The above quote consists of only three simple
phrases but one cannot adequately respond to them with three simple sentences.
However, in order to keep in line with online etiquette I will keep it short
and to the point. The first phrase states, “What counts as literacy?” Well, Webster’s
Dictionary defines literacy as, the ability to read and write. Now, based on
that definition than anyone who can read and write “anything” should be considered
literate and reading their content should then enhance the literacy of the
reader. Right! Okay, so that’s not going to work.
Content, in my opinion, in order to count as
literacy needs to have a level of quality that expresses an author’s legitimate
perspective and at the same time keeps in mind the audience or the readers of the
content. We always need to remember that everything we write influences another
to a certain degree, sometimes a little and sometimes a lot, but nevertheless
something happens in the brain of the reader/viewer every time they view a page
filled with content. Therefore, there is a level of responsibility on the part
of the author, as far as, what is being written, why it is being written and to
whom they are writing to in order for it to be considered literacy worth reading.
In response to the second phrase, “How literacy
changes in response to the new media landscape.” Well, to say the least it has
it has its own cultural aspects and it is certainly evolving. In one way, it
appears to be a much broader way of communicating one’s thoughts to a reader
however, I don’t think this is the case. I feel instead, that it has its own nature
and available tools and the way in which authors manipulate and configure those
tools determine whether the content can or should be considered “literacy” or
not.
An example of this could be a blog post laced with
internet marketing strategies such as, too many key word phrases or highlighted
words with embedded links in the middle of too many sentences continuously opining
up into “Ads” or even worse taking the reader to a different window altogether.
Now, this could be considered quite clever and in a sense “broad” in its reach
of information but it is certainly not enhancing the insight, imagination and
overall “literacy” of the exposed reader.
However, this same method can be used to do just
that if the key word phrases and links are directly related to the content and lead
the reader to gain further understanding of what they are already reading which
leads me to the last phrase in the quote, “What value we should ascribe to the
new forms of communication that continue to emerge and evolve online.” My
opinion here is that we should ascribe “tremendous” value to these forms of
communication for numerous reasons. One of which, is because it is a form of
communication that is being used by millions of human persons all over the world
and for me that is enough to repeat what I stated earlier that we need to be
responsible with the content that we send into cyberspace because that space is
filled with readers that inevitably become learners.
Joseph,
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the points you make. Specifically, in your last paragraph you mention the need to make sure people are the need to ensure responsible and reliable information is on the internet. This is something that we discuss in my classroom when we begin to research. We discuss the need to determine whether or not a website is reliable. There is so much information on the internet and it is extremely important to teach students how to differentiate between what is research and what is not.