Literacies?
“If you want to use television to teach somebody, you must first teach them how to use television.”
(Umberto Eco, 1979)
A Unesco report from 1957 described literacy as “a characteristic acquired by individuals in varying degrees from just above none to an indeterminate upper level” (Belshaw 2014: 12). This perspective shows literacy exists on a spectrum rather than as a binary status. We progress from low level skills through to high-level expertise as we develop our literacy.
Despite common assumptions, the idea of a singular conception of literacy has also been found to be lacking. Different contexts and different technological platforms create digital literacies, requiring the development of different characteristics to successfully engage with a medium or context (Buckingham 2006: 264).
Literacy is often associated with the idea of the three ‘R’s (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic). Belshaw describe aspects of this conception of literacy as “traditional print literacy” (2014: 16). By framing the traditional concept of literacy in this manner the technological framework in which it exists becomes clear. Traditional printing is as much a technological platform as television or the interent.
One aspect Belshaw examines is the purpose of writing and its relationship to literacy. Writing academic essays and writing computer code are juxtaposed, showing the ways that context and social constructs about literacy (Belshaw 2014: 12-13).
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