Embracing Twenty-First Century Literacy in Public Education: An Analytical Look at the Possibilities and Challenges of Technology's Influence on Literacy

Embracing Twenty-First Century Literacy in Public Education:

An Analytical Look at the Possibilities and Challenges of Technology's Influence on Literacy

by: Ben Brown

One of the most important problems facing public education is the increasing demand for literacy in a technologically-dominated century. Technology is exponentially increasing in power and prevalence: students are glued to cellphones, while teachers log-on to new reporting software and even ad-ridden online textbooks. With growing up texting, students have a natural inclination to figure out the latest gadget with an impressive proficiency, but often seem to only use this knowledge for entertainment and socializing purposes. The problem is that the internet has become a place that creates distractions and destroys students' attention spans and ability to concentrate on more one-track activities, like reading. This multimedia fixation is turning students away from libraries and moving them toward busy multimedia features. Although, this can capture the interest of people with short attention spans, absorbing information in a controlled manner is more beneficial to a learner's ability to retain information and focus on more longer-termed projects. The immediate reward a person feels when they are able to simultaneously check seventy emails while sending texts and posting Facebook updates provides the illusion of productivity. Devices like smartphones and ipads are preventing people from focusing and are instead forcing people into an ADD-laden streams of thought. Though the unfocused use of technology is currently polluting the minds of students and the upcoming generation, it is also a tool that can be easily utilized to make students more involved in their own learning.

Armed with technology in people's pockets, in order to engage students and teach literacy skills, teachers need to find a balance between traditional education and 21^st-century technology. Often, a student blurs the distinguishing line between academic writing and social writing,like the difference between “4” and “for.” Furthermore, many students think “writing for pleasure” means updating his or her Facebook status, or writing a 120-character tweet. Writing or reading anything more than a page is seen as punishment because students have not been taught how to beneficially use technology for professional networking and communication.

With such technologies as Facebook, Blogspot, and even text-messaging, students are constantly writing—more than ever—without actually recognizing that they are doing such. This is a great opportunity for teachers to incorporate into curriculum. Teachers are consequently more relevant, connected, available, and meaningful to students' and students move from being passive consumers of multimedia to actively producing and contributing to society. In order to overcome the cons and provide quality education that encompasses entertainment as well as academic rigor, curriculum must cultivate and nurture the ability to focus and think deeply.

As a home-bound tutor, I will address this problem by embracing twenty-first century literacy while confronting its challenges. I will help students become aware of the constant distractions that plague multimedia technology in order to become better at prioritizing their time and focusing on their goals. Introducing decision-making strategies will help students make better choices in their lives. Students need to develop filters through which they can actively weed out mental distractions. They need to make informed choices about who they associate with, both in-person and online. Through honest self-reflection and personal assessment of their brand, students uncover personal strengths and build upon them. Students learn to identify with what works and what doesn't work for them. From here, they develop their own plan of action and learn for themselves the challenges and possibilities of embracing technology.