technology for the language teacher

Digital literacies
Nicky Hockly

In this series, we explore current technology-related themes and topics. The series aims to discuss and demystify what may be new areas for some readers and to consider their relevance to English language teachers. In future articles, we will be covering topics such as mobile learning, learning technologies in low-resource environments, and personal learning networks. In this second article of the series, we explore the idea of the digital literacies: what they are, why they are important, and how language teachers can start to include them in their English language classes.

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What are digital literacies?

New technologies have transformed the way we live and communicate, and most educators are in agreement that new technologies require new skills. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills in the US A, for example, is an organization that advocates the inclusion in education of skills which prepare students for life in the twenty-rst century; these skills include information, media and technology skills, also known as digital literacies. National curricula are increasingly taking digital literacies into account, although not everyone agrees on the terminology to use; thus, we nd that digital competency is part of the national curriculum in Norway, in Australia educators talk of digital media literacy, and in the UK of media literacy. A recent report by researchers at the University of Phoenix Research Institute (Davies, Fidler, and Gorbis 2011: 67) identies a number of key skills for future workers, which include new media literacy and virtual collaboration skills, among others. Of course literacy has always been a primary goal of education, but the constantly evolving digital landscape means that new skills and literacies are required. The umbrella term digital literacies can be applied to these.

What do digital literacies look like?

A number of ways of conceptualizing digital literacies have been put forward. Pegrum (2011; Dudeney, Hockly, and Pegrum 2012) suggests a set of four overlapping skill sets corresponding to four main areas:
1 2 3 4

language information connections (re-)design.

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For Pegrum, these include not only traditional print literacy but also the skills to decode online text genres, such as blogs, wikis, or forum
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discussions. He also includes texting literacy: the ability to read and create the abbreviated forms used in text messaging or in taking part in real-time online text chat conversations. Another facet is hypertext literacy: the ability to navigate and read online texts which contain hyperlinks. Others are visual and multimedia literacy, gaming literacy (a macro literacy involving linguistic, multimedia, spatial and kinaesthetic skills (Dudeney et al. op.cit.), and mobile literacy: the skills needed to effectively use mobile or handheld devices. Finally, we have technological literacy and code literacy, which include a basic understanding of coding so as to not be tied to the exclusive use of commercial templates in online tools and gives one the ability to route around restrictions where deemed appropriate.

Information-based literacies

These are fundamental skills that help us navigate the ood of digital information provided by the internet. These include search literacy (the ability to search effectively for information online), tagging literacy (labelling or tagging online materials so they are ndable), information literacy (being able to critically evaluate sources and information), ltering literacy (knowing how to manage information overload), and attention literacy (knowing when to switch off as well as on). These include knowing how to manage your digital identity or online persona (personal literacy) and network literacy, which helps you lter information received from your online networks while you yourself become a node in these networks by passing on relevant information or news (see also Pegrum 2010). Participatory literacy involves being able to create and produce digital content; this in turn includes cultural/intercultural literacy when working with international virtual teams. These consist primarily of remix literacy, a macro literacy which includes the ability to recreate and re-purpose already-made digital content in innovative ways. YouTube parodies based on news or lm clips are examples of this and include knowledge about related issues of copyright and plagiarism. Belshaw (2011) outlines eight key elements that characterize digital literacies:
1 Cultural: the need to understand different online contexts and how to

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Connection-based literacies

(Re-)design-based literacies

interact appropriately in them. For example, interaction in an online gaming environment such as World of Warcraft is very different to interaction in a formal online course environment. 2 Cognitive: for Belshaw this is about ways of conceptualizing digitality rather than the practice of using tools. To develop this, we need to expose learners to various ways of conceptualising digital spaces (and interactions within them) (Belshaw ibid.: chapter 9). 3 Constructive: this includes the ability to create remixes (Pegrums remix literacy) and also to take part effectively in online networks (Pegrums network literacy). 4 Communicative: this is understanding how communications media work. It is, basically, the nuts and bolts of how to communicate in digital environments (Belshaw op.cit.: chapter 9).

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5 Condent: Belshaw suggests that we need to be condent users of

technology and have enough technical expertise to be able to use technology for our own ends, rather than to be manipulated by it. Experimentation and an open mindset is a plus in digital contexts and can lead to improved problem-solving skills (OECD 2001: 9, quoted in Belshaw op.cit.). 6 Creative: the ability to nd new ways to do new things with new tools (in short, to be creative with new technologies). 7 Critical: Belshaw suggests that we need to learn to curate and critically understand the resources that we nd, not just supercially skim over oceans of information. 8 Civic: knowing how to use technology to increase civic engagement and social action. Both Pegrum and Belshaw make clear that digital literacies are not a checklist of discrete skills that are simply acquired and then ticked off. Although digital literacies do include procedural skills (such as how to insert an image into a word-processed document), they also include less clearly dened skills, such as communicating effectively in distributed virtual communities. Bawden (2008) suggests that it is more useful to conceive of digital literacies as a state or condition that changes over time. As technology evolves and changes, so new skills and literacies emerge and become increasingly important.
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Implications for language teachers

Although some national curricula make provision for the development of digital literacies within mainstream primary and secondary schooling, it is sometimes challenging for teachers to know how to operationalize these literacies in the classroom. This is particularly true for teachers who may not feel condent with technology themselves or have received little or no training in how to use technology in a principled manner with learners. As English language teachers, we can help our learners acquire not only the language skills needed for communication in an increasingly globalized world but also some of the digital skills that they will inevitably also need. It is increasingly difcult for us to separate language from the digital environment in which it is being used. As such, one could argue that by integrating new technologies into our classroom, we can also help learners develop key digital literacies and that it is indeed our duty as language teachers to do so. But the question remains: how? Below are ve activities that focus on a number of Pegrums digital literacies. These activities can be integrated into most, if not all, English language teaching syllabi, even when these are coursebook driven, by tying the activity to the current topic being explored in class. Learners decode sample text messages into standard English. They then decide in which contexts text messaging is acceptable, and in which contexts it is not, from a series of prompts/situations. Discuss the linguistic norms and the appropriate use of texting language, in both English and in the learners L1. In what ways are they similar or different? Even if you do not expect your learners to produce texting language, familiarity with norms in the target language is useful as it becomes an increasingly common genre.

Digital literacies in the English language classroom Txtng (texting literacy)

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Follow the link (hypertext literacy)

Find two online texts of a similar length on the same topic (for example a news item): one text with few or no hyperlinks and one text with many hyperlinks. Ask learners to read each text online and to follow any hyperlinks. Give a one- or two-minute time limit for learners to read each text. Discuss which text was easier to read and why. Hypertext literacy includes not just knowing when to ignore hyperlinks in the text so as not to lose the thread, but also knowing how many hyperlinks to include in ones own text, in the interests of readability and credibility. Ask students to visit a spoof website, such as that dedicated to the Pacic Northwest tree octopus (http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus). Set a comprehension task on the website content without telling students it is a spoof. Ask them to choose one of the ways they could show support for this endangered species. Finally, ask the class if they think this is all true. Analyse what makes this site look believable (layout, links to real sites such as the World Wildlife Fund, links to other research, informational style of language, maps, etc.). Point out the clues (apart from the content!) that show the site is a spoof (U R L, headers and footers, tagline . . .). Pairs can then examine less obvious spoof sites (see http://www.philb.com/fakesites.htm) and real sites, and then report back to the class on which is which and how they know. A key element of information literacy is the ability to evaluate the veracity, reliability, and source of information on websites. Choose a topic/theme that you are currently working on with the class (for example animals). Ask students to search Google images of a given animal and to choose the three images they like the most. In pairs, they compare their images and explain their choices. Ask students to then prepare a short blog entry about the animal/topic, which they will illustrate with one of the images. Ask students to look again at their chosen images online and the copyright license for each. With a Google image search, the percentage of all rights reserved copyright images will usually be high. In Google Advanced search, show learners how they can lter their image search results to include only images that can be reused. Ensure that everyone is familiar with Creative Commons licensing. Tell learners to also search popular image banks such as Flickr (http://www.ickr.com), where there is a higher percentage of creative commons images. Learners make a nal choice of (copyright free) image with which to illustrate their blog post. Show students how to acknowledge the source of creative commons images in their post. Knowledge and appropriate use of copyright is an essential part of participatory literature; if students are creating their own online content, they need to know what images they can legally reuse in their digital contributions and how to acknowledge the source. The activities briey outlined above assume that the teacher herself is digitally literate or at least willing to become so. Teachers may need to take part in staff development or training for this. Futurelab has some excellent resources in the eld of digital literacies, which could be integrated into a staff development plan or used by teachers as part of a self-study plan for professional development (see http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/ digital-literacy-professional-development-resource). So, if you are a teacher who feels less condent with technology, do not despair: rather, skill up.
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The tree octopus (information literacy)

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Copycat (visual/ multimedia literacy)

Teachers and digital literacies

References Belshaw, D. 2011. What is digital literacy? A pragmatic investigation. Ed.D thesis, Durham University. Available at http:// neverendingthesis.com (accessed on 18 July 2011). Bawden, D. 2008. Origins and concepts of digital literacy in C. Lankshear and M. Knobel (eds.). Digital Literacies: Concepts, Policies and Practices. New York, NY: Peter Lang. Davies, A., D. Fidler, and M. Gorbis. 2011. Future Work Skills 2020. Palo Alto, CA: University of Phoenix Research Institute. Available at http:// tinyurl.com/3m6cpc9 (accessed on 18 July 2011). Dudeney, G., N. Hockly, and M. Pegrum. 2012 forthcoming. Digital Literacies. Harlow: Pearson. OECD. 2001. Learning to change: ICT in schools. Paris, France: Centre for Educational Research and Innovation. Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Available at http://www.p21.org (accessed on 18 July 2011). Pegrum, M. 2010. I link, therefore I am: network literacy as a core digital literacy. E-learning and Digital Media 7/4: 34654.

Pegrum, M. 2011. Modied, multiplied and (re-)mixed: social media and digital literacies in M. Thomas (ed.). Digital Education: Opportunities for Social Collaboration. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. The author Nicky Hockly is a Director of Pedagogy of The Consultants-E (www.theconsultants-e.com), an online training and development organization. She has been involved in E F L teaching and teacher training since 1987 and is co-author of How to Teach English with Technology, Learning English as a Foreign Language for Dummies, and most recently of Teaching Online. She maintains a blog about e-learning at www.emoderationskills.com and is a keen user of new technologies. Email: nicky.hockly@theconsultants-e.com

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