Introduction
The developments of mankind and of human society are simultaneous and integrally connected processes that bring lots of innovations to all spheres of human life. Modern digital technologies, technological progress in industry, economy, health care, etc. are all the processes that are new to human beings but nevertheless obligatory for understanding to live and function in the human society in a proper way (Wohlwend, 2009). The role of mass media and modern technologies is stressed by a number of scholars that do not see the development of society without innovation and media influences: “There is growing recognition that media representations help construct our images and understanding of the world” (Kellner, 2009). Therefore, the great impact of media on the formation of human personalities as well as the promotion of the technological innovations by these media makes it obvious that the appearance of new literacies, not obligatory dealing with literacy in the traditional sense of the word, is the natural process that takes place in all spheres of human activity.
Literacy
Thus, literacy is traditionally understood as the ability of a person to read, write, and speak clearly and without grammatical or other mistakes. This definition of literacy is familiar to every person who has at least primary education and experiences the need of getting information from various, printed and online, resources (Dyson, 2001). The basic function of literacy is to present the person with opportunities for career development and personal improvement. The person who possesses information can control his or her life, so literacy helps people to control their lives and develop them in the desired directions (Habib, 2008).
People view literacy as the tool of getting an education and proceeding to the next levels of self-improvement, i. e. getting employed and well paid. In the past, what has demanded from a person was that he or she was able to read, speak and write without mistakes and to be creative in forming his or her ideas (Luke, 2002). However, the current state of social development poses new demands for potential workers, and these demands are connected with the newly emerged types of literacies.
New Literacies
Basic Notions
The very concept of a “new literacy” is derived from the understanding that every activity that a person deals with should be mastered perfectly by him or her so that to ensure the best quality of the work: “Our conception of the new literacies (those associated with digital technologies and multimodal representations) is grounded in an understanding of multiple literacies as social practices” (Tierney, Bond, and Bresler, 359). Thus, people associate in their minds the newly emerged activities, like handling digital technologies for instance, and accept the necessity of mastering these technologies. Therefore, a mind of metaphor is used in the case of calling the mastery of a new phenomenon to be a type of literacy.
Moreover, the significance is attributed to the impact the new literacies have upon people’s lives: “Depending upon how these new Literacies are introduced/situated, they can make a significant contribution to shifts in the lives of individuals and groups politically, economically, and socially” (Tierney, Bond, and Bresler, 359). Accordingly, the ways of introducing these new literacies to society are also important for the further effect they might have on people and their activities.
Multiple Literacies
One of the latest trends in the area of new literacies is the need for people to possess multiple literacies (Sanford, 2005). Although rather popular nowadays, multiple literacies are studied by scholars not sufficiently enough to claim their essential necessity or danger for society. In any case, the essence of multiple literacies is studied nowadays by scholars like Schofteld & Rogers (2004) who argue that the basis for the understanding of multiple literacies is the combination of cultural studies and psychology:
Our view of multiple literacies, which includes cultural representations across a variety of genres and media, rests on the intersections between our collaborative work with the students and the writings on social literacies; multiliteracy theory and practice; and biography, identity, and imagination (Schofield & Rogers, 238 – 239).
Accordingly, multiple literacies are viewed not only as abilities of people to perform certain kinds of work with the firm knowledge of the latter but also as the phenomenon that forms the cultural and imaginative ideas of people and basically their outlook of the world.
Media Literacies
Media literacies constitute one of the sets of the new multiple literacies that are viewed as vital for the proper living of a human being in the modern society: “Media literacy” involves knowledge of how media work, how they construct meanings, how they serve as a form of cultural pedagogy, and how they function in everyday life” (Kellner, 2009). In other words, media literacy is the ability of a person to distinguish between reliable and unreliable media sources based on his or her awareness of the functioning processes of those media. Accordingly, the person able to distinguish the actual facts and their hidden meanings from mere assumptions or products of journalists’ imagination becomes able of more flexibility of actions and freedom of thoughts: “A media literate person is skillful in analyzing media codes and conventions, able to criticize media stereotypes, values, and ideologies, and thus literate in reading media critically” (Kellner, 2009). Thus, people only benefit from being media literate or possessing multiple literacies for application in numerous situations of their lives.
Multiple Literacies
Appearance
To consider the multiple literacies phenomenon in more detail, it is necessary to understand the factors that facilitated its appearance as we as the basic ways in which people understand multiple literacies:
We are mainly interested here in two broad ideas of new [multiple] literacies. The first is well known, even if it is often not well-defined or understood—viz., literacies associated with new communications and information technologies or, more widely, the digital electronic apparatus. The second is a less obvious, less “tight”, and somewhat ad hoc idea. It straddles literacies that are comparatively new in chronological terms and literacies that are new to the formal study of literacy—that are new to being recognized as literacies (Lankshear and Knobel, 1).
Drawing from this, new multiple literacies are viewed dually. First, they are referred to as the literacies connected with handling new technologies that are multiple nowadays. Second, these literacies are new based on the time of their appearance and introduction to the public. However, in any case, these literacies are viewed as necessary skills for modern people.
Current Development
Therefore, the current development of multiple literacies is carried out rather actively by people who understand the vital importance of multiple literacies and by scholars who study the latter and stress their significance for the future. For instance, Tierney, Bond, and Bresler (2006) argue that a clear understanding of multiple literacies facilitates their proliferation in society.
Accordingly, Tierney, Bond, and Bresler (2006) claim that “often, these new literacies are framed as discrete skills such as programming, Internet access, or presentation skills, rather than as learning tools with complex palates of possibilities for students to access in a myriad of ways” (Tierney, Bond, and Bresler, 360). Based on this explanation, it is obvious that scholars view multiple literacies as skills that people inevitably need in the era of innovations and technological progress. Thus, we can conclude that multiple literacies constitute the practical part of the new literacies that emerged over the recent years in human society. Media literacies can, on the other hand, be viewed as the theoretical or critical side of new literacies.
Media Literacies
Appearance
Thus, media literacy is the ability to critically assess the information presented by mass media, as well as the awareness of a person about the methods of media functioning, meaning creation, etc.: “Media literacy thus empowers people to use media intelligently, to discriminate and evaluate media content, to critically dissect media forms, and to investigate media effects and uses” (Kellner, 2009). This is basically why media literacy can be called a theoretical phenomenon – it deals with understanding and explaining the actions of media sources or with explanations of the factors that drive those actions.
Based on this consideration, Kellner (2009) argues that the system of education should pay much attention to teaching media literacy as one of the ways of shaping complete and freely thinking personalities:
…education must meet the dual challenges of teaching media literacy in a multicultural society and sensitizing students and the public to the inequities and injustices of a society based on gender, race, and class inequalities, and discrimination (Kellner, 2009).
Accordingly, current developmental trends of media literacies are focused mainly on the introduction and proper teaching of media literacies in school and university curricula.
Current Development
Moreover, the current development of media literacies involves considerable scholarly research work aimed at studying and classifying media literacies and media as such for a better understanding of media literacies on the whole. Accordingly, scholars like Woolsey (2005) single out three major types of media that determine the variations of media literacies usually observed in people:
Traditional Media, some of which become even more critical in the internet world (e.g. drawing, movie-making — literacies which are not new “to the world” but are new to the general populace), 2) e – Media, which extend traditional media though not typically replacing them, and 3) Immersive Media, which are fundamentally digital media (Woolsey, 9).
All the aforesaid media types are interconnected through the modern Internet technology that allows specialists in traditional media, e-Media, or immersive media, to exchange ideas and popularize media literacies in public. Drawing from this, the appearance of media literacies and their current development is obviously natural outcomes of the technological progress of society.
Meaning of New Literacies
Based on all the above-presented considerations, it is necessary to state that the new literacies that include multiple and media literacies are the vital phenomena for the development of modern society on the whole and every single individual’s personality in particular. Multiple literacies, for example, should be widely used in education for the better effect of the latter. As Schofteld & Rogers (2004) argue, “literacy overlaps the lives and interests of these students. Teaching entails scaffolding their multiple literacies so that students can find a voice as “public intellectuals in new times” (Schofield & Rogers, 247). Consequently, the connection of multiple literacies to the media literacies starts to manifests itself in the integrated importance of both:
… media literacy is an important part of multicultural education since many people’s conceptions of gender, race, ethnicity, and class is constituted in part by the media which are often important in determining how people view social groups…and distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong, attitudes and behavior (Kellner, 2009).
Thus, the meaning of new literacies in modern society is not limited by education. New literacies affect all spheres of human life, work, and recreation. Multiple literacies as we as media literacies are vital for the shaping of the personality of a modern human being living in the age of technological progress.
Conclusions
To conclude, the great impact of media on the formation of human personalities as well as the promotion of the technological innovations by these media makes it obvious that the appearance of new literacies, not obligatory dealing with literacy in the traditional sense of the word, is the natural process that takes place in all spheres of human activity. Multiple literacies and media literacies are the products of modern technological progress and changing demands that society poses for people. Both multiple and media literacies are equally important for the modern society development and personality shaping of society members.
References
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- Kellner, D. (2009). Media Literacies and Critical Pedagogy in a Multicultural Society. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from GSEIS.
- Lankshear, C. and Knobel, M. (2000). Mapping postmodern literacies: A preliminary chart. The Integrated Media Machine. 1 (1), 1 – 21.
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