New Literacies Dictionary

This is a project by Adam Mackie from Colorado State University.  It appears to be quite exhaustive and filled with information to consume and apply.

New Literacies Dictionary : Primer for the Twenty-first Century Learner has been designed in Google Sites. The web-based dictionary was defended as a Master of Arts project at Colorado State University in October 2010. The project passed with distinction. The twenty-first century dictionary and primer details the experience of an English Education graduate student at CSU. All of the entries generally connect to teaching and learning with new literacies, multimodal pedagogy, and digital literacy. The entries are aimed at an audience of both twenty-first century educators and twenty-first century learners. Entries range from blogs, collaborations with other students, unit and lesson plans, rubrics, news stories, BookNotes, poetry, and reflective essays. The entries may be read A-to-Z, Z-to A, or entries can be read erratically. The erratic nature of the project design bears witness to the age of reading recursively using methods such as hyperlinks, which shifts from traditional chronological, cover-to-cover, methods. The purpose of A New Literacies Dictionary aims to provide teachers and students in a digital age with ideas, materials, and a conversational piece that encompasses the ever-changing modes of twenty-first century composition.

Others Out There

Just doing a little research on New Literacies and came across this blog for those who teach our littlest of littles.

Teaching New Literacies in the PK - 2 Classroom

I woke up in the middle of the night and began pondering my first blog post.  I realized that I really only skimmed the surface of what I may discuss as the weeks move on. With that said, here are a few of the questions I asked myself in the wee hours of the morning. I should have gotten up and written them down, as I know there were more then!  As I think of them, I will add! 

So, what does this idea of Multiple Literacies mean for students today?

What does it mean for education and those whose lives are intriquely intwined with the system?

What does this concept look like in classrooms?

This is the beginning of a new journey for me - blogging.  The saying "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" fell on deaf ears.  As I work toward a graduate degree in reading, I have been asked to ponder the definition of literacy and the multimodal ways to create and communicate with our world. So, here goes!

Literacy?
It’s not just about being able to read and write anymore folks!

Literacy in the 21st Century means having/gaining the skills and knowledge to read and thus interpret the “text” of the world around us.

Multiple Literacies?
Multiple Literacies are not a new idea, however, it is not something you often hear spoken of during your day.

What are multiple literacies? With the advent of technology came a whole new way to communicate with others. Below is the beginning of a multimodal list, ways that meaning can be created and communicated, that changes quickly with new technologies.
• Blog
• Wiki
• Twitter
• Gaming
• E-mail
• Instant Messaging
• Skype
• Bluetooth
• Social Media
• I-phone, I-pad, I-pod
• YouTube
• TeacherTube
• Search Engines
• Social Network
• AudioBooks
• World Wide Web
• Elmo/Document Camera
• SmartBoard

I am sure you can think of more, add to my list if you wish.