Literacy Ecosystem Literacy 2.0

ASHLEY: LITERACY 2.0 1

Literacy Ecosystems: Literacy 2.0

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Megan Ashley


Definition and Description

One of the core goals of the

education system in the United

States is to educate children to be

literate. That goal, to teach children

how to read and write, is

foundational to how many people,

both within and outside of the world

of education, think about school,

learning, and homework. In the last

twenty years, the realities of life

beyond school have drastically

changed due to the technological

innovations of the Internet and other

digital tools. Subsequently, the

definition of what it means for a

student to be fully literate has also

changed. The term ‘literacy 2.0” is

used to describe the new range of

literacies that students need to

master in order to be successful.

One way to understand

Literacy 2.0 is to consider the

various ways in which modern

students read, write, and create

content. For example, when a

student reads from their textbook

they may have the option to do so

with an eReader, a tablet, or a

computer, as well as using the print

book version. Traditionally, students

create using analog tools: physical

means such as pen and paper,

typewriters, etcetera. Now, students

consistently are able to create using

digital tools such as word processor

programs on a computer, social

media platforms, video cameras,

blogs, or cell phones. In his article,

Understanding HTML is Critical to

Web Literacy, Especially for Young

Creators, Paul Oh discusses the

seemingly endless options that

young people have for creation using

digital tools. He specifies some


principal means through which

young learners create, or “write”,

using web 2.0 tools

• Words

• Images

• Videos

• Audio

• Trans-media stories

• Game narratives

By moving the emphasis away from

straight reading and writing and

towards the ability to read, write,

create, and share using digital tools

and web platforms, educators can

better prepare young people for the

realities of the future using the

technological channels through

which they are already everyday

active participants.


Challenges and Opportunities

Putting Literacy 2.0 into practice

means confronting a number of

issues, both positive and negative,

for teachers, students, and parents.

One positive aspect of embracing

Literacy 2.0 in schools and libraries

is the ability for educators to connect

learning inside the classroom to the

widespread use of digital tools by

young people outside of the

classroom. According to one study,

9.5 out of every 10 kids in the United

States use the Internet (Valenza,

2012). So, regardless of whether

Literacy 2.0 is taught in schools,

students are undoubtedly using 2.0

tools in their free time. It has also

been found that, “...information skills

acquired through personal and social

activities can benefit learning in the

academic context” (Valenza, 2012).

By teaching Literacy 2.0 to students,

educators are able to:

• Motivate children to engage in

the learning process by using

the digital mediums that they

already use in their free time.

• Enrich the learning process

with the breadth and variety

that 2.0 tools offer.

• Teach children how to

responsibly use digital tools

and engage on social media.

• Help catch students up who

may be falling behind their

peers in 2.0 literacies.

While it seems apparent that

incorporating Literacy 2.0 into the

educational process is worthwhile,

there are a number of challenges

that must be addressed.

Some of the biggest issues

facing the use of Literacy 2.0 in


education are centered on access. In

a perfect world, every student would

have access to everything they need

to be successful in life; in reality, too

many children in the United States

live in poverty and, therefore, are

already at a disadvantage when they

get to school. According to the

podcast Literacy 2.0: The New

Frontier of Literacy in the Digital Age,

the biggest gaps between student

literacy rates are often economically

based (BAM, 2011). Children from

economically disadvantaged families

often do not have a computer or

internet access at home, and they

are therefore not fluent in 2.0

literacies at the same rate as many

of their peers. In order to create

educational equity, schools and

libraries need to provide access to

digital technology for all students.

Unfortunately, while schools

and libraries have the opportunity to

be centers of access for all students,

tightening budgets have had

negative consequences on the

reality of this situation. Karen

Wohlwend describes this issue in her

article A is for avatar: Young children

in literacy 2.0 worlds and literacy 1.0

schools when she writes, “Ironically,

in a time of massive global

technological innovation in which

new literacies are popping up almost

daily, US schools are clamping down

rather than ramping up.” It is up to

educators, librarians, and parents to

voice their support for technological

access and innovation in their school

districts in order for 2.0 literacies to

become the priority and reality for

their children.


Impact and Implications

Overwhelmingly, the

implication in schools and libraries

regarding Literacy 2.0 is that

educators need to position

themselves as chief innovators in

implementing these new practices.

Some educators may be averse to

using new technologies for

instruction or encouraging students

to employ these same technologies.

Over half of primary school teachers

identify themselves as technology

novices. Therefore, they would need

to learn new skills and become 2.0

literate themselves before being able

to successfully instruct students

(Wohlwend, 2012). It is in this area

that school librarians are uniquely

positioned to collaborate with and

support teachers in their school.

Schools and libraries have an

opportunity, as well as a duty, to

become centers for technological

innovation in their communities by

using 2.0 literacies in order to

educate the next generation.


A Librarian’s Story

One of the best ways to understand

a concept is through storytelling.

What follows is the experience of Liz

Beta, a librarian at Smith High

School in Chicago, IL who started

her job only six months ago:

Liz Beta has had a rough go

of it in her first semester at SHS. She

started the year with lots of energy:

she had learned so many innovate

things in her Master’s program about

school libraries, and she was beyond

ecstatic to have landed a job. But the

reality of working as a librarian at a

public school has been fraught with

frustrations. She has inherited an out

of date collection from the last

librarian, and she isn’t seeing eye-to-

eye with the administration. Worst of

all, she has had absolutely no luck

connecting with any of her students.

Liz seems to see two types of

students in the library during tech

instruction: those who pay no

attention and instead surf Facebook

on their phones, and those who are

really struggling to keep up because

they just don’t get it. She is trying

really hard to give equal time to her

students, but she ends up feeling like

a babysitter most of the time. The

problem is that some students are

bored because they either already

know the skill Liz is teaching, or they

just don’t find it interesting. And on

the other hand, some students don’t

have a computer or cell phone at

home and are really uncomfortable

trying to learn new technology in

front of their peers.

Liz’s “a-ha!” moment comes in

the form of Mrs. Alvarez, who is

trying to revamp one of her history


units. Liz and Mrs. Alvarez created a

project that asks students to create a

photo-essay using the app

Instagram—the previous project

involved papier mache. Liz is able to

use some of her library budget to

buy tablets for students who don’t

have a tablet or a cell phone to make

sure that everyone has access to

Instagram. Liz Beta and Mrs. Alvarez

noticed some really interesting things

at the end of this project:

1. Some students were more

engaged in the process of

creating the project because they

use Instagram every single day

as a social networking tool.

2. While some students weren’t

familiar with using Instagram, it is

a fairly simple app to use, and Liz

was able to instruct in a very

succinct manner.

3. Overall, the quality of the

projects were higher than in

years past, because students

were able to have fun with the

medium.

4. Students were able to better

learn the content from the history

unit, and by the end of the year,

many students had a higher

retention of the content than in

years past.

And so, while Liz is nowhere near a

perfect school library, she now has

hope for what she can do with other

teachers in her school to better

reach students.


Resources

BAM Radio Network. (2011, May 21). What’s Really Behind the Literacy Gap?

Literacy 2.0: The New Frontier of Literacy in the Digital Age. Retrieved

from https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/literacy-2.0-new-

frontier/id357933877?affId=1415352

Frey, N., Fisher, D. & Gonzalez, A. (2010). Literacy 2.0: Reading and Writing in

21st Century Classrooms. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

Guernsey, L. (2009, December 3). Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age:

Session II Literacy 2.0. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibYl79NYa5U

Oh, P. (2013, March 13). Understanding HTML is Critical to Web Literacy,

Especially for Young Creators. The Digital Shift. Retrieved from

http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2013/03/opinion/be-a-webmaker/

Valenza, J. (2012, February 24). Youth and Digital Media: From Credibility to

Information Quality. School Library Journal. Retrieved from

http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2012/02/24/youth-and-digital-

media-from-credibility-to-information-quality/

Wohlwend, K. E. (2010). A is for avatar: Young children in literacy 2.0 worlds and

literacy 1.0 schools. Language Arts, 88(2), 144-152. Retrieved from

http://search.proquest.com/docview/762484205?accountid=14214

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Literacy Ecosystem Literacy 2.0