Is it time to re-think transition into a digital and networking knowledge based society

A report from the Work Foundation in the UK concluded that young people not in employment, education or training lacked not only formal qualifications, but the 'soft skills' needed in today's economy such as communication. Literacy skills for the twenty-first century are skills that enable participation in the new communities emerging within a networked society. Skills that enable students to exploit new simulation tools, information appliances and social networks; skills that facilitate the exchange of information between diverse communities and the ability to move easily across different media platforms and social networks (Jenkins et al, 2006, p. 55). The transition into a digital and networking knowledge based society is set to continue, and requires new skills sets. Meanwhile, traditional and digital technologies are converging and becoming more integrated; and changing how we find, use, present and understand information. All of these will require new literacies not only for work but for living a fulfilled life, coping with the new complexities of our societies, and engaging as a citizen. Learning traditions of the past will not adequately equip students for the unimagined literacies of the future. Thus, edcuational settings and paradigms has to be changed and there are urgent needs for innovative, creative trasitions for learning and to acknowledging the social context for change and thinking outside traditional boxes.

 By freeflyer09

  

Sheila Moorcroft argued in her blog 19/06/2012 on What Does It Mean To Be Literate In The 21st Century? that transliteracy has been coined to highlight the need to be able to 'read and understand' concepts and ideas across a growing range of formats and platforms - oral, print, visual, digital - as technologies merge and integrate, enabling radically new approaches to presentation, verification and distortion of content. They focus ever more on critical thinking, the ability to question, analyse, challenge; seeing arguments from different perspectives; articulating ideas. She finished her blog post with: The question will be what skills, taught where, when, how and by whom? Soft skills and the new literacies will need to be part of the process.

Leu et al (2004) point out that changes in how literacy is defined and taught must be considered within today’s social context. They identify three forces at work to change the nature of literacy:

• global economic competition within economies based increasingly on the effective use of information and communication
  

•  the rapid emergence of the Internet as a powerful new technology for information and communication

• public policy initiatives by governments around the world to ensure higher levels of literacy achievement including the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) (p.1575).

In order to maximise the teaching and learning potential of technology, it is often argued that students need to learn:

• how to be critical and informed users of technology
• to locate, evaluate and synthesise information
• to interact safely and responsibly online
• to make informed choices when creating texts, considering how purpose audience, contexts and    choice of medium influence texts.

This is exactly what IPTS and JRC (Redecker,  Leis,  Leendertse, Punie,  Gijsbers, Kirschner,  Stoyanov and Hoogveld, 2010) are addressing in The Future of Learning Preparing for Change. They argue for the overall vision for learning in the 21st century is personalisation, collaboration and informalisation. They also semphazise inclusion, participation and engagement both in educational and employment settings and contexts.

  

From: newequitypartners.org

A social revolution is underway and on nearly every ones confession, as homes and workplaces embrace the use of digital technology as a normal part of everyday life, but... 

...what are we doing with this knowledge? and how are we working towards this transition and paradigm shift especially in education, all from K-12 to Universty education and research and LLL?