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the future of literacy
Texthelp: 2017
The Future of Literacy Panel is a diverse
group of global experts from technology, academia, philanthropy and publishing
who have come together to create an ambitious vision of literacy for the
future.
They set out to encapsulate their
collective thinking and varying perspectives on what literacy can be defined as
well as outlining a new and alternative approach to global literacy: The
Village.
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What is Literacy?
To be literate is to be in possession of
the skills and capacities that allow us to participate and thrive in the world.
The term ‘literacy’ covers not only the abilities associated with accessing
words, but the capacities to derive meaning and interact fully with others.
To fully understand why literacy is so important,
we need to explore in depth what it means.
In simple terms, literacy refers to
acquiring the functional skills of reading and writing, but this definition is reductive
and ignores the deeper, more important elements of what it means to be a literate
human being.
UNESCO’s internationally recognized definition
of literacy is:
“the ability to identify, understand,
interpret, create, communicate, compute
and use printed and written materials
associated with varying contexts”.
But they articulate fascinating nuances
that inform the way we think about and deliver The Village model.
First and foremost, literacy is about the
ability to read and write:
In terms of communication, literacy can therefore
be thought of on two levels:
Literacy in the context of taking spoken
and written elements of the mother tongue and using it in ways that allow
people to communicate and stimulate
their own personal success and the success
of others - whether that's sharing an idea and having fun or making a
worthwhile contribution to their community and society;
The deeper level of literacy – the
ability to use language to engage abstract thoughts and deconstruct them to
such a level that they can be communicated effectively at multiple levels of capability.
This is seen in those rare individuals who can distil highly complex ideas and
communicate them in both written and verbal forms to all strata of society.
With this more three-dimensional view,
we can see that if we define literacy as a tool, we are taking too narrow a
definition.
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What is The Village?
The Village is a new framework for
thinking about literacy development – an integrated package of interdependent
elements that is put forward for consideration, exploration and adoption. It is
offered as a flexible, dynamic model designed to adapt to all learners in every
conceivable setting.
The Village is not aligned to a specific
pedagogical model – it is an approach that combines our shared understanding of
what works. As such, we see it as constantly evolving based on learning and feedback
that comes from its practical implantation over time.
The first iteration is outlined below,
and in the spirit of inclusivity it is written in plain English, with jargon kept
to a minimum.“
What’s new about The Village model? In
the last 20 years we’ve gone from a national strategy-based education system to one
which now is an attempt to build local capacity to solve local problems – social
policy is now about working with local assets, not working top-down.”
➧ Is delivered in and by the whole
community
➧ Is learner – not system centric
➧ Recognizes human variability
➧ Values the role of social and emotional
learning
➧ Is enabled by technology
Based on (7) readability formulas:
Grade Level: 15
Reading Level: difficult to read.
Reader's Age: College graduate
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