MODULE 3 :

NEW LITERACIES , FUNCTIONAL

LITERACY AND
MULTILITERACY

Kaye T. Basa
BSED MATH 3B
 New
Literacies
Between 1950 and 1970
The development of literacy , both operational and
functional , established.
During this period , literacy was defined as reading and
writing skills (Günes, 2000).
Beyond the 1990’s , literacy has started to diversity in
light of technological development, change living
condition in cities.
Hereafter, literacy then become multi-faceted.
At first, Literacy was use in various types, such as
computer literacy, technology literacy, media literacy,
internet literacy (Altun, 2005).
Later on, it become a lifestyle along with a person's
entire life in a society encompasses information
literacy, cultural literacy and universal literacy.
Lankshear and Knobel (2006)
Literacies intend to generate and
communicate meanings through the medium
of encoded text within contexts in various
discourses

Kress, 2003
Literacy can only when having a kind
of potential content through interaction
with the text.
 Primary English Teaching Association Australia (2015)
asserts that 21st Century literacy has expanded to
include social change, increasing field expertise and
digital technologies.

Subject-specific literacies are recognized to require the

application of specialized knowledge and skills,
information skills, and the creative and imaginative
language.
Literacy in the 21st century therefore, demands
the ability to perform and act confidently,
efficiently and ethically with a wide range of
written and visual, print, live, digital or
electronic text types according to purpose
(www.petaa.edu.au).
21st Century literacy combines cross-curricular
capabilities also called “multilitiracies” and now
commonly referred to “new literacies ”. These
broad skill include
• visual literacy
• information literacy
• cultural literacy
• digital literacy dynamics.
Leander, 2003
noted that new literacies are often flexible ,
continuous and open, where online and
offline lives and “literacyscapes” merge.
 Exploring the New Literacies
There are seven new literacies that are stressed in the
21st century curriculum.
1. Multicultural Literacy
2. Social Literacy
3. Media Literacy
4. Financial Literacy
5. Digital Literacy
6. Ecological Literacy
7. Creative Literacy
 • Multicultural Literacy is about
understanding ethnic groups that
comprise the population and focuses on
complex issues of identity, diversity and
citizenship.
 • Social literacy is the development of
social skills, knowledge and positive
values in human beings to act positively
and responsibly in sophisticated
complex social settings.
• Media literacy is the ability to access,
analyze, evaluate, and create media.
• Financial literacy is the ability to make
informed judgments and make effective
decisions regarding the use and
management of money.
 • Digital literacy is the ability to
effectively use digital devices for
purposes of communication, expression,
collaboration and advocacy in a
knowledge-based society.
• Ecological literacy is understanding
the principles of ecosystems toward
sustainability.
• Creative literacy is the ability to make
original ideas that have value, and the
ability to see the world in new ways.
 The Truth on 21
Century Literacies
According to Research
Global economies, new technologies, and exponential growth
in Information are transforming our society. Since today's
people engage with a technology-driven, diverse, and quickly
changing work, teachers need to prepare students for this
world with problem-solving. collaboration, and analysis, as
well as skills with word processing, hypertext, LCD'S,
Webcams, podcasts, smartboards, and social networking
software that are central to individual and community success
.
The National Council of Teachers of Engish
(2013) came up with a research that reveals
the following:

• As new technologies shape Iiteraries, they bring

opportunities for teachers to foster reading and
writing in more diverse and participatory contexts.
• Sites, like literatures Voice of the Shuttle, on online
fanfiction, and the Internet Public Library, expand both
the range of available texts and the social dimension of
literacy.
• Research on electronic reading workshops shows that
they contribute to the emergence of new literacies.
• Research also shows that digital technology enhances
writing and interaction in several.
• K-12 students, who write with computers, produce
compositions of greater length and higher quality are
more engaged with and motivated toward writing than
those who do not write with computers.
• College studens, who keep e-portfolios, have a higher
rate of academic achievement and overall retention rate
than those who do not keep e-portfolios. They also
demonstrate a greater capacity for metacognition,
reflection and audience awareness.
• Both typical and atypical students, who
receive an online response to writing, revise
their works better than those participating in
traditional method.
Functional
Literacy
The term Functional literacy was initially defined by
UNESCO) through Winam S. Gray in his Teaching of
Reading and Winting (1956) as adult training to meet
independently the reading and writing demands placed
on them.
Functional Literacy is the level of Iiteracy that includes
not only reading and witting but also numeracy skills
that would help people cope with the daily demands of
life.
Referring to functional literacy, UNESCO states the
following:

1. Literacy programs should be integrated to and

correlated with economic and social development
plans.

2. The eradication of literacy should begin with

population sectors, which are highly motivated and
need literacy for their own and their country's
benefit.
3. Literary programs should be linked with
aconomic priorities and carried out in areas
undergoing rapid economic expansion.

4. Literacy programs must impact not only reading

and writing but also professional and technical
knowledge leading to greater participation of
adults in economic and civic life.
5. Literacy must be an integral part of the over-all
educational system and plan of each country.

6. The financial need for functional Iiteracy

should be met with various resources, as well as
be provided for economic investment .
 7. The literacy programs should aid in achieving
main economic objectives (i.e, increase in labor
productivity, food production, industrialization,
social and professional mobility, creation of new
manpower and diversification of the economy).
A number of functional literacy programs have
been carried out that focus on different job
skills and development aspects. To name a few,
in the Philippine context, are agricultural,
health, industry, family planning, home
making, arts and cultural and technical-
vocational programs.
Significance of this approach includes literacy that:

1. starts in the workplace;

2. uses a diagnostic approach;
3. identifies turning points in economic life that
may act as an incentive to learning;
4. assesses the limits of a short-term intervention;
and
5. looks for generic skills.
Gunes (2000) posited that functional literacy
constitutes the second level of literacy, in
which literary and mathematical information
and skills can be utilized in one's personal,
social, economic and cultural endeavors.
Capar (1998) cites that functionally literate
person is someone who is one step ahead
of literacy and maintains literacy actively
throughout his/her life inorder to keep
living and effectively accommodate
him/herself to his/her surroundings.
 Hatch (2010) defines it based on the
American Heritage College Dictionary (AHCD).
Accordingly, the word "functional" means
"building capacity" and "literacy" as "reading
and writing skills."
Knoblauch and Brannon (1993) as cited in
Jabusch (2002) distinguished basic literacy
and functional literacy as having the
expression "functional" to indicate
performance with texts, including
mathematics.
Integration of New Literacies
in the Curriculum
The International Reading Association (IRA)
believes that literacy educators have the
responsibility to integrate information and
communication technologies into the
curriculum to prepare students for the future
they deserve.
 • The Multiliterate Learner
The Internet and other forms of information and
communication technologies (ICTs) are redefining the
nature of reading, writing, and communication. New
literacy skills and practices are required by each new ICT as
it emerges and evolves. Thus, these new literacies need to
be integrated into the curriculum to prepare students for
successful civic participation in a global environment.
Students would desire for a;

1. teachers who use ICTs skillfully for teaching and

learning;
2. peers who use ICTs responsibly and who share their
knowledge;
3. a literacy curriculum that offers opportunities for
collaboration with peers around the world;
4. Instruction that embeds critical and
culturally sensitive thinking into practice,
standards and assessments that include new
literacies;
5. leaders and policy makers who are
committed advocates of ICTs for teaching and
learning; and
6. equal access to ICTs for all classrooms and
students.
 Four (4) Common Elements as Broader
Dimensions of New Literacies, Coiro, et. Al
(2008)
1. the Internet and other ICTs require new social
practices, skills, strategies, and dispositions for their
effective use;
2. new literacies are central to full civic, economic,
and personal participation in a global community;
3. new literacies rapidly change as defining
technologies change; and
4. new literacies are multiple, multimodal and
multifaceted; thus, they benefit from multiple
lenses seeking to understand how to better
support the students in a digital age.
 Impact of New
Literacies on Instruction
Henry (2008) restated that engagement in
literacy activities is being transformed today like
at no other time in history.

Although, there are multiple ways to view the

changes in literacy and communication emerging
from new technologies (Labbo and Reinking,
1999), it cannot be ignored that literacy changes
experiences at school and in everyday lives.
Assessment of
Multiliteracies
Real-world audiences are important part of the
assessment process, including self-assessment.
Media literacy skills are honed as students
address real-world issues from the
environment .
Preparing Teachers for
Multiliteracies
New London Group (1996) underscored multi-
literacies as multimodal ways of
communication that include communications
between and among other languages using
diverse channels within cultures and an ability
to understand technology and multimedia.
Four (4) Components of Multiliteracies in
Teaching

1. Situated practice leads students towards

meaningful learning by integrating primary
knowledge.

2. Overt instruction guides students to the

systematic practice of learning process with
tools and techniques.
3. Critical framing teaches students how to
question diverse perceptions from better
learning experiences.

4. Transformed action teaches students to

apply the lessons they learn to solve real-life
problems.
 Research shows that effective instruction in
21st century literacies take an integrated
approach, helping students understand how
to access, evaluate, synthesize, and contribute
to information (New London Group, 1996).
Teachers insist to:
1. encourage students to reflect regularly on the role
of technology in their learning;
2. create a website and invite students to use it to
continue class discussions and bring in outside voices;
3. gives students strategies for evaluating the quality
of information they find on the Internet;
4. be open about one's own strengths and limitations
with technology and invite
students to help;
5. explore technologies students are using
outside the classroom and find ways to
incorporate them into one's teaching;
6. use wiki to develop a multimodal reader's
guide to a class text;
7. include a broad variety of media and genres in
class texts;
8. ask students to create a podcast to share with
an authentic audience;
9. give students explicit instruction about how to
avoid plagiarism in a digital environment; and
10. refer to the partnership for 21 Century Skills
website
For schools and policymakers

1. Teachers need both intellectual and material

support for effective 21st century literacy
instruction;

2. Schools need to provide continuing opportunities

for professional development, as well as up-to-date
technologies for use in literacy classrooms;
3. Address the digital divide by lowering the
number of students per computer and by
providing high quality access (broadband speed
and multiple locations) to technology and
multiple software packages;

4. Ensure that students in literary classes have

regular access to technology;
5. Provide regular literacy-specific professional
development in technology for teachers and
administrators at all levels, including higher
education;
6. Require teacher preparation programs to
include training in integrating technology into
instruction;
7. Protect online learners and ensure their
privacy;
8. Affirm the importance of literacy teachers in
helping students develop technological
proficiency; and
9. Adopt and regularly review standards for
instruction in technology.