English and ICT

Out-of-school contexts

Critical reading

Activity summary – Changing literacies

One of the key areas that student teachers will need to focus on with pupils is critical reading of websites. This is important for several reasons:

• Authors are often presented as anonymous so their positionality is hidden.
• Websites from a vast range of sources are presented as of equal status on the Internet; texts do not have to undergo the level of critical review normal prior to publication in print.
• Readers also need to be aware that the pathways that authors establish from their sites (through hyperlinks) reflect their own values and perspectives; some possible links are encouraged whilst others are ignored. In this way, authors can use links to justify their own perspective and ignore others.

As a means of highlighting these issues, we require student teachers to complete a critical reading of a number of websites. We ask them work in groups to evaluate a number of sites relating to current literacy projects, identifying the values and assumptions underpinning each site's approach to literacy/English. This, we feel, serves two purposes:

1. it helps student teachers to sharpen their own critical reading skills
2. it provides another opportunity to discuss different and changing views of literacy/English.

We begin by exploring competing definitions of literacy. We begin by using the following quote to highlight that literacy has been conceived differently in different contexts.

'The concept of literacy covers a multiplicity of meanings and definitions of literacy can carry implicit but generally unrecognised views of it functions (what literacy can do for individuals) and its uses (what individuals can do with literacy skills).' Heath, 1980, p.123

Next we examine a number of definitions. We discuss how each definition seems to present 'literacy' and the kinds of contexts, practices, texts and skills that are seen to be important. From this, we examine how each definition sees the value/significance of literacy.

Some useful definitions to discuss with student teachers include:

'A person is literate when he (sic) has acquired the essential knowledge and skills which will enable him to engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning in his groups and community, and whose attainments in reading, writing and arithmetic make it possible for him to continue to use those skills towards his own and the community's development.' UNSECO definition from Baynham, 1995: 8

'Literacy involves the integration of listening, speaking , reading, writing and critical thinking; it incorporates numeracy. It includes the cultural knowledge which enables a speaker, writer or reader to recognise and use language appropriate to different social situations. For an advanced technological society such as Australia, the goal is an active literacy which allows people to use language to enhance their capacity to think, create and question, in order to participate effectively in society.' Australian Council for Adult Literacy

'Today the definition of literacy has expanded from traditional notions of reading and writing to include the ability to learn, comprehend, and interact with technology in a meaningful way'. Selfe cited in Pianfinetti, E.S. (2001) Teachers and Technology: digital literacy through professional development, Language Arts, 78, p. 256

Next we analyse a number of literacy-related sites. Each small group completes a critical reading of an allocated website, identifying the assumptions made about what literacy involves.

Questions used to frame this critique include:

• What are the explicit aims of the organisation which has established this site?
• What can you learn from the verbal text about what kind of literacy this site promotes?
• What do the images on the site say about the kind of literacy that this site promotes? (Does this complement or contradict what the words say?)
• Which sites does this site link to? What does this tell you about the organisation's beliefs and interests?
• Does the site carry any advertising/official endorsement? If so, who advertises on the site or endorses it? What does this tell you?
• Who is the site aimed at? How do you know? (How is this audience addressed?)
• What do we subsequently learn about the kinds of literacy that are valued? Summarise the kind of literacy that this site promotes. Note down any implicit aims of this site (in addition to the explicit ones listed above).

Some useful sites for this exercise include: