21st Century Literacy

 Literacy needs a set of abilities to understand and use the symbol systems of a culture for personal and community development. 

However, nowadays, the daily routine of people is influenced by technology.  So, in this technological society, the concept of literacy is expanding to include the media such as TV, radio, magazines and newspapers, internet and electronic text, mobile phones, chat rooms, etc. All this technologies become in an essential part of people´s lives.

What does being literate actually
mean today? 

Nowadays, traditional literacies become more difficult to succeed in our technological society, so as a consequence new literacies emerged. They are:
Informational literacy related to read with meaning, using the information, provides by the web, in different formats depending on the context.
E-awareness which says that learning is related to the awareness that one is living in that new era.
Technological literacy related to the confident and critical operation of ICT, recognizing the value of formal and informal learning.
Digital literacy which involves instrumental and strategic skills as well as the ability to think creatively and share information or knowledge in multiple formats.  
Media literacy which represents a complete understanding of the ways in which traditional mass media and digital media function. 

The emergence of these new literacies has to be not only to the big influence a computer has over people, especially, young people, but also to the 21^st century jobs. These require creativity, the ability to solve problems, leadership, teamwork and persuasive communication skills. In other words, new work environments require competencies and skills that are only developed online. 

So, this new technological culture sets standards for ways of being and living, which also influences over the student-teacher relationship. That´s why is important that today´s teaching programs include media education as a crucial element.
When teaching 21^st century students, we should teach them not only about the use of the media but also about its strategies, which may be manipulated and as well as informative.

Another important situation to take into account is that many times children know how to do, but they don´t know how to explain what they do. Their language is characterized more by action than by reflection. That´s why the teacher is expected to teach and educate students in order to prepare them for their future professional life.  However, one problem is that, frequently, children do not think in their future since they explore in the present.
According to that and to finish this post, I chose a phrase, which reflects this new generation´s interests, from the book “Children learning English as a Foreign Language: 21^st Century Students and 21^st Century Skills” by Roberto Balaguer Prestes.

“This generation seeks out a sense of the practical in what its does, and prefers that what it learns can be explored and applied. Because of this, its learning is closed to the model of “just in time” than that of “just in case” that is typical of traditional education. This generation prefers to learn what is applicable in the presence and not what may be usable in the future”.