Chapter 8 – Principles of New

Literacies

Introduction
New literacies refer to new forms of literacy made possible by digital
technology developments. Commonly recognized examples include instant
messaging, blogging, social networking, podcasting, photo sharing, digital
storytelling, and conducting online searches. Generally, this literacy emerge as a
result of research studies which focus more on new reading comprehension
methods and learning skills associated with online and other modern
technologies. New literacies are also seen through another lens as being
reflective of the digitally driven and highly social nature that characterizes all
types of 21st century discourse. In any case, the term places a forward emphasis
on the newly emerging implications of literacy in society. This type of literacy
also bear the closest resemblance to the digital literacies.

In this chapter, you will going to learn the nature and the principles of this
emerging type of literacy. Moreover, it also contains the implications of new
literacies to teaching that may serve as basis of incorporating new literacies in
the curriculum.

Lesson 1 – The emerging new literacies

Learning Outcomes:

1. explained the meaning of New Literacies

2. enumerated the principles of New Literacies
3. valued the impacts of New Literacies
 8.1.A ACTIVITY

1. Watch or download the following video from Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t93fXabXxGM
2. Enumerate the steps of the activity discussed in the video

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 8.1.B ANALYSIS

1. Using a Venn diagram give the similarities & differences of Digital

Literacy and New Literacies.

Digital Literacy New Literacies

2. How does “New Literacies” emerged?

8.1.C ABSTRACTION

According to Knobel, the idea of New Literacies focuses on ways in which

meaning-making practices are evolving under contemporary conditions that
include, but are in no way limited to, technological changes with the rise and
proliferation of digital electronics. She added that ‘’new literacies” are more
participatory and collaborative and less “published” and “individual” than
conventional literacies. The following are the research findings on New
Literacies as summarized by Knobel & Lankshear :
  Not everyone has to know or be good at exactly the same thing; often
outcomes are richer when young people bring different bits and pieces of
knowledge and know-how on collaborative effort
 Producing for a targeted, informed audience directly shapes linguistics,
design and creative decisions and young people are able to talk about
these quite explicit
 Ongoing cycles of feedback, mentoring and support from others – novices
& experts alike – who share the same goals play a crucial role in learning
and practicing New Literacies
 Literacies are part and parcel of social practices and understanding the
practices from the inside as a full, participating member matter
 Doing, contributing, making and sharing are significant activities for the
development of new literacies
 Young people “pull” on available resources – content, materials, people-
right at the point of need as they are working on something

IMPLICATIONS OF NEW LITERACIES TO TEACHING

The following are the three most salient implications of new literacies
derived from consolidated research findings:

1. Teachers should be obliged to effectively understand and experience what it

mean to be fully engaged in new literacies practices

 Teaching new literacies requires commitment to getting to the

“inside” of a practice and understanding what it means for
something to be collaboratively produced, to be remixed , to
receive feedback and mentoring from others, to participate in
resourcing and sharing an interest or goal, to participate in a space
where everyone doesn’t know exactly the same thing in the same
way

2. New Literacies aren’t some single generic thing, they vary according to the
practice , the people involved in using them and the ways of speaking that have
developed within a practice
  Paying attention in classrooms to the specialized language used in
new literacies affords students the chance to acquire “premium
digital literacies” The premium
digital literacies competence flourishes in the world outside school
where the young professional amateurs create all sorts of media,
citizen science and knowledge in competition with experts via
collaborative problem-solving communities on the internet.

3. The way “assessment” works in new literacy spaces has significant

implications for how teachers approach literacy instruction in classrooms.

 Literacy teaching in school appear to be driven by required

assessment outcomes rather than being in the service of learning.
Findings from new literacies research suggest ongoing cycles of
feedback on performance just-in-time and just-in-place lead to
deep learning. Example are studies on video games that show how
the game itself acts as a feedback system by providing guided
tutorials, onscreen tips for increasing proficiency and sequencing
learning so that improvement is never fade away.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR SUPPORTING NEW LITERACIES IN SCHOOL

1. Keep your eye on the moving target.

 Much like a moving target, literacy is constantly changing in

response for technological advancements. That is, as more
sophisticated technologies emerge, more complex literacies do,
too. Educators must remain mindful of how quickly technology
changes and how new envisionments for literacy learning develop.
Moreover, educators should focus their efforts on professional
development by maintaining a finger on the pulse of technological
advancements.

2. Recognize the complexity of New Literacies

 Learners will struggle with new literacies until their brains develop
the necessary decision-making , attention-monitoring and executive
 skills. Although we believe very young children can use new
technologies in important ways, we do emphasize the importance of
identifying appropriate learning outcomes and activities to best
match students’ needs. Much like we differentiate traditional
literacy instruction, we recommend that teachers use the same
tenets to differentiate online reading and writing instruction in their
classroom.

3. Digital natives still have a lot to learn

 Digital natives are characterized by their overwhelming access to

and experience with ICT. Specifically, those born since 1980 have
been immersed in a technology-saturated culture where computers,
the Internet, cell phones, instant messaging and social networking
are readily available and 24/7 interaction is expected. But still
teachers are encourage suspend such assumptions regarding the
technological knowledge and experience students bring to the
classroom and instead develop instruction designed to address
curriculum goals and students’ individual needs. When planning for
integration of and instruction in digital technologies, it is being
recommended that teachers should begin with these standards in
mind and use ongoing assessment to determine what students
actually know than what we assume they know.

3. Reconsider assessment methods

 To assess new literacies, first, teachers should administer phonemic

awareness, phonics, and fluency assessments to gauge our
students’ knowledge of foundational literacy skills, teachers must
evaluate students’ technology skills from basic to the most
complex. Second, when engaging students in technology-integrated
lessons, teachers must design assessments that evaluate how
students use the technology’s capabilities to present thoughtful,
well-articulated responses

SOME EXAMPLES OF NEW LITERACIES

1. Social bookmarking – is a method or idea of getting valuable back links. A
place where one can actually store or post your website link or deep links and
give users a detail information about your website.

2. E-portfolio making –a web-based portfolio that enables student to: compile

multiple formats of digital artifacts, including multimedia; create links and non-
linear paths through work; share their work with a broad audience.

3. Podcasting – a digital medium consisting of an episodic series of audio, video,

PDF, or ePub files subscribed to and downloaded through web syndication or
streamed online to a computer or mobile device.

4. Creative commons utilization – a nonprofit organization that enables the

sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. It allows
people to copy and distribute the work under specific conditions, general
descriptions, legal clauses and HTML tags for search engines are provided
for several license options.

5. Vlogging – is blogging, but on camera. Vlog posts arre created by making a

video of yourself or an event , uploading it to the internet and publishing it
within a post on your blog.

8.1.D APPLICATION
Direction:
1. Create your own Vlog. The content should focus on your
experiences or the events happening in your life.
2. The Vlog will not be less than 3 minutes.