstname.familyname@gmail.com format.
 Make sure to indicate your name, course number/section, date on each learning activity or follow format
provided.
 Submission and checking of learning activities will be done as indicated in the study schedule.
 Your Major Exams will be given via Google Classroom. You will be notified through a text message,
email or google classroom.
 Online discussion will be done and will be scheduled by your instructor. Notification will be sent through
text message, email, or google classroom.
 If you have questions regarding any part of the module, you may reach your instructor through the
query page in the Google Classroom or thru email address virenemichelle.parcia@msunaawan.edu.ph.
Please follow the specified schedule above with this format.

NAME:
COURSE NUMBER/SECTION:
QUESTION:

DISCLAIMER AND FAIR USE STATEMENT

This module does not intend to infringe on any copyright claims and is solely
for academic purposes of MSU Naawan, its faculty and its student.
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Table of Contents

Page
Cover Page 1
Overview 2
Course Guide 2
Learner’s Guide 4
Table of Contents 5
Study Schedule 6

MODULE 1 Introduction to 21st Century Literacies

Lesson 1: Traditional or Conventional Literacy
Lesson 2: Expanded Views of Literacy
Lesson 3: Literacy in the 21st Century

MODULE 2 Globalization and Cultural and Multicultural Literacies

Lesson 1: The effects of Globalization
Lesson 2: Cultural Literacy
Lesson 3: Multicultural Literacy
Lesson 4: Issues in Teaching and Learning Multicultural
Literacy in the Philippines

MODULE 3 Social Literacy

Lesson 1: The role of Parents and Teachers in
Teaching Social Skills
Lesson 2: Issues in Teaching Social Literacy

MODULE 4 Financial Literacy

Lesson 1: The benefits of Financial Literacy
Lesson 2: Financial Literacy in the Philippines
Lesson 3: Developing personal Financial Literacy

MODULE 5 Media and Cyber or Digital Literacy

Lesson 1: Media Literacy
Lesson 2: Digital Literacy
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Study Schedule
WEEK Topic/Learning Outcomes Learning Activities
1-2 MODULE 1: Introduction to 21st Century Written Task 1
Literacies Quiz 1
LO1: Define conventional literacy
LO2: Understand the expanded view of literacy
in
the 21st century.
3-4 MODULE 2: Globalization and Cultural and
Multicultural Literacies
Written Task 2
LO1: Describe globalization and its implication Quiz 2
on both the national and the individual
level
LO2: Discuss the cultural and multicultural
Literacy in the Philippines
LO3: Explain one’s personal level of cultural and
Multicultural literacy

5-6 MODULE 3: Social Literacy Written Task 3

LO1: Develop an understanding of the working Quiz 3
Definition of social literacy
LO2: Explain the roles of parents and teachers
In teaching social skills to children
LO3: Discuss and examine issues in social
literacy
7-8 MODULE 4: Financial Literacy
LO1: Define financial Literacy Written Task 4
LO2: Assess level of personal financial literacy Quiz 4
LO3: Characterize financial literacy in the
Philippines
LO4: Start practical steps to develop personal
financial literacy

9-10 MODULE 5: Media and Cyber or Digital Written Task 5

Literacies Quiz 5
LO1: Develop an understanding of Media and
Cyber/Digital Literacy and how they relate
to one another
LO2: Appreciate the importance of developing
Media and Cyber/Digital Literacy
LO3: Realize the practical steps taken to
develop
these literacies
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MODULE 1: Introduction to 21st Century Literacies

Literacy is defined by dictionaries as the state of being able to read and write. Although it is the ultimate thesis
of this chapter that such a traditional definition no longer suffices in the information age, a thorough understanding of
literacy and its past nuances will give us a solid foundation in exploring and discussing the “new” literacies of the 21 st
century and why possessing them is now mandatory for both teachers and students in all levels of education.

Traditional or Conventional Literacy

The word literacy stems from the word literate, which first appeared in the 15 th century and is in turn derived
from the Latin word “litteratus”, meaning “(a person) marked with letters” –that is, “distinguished or identified by the
letters”- and it carried with it the idea that such a person was cultured and educated. In short, the ability to read and
write was therefore of prime importance, leading to the strong association of being “literate” with the ability to read
and write.

Miller (1973) divides this conventional concept of literacy into three sub-categories:

1. Basic Literacy – the ability to correspond visual shapes to spoken sounds in order to decode written materials
and translate them into oral language. Simply put, it is the ability to recognize letters and words. This would be akin to
recognizing that the sequence of letters. Example: “b-a-s-a” forms the word basa in Filipino without understanding what
it means.

2. Comprehension Literacy – the ability to understand the meaning of what is being read. Example” basa can
mean either “to read” or “to be wet”

3. Functional or Practical Literacy – the ability to read (i.e. decode and comprehend) written materials needed
to perform everyday vocational tasks. Example: Reading the text, “Ang bata ay nagbabasa.” And being able to
understand that basa here refers to reading and not to being wet.

Based on this conventional view of literacy, we notice two things:

(1) a text to be read
(2) a meaning or message being communicated by the text for the reader to extract.

Expanded Views of Literacy

Despite the popularity of American films in the Philippines, many Filipinos cannot follow the actors' dialogue,
and thus resort to guessing the overall story based on the actions onscreen.

Despite the ubiquity of the traditional view of literacy, Roberts (1995) notes that "in the past fifty years,
hundreds of definitions of 'literacy' have been advanced by scholars, adult literacy workers, and program planners," with
even the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO, 2006) acknowledging that literacy
as a concept has proven to be complex and dynamic, it being continually defined and interpreted in multiple ways.

In 2004, UNESCO formally defined literacy as "the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create,
communicate, and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a
continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to
participate fully in their community and wider society."

Note that "reading" does not appear in UNESCO's definition of literacy. Instead, literacy has taken on a definition
more akin to "knowing about something and what to do with it." In this vein, Mkandawire (2018) more succinctly posits
that literacy is "a form of knowledge, competence, and skills in a particular field or area," being supported by UNESCO
(2006), Barton (2007), and Mkandawire, Simooya-Mudenda, & Cheelo (2017), which acknowledged that—as we have
just pointed out—modern views appear to equate literacy with knowledge.
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This shift in the definition of literacy from "reading and writing" to "knowledge" is especially important as we
explore the "new" literacies of the 21st century that seem far-removed from the contexts upon which conventional
literacy is based.

When viewed from the perspective of conventional/traditional literacy, the concept of "new" literacies is a bit of
a misnomer, as even these new literacies of the 21st century make generous use of being able to read and write, rather
than supplant them as skills necessary for survival. However, when viewed from the perspective of literacy as
knowledge, the new literacies begin to make sense as they are the "skills and bodies of knowledge" that are necessary
for survival and productivity in the information age.

In the same vein of reasoning, the new literacies are not "new" per se—as in the sense that they never existed
before. Rather, we consider them to be new because the contexts in which old skills and knowledge are being employed
are new, both in nature and in scope. The ability to translate textual information into images is not a new skill, but it is
the ability to do so in a way that is concise, complete, and clear that is certainly new, given that it will be how ninety
percent of the population will be informed on the issue. Similarly, being able to verify the truth-value and veracity of a
document is not a new skill—but being able to do so when there are a hundred similar documents available to you
online is.

Case in point: Throughout history, humans have communicated on levels apart from the spoken and written
word, for example, visually, using the long--distance communication system of smoke signals used by the ancient
Chinese, the ancient Greeks, and the indigenous peoples of North America.

In the Victorian era, there was such a thing as the "Language of Flowers," where the kind, color, and
arrangement of a bouquet of flowers were used to communicate messages that could not otherwise be spoken aloud in
Victorian society (Greenaway, 1884). For example, a bouquet of oak leaves (representing strength), purple roses
(sorrow), white lilies (resurrection), and pale yellow tulips and rosemary (memory or remembrance) would altogether
communicate a message of sympathy, usually over the death of a loved one.

Successfully interpreting these "visual languages" required a kind of "visual literacy" to understand the message
being presented and to manage the information encoded therein—skills which, as following chapters will further reveal,
are coming into use again in the 21st century literacies. The difference is that now we are not analyzing smoke signals or
bouquets, but rather sounds, texts, and images from a hundred different sources at a nearly non-stop rate to the point
where accuracy, validity, and reliability of the messages we interpret form the basis for some very important personal
and collective decision-making.

Another difference involves the question of necessity: One did not need to be literate in the language of flowers
to live a fruitful and fulfilled life in Victorian-era England, but to be not media or digitally literate in the 21st century
makes one vulnerable to manipulation by those who are, and such manipulation can easily cost an individual time,
money, property, and even life.

These so-called "new" literacies arose from the increasing availability of communication technologies that were
once unavailable to the average individual. Technologies like blogging and vlogging, social networking, and even text-
messaging change and expand both the extent and the form of our communication—blending text, sound, and images in
ways unforeseen and unprecedented (Richardson, 2014). Never before have the opinions of a twelve-year-old child in an
unheard-of town in an unheard-of country been available for everyone on earth to read and hear, and while adults
might scoff at a child's opinions, that child might have more than a thousand online subscribers who certainly think his
or her opinions are important, maybe even more so than the opinions of adults.

Simply put, three things have been critical in the rise of the new literacies:
1. Increased Reach - We are communicating with more people, from more diverse cultures, across vaster
distances than ever before.
2. Increased Means of Communication - We are communicating in more ways and at faster speeds than ever
before.
3. Increased Breadth of Content - We are communicating about more things than ever before.

How do we work together with people of different cultures who might have vastly different perspectives on
communication, work ethics, values, religious beliefs, and worldviews? What do we do when some of these might be
mutually exclusive to our own? In an age where information is power- where knowing more and knowing first can spell
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the difference between success and failure - how do we leverage both current and emergent technologies so that our
endeavors are both productive and profitable? Moreover, how do we navigate and manage the veritable minefield of
information that was on considered taboo and private and is now online, for all the world to see and judge, whether we
like it or not?

Answering such complex questions requires new sets of skills and knowledge—ones that our school system has
never had to teach before. With these changes in with whom, how, and why we communicate, new literacies required
not only to make sense of the changes but also to use these new technologies and paradigms in meaningful and
productive ways—something required not only of students but of teachers as well.

To better address the need for teachers to be literate in these new literacies, this book discusses and explores
them in the ensuing chapters, namely: Globalization and Multicultural Literacy discusses how our increasing ability to
communicate with almost anyone, anywhere, in real-time requires new skills and attitudes in interacting with people
with cultures, perspectives, worldviews, and priorities different from our own, particularly with the end-view of not only
peace and understanding but also mutual benefit and productivity. The chapter on Social and Financial Literacies
meanwhile explores the need for the ability to navigate our own social networks—of both the online and off-line variety
—to not only communicate clearly but also to leverage resources which we ourselves might not possess. At the same
time, the chapter addresses the notorious problem of short-sightedness in Filipino culture regarding personal finances
and how this must be addressed at an increasingly earlier age to help mitigate the ever-widening gap between the rich
and the poor.

Media and Cyber/Digital Literacies explore the emerging need to locate verify, and ultimately manage online
information, especially in an age where information is power and where having the right (and wrong) information and
the ability to communicate it with others and use it to address real-world problems easily spell the difference between
both personal and career success and failure.

Ecoliteracy and Artistic and Creative Literacy explore the emerging, demands knowing how to effectively and
Sustainably manage the natural resources that our increased industrialization and demands for productivity are so
rapidly eating up. The chapter also explores how this increase in productivity also brings with it increased demand for
arts and aesthetics and the need to develop ways of effectively communicating through the creative arts in industries
dominated by objective data.

Finally, Critical Literacy addresses the increasing need to discern the underlying messages behind the new
“texts” of the 21st century, particularly in an ever-increasingly multicultural society where ideas,, cultures, and
ideologies, vie with one another for power and dominance in the minds of the masses.

Extend – Digital Story Telling

One of the ways students can be trained in the new literacies is to engage them in digital storytelling, wherein
the students take part in the traditional process of storytelling, but with some digital enhancements. They choose a
topic, conduct research, write a script, develop a story, and through the use of multimedia, create something that can be
played online or on a computer.

Digital Storytelling in SIX steps:

1. Writing – write about a particular story from your life. The story must have a central theme.

2. Developing a Script – develop a script that identifies the important points of your story.

3. Creating a Storyboard – create a storyboard that visually organizes the flow of the story. Assign a particular image to
portions the script.

4. Locating Multimedia – use search engine to locate photos and videos. Photos and videos from one’s personal
collection may also be used.

5. Creating the Digital Story – record your voice over for your movie. Create the movie using the software that is
available for you.
6. Sharing and Uploading – share your story in class and upload your work online.
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Summary
 Traditional Literacy is the ability to read and write.
 Conventional concept of literacy can be divided into sub-categories:
1. Basic Literacy
2. Comprehension Literacy
3. Practical Literacy
 Modern views of literacy equate it with knowledge.
 New literacies have risen due to increased reach, increased means of communication, and increased breadth of
content.

Please proceed to the Google Classroom for the Written Task, E-Portfolio
Output or Quiz.