21st-Century Literacies 1998

1650 Curriculum (wealthy, male, English) Classic (Latin/Greek) –Drama –History –Philosophy Law Religion

1850 Curriculum (most whites complete primary) Geography Foreign languages English literature Skills for work

1900 Curriculum Students: immigration double the current level Subjects: –Elitist vs. inclusive –New sciences –Mass literacy

2000 Curriculum (87% G12; 23% BA) Remember the textbook Follow directions Work alone Solve problems Complete (“cover”) the curriculum

Growth Laws Moore: # transistors on each chip doubles every 18 months Metcalfe: network value proportional to (# users) 2

Increasing Pace of Change Digital power Digital power = computing X communication X storage X content --John Seely Brown

21st-century changes Language Knowledge Work Literacy Technology

(1) Language: Decoding => Integrating knowledge from multiple sources and media

Language changes Dying languages New languages, e.g, World Englishes Merging, e.g., Hindi & English global internet use electronic journals Campus Computing Project doubling

Course functions syllabus assignments research projects questions articles data interactive software testing www resources

Spatial Narrative I think CD-ROMs imply a new kind of narrative...Instead of just moving through time, all of a sudden stories now move through space, so that architecture becomes the reigning metaphor. – Spiegelman, 1995

Stratification Language, gender, race, class, nationality, physical ability ASCII –0, 1, 2, 3,... –A, B, C,... –$ and ¢ –No ~, ç, ü Netiquette encodes male discourse

2. Knowledge: Remembering => Thinking critically

New ways of constructng meaning Internationalization Interconnections of knowledge Need for collaboration, cross-cultural understanding

Knowledge vs. information Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate. –Thoreau, Walden Deep Blue not programmed to accept draw

3. Work: Independent => Collaborative

Knowledge work By the end of this century knowledge workers will make up a third or more of the work force in the United States—as large a proportion as manufacturing workers ever made up, except in wartime. –Drucker, 1994

4. Literacy: Solving => Finding problems

Changing media in life Book sales Scholarly journals More reading & writing in work Rising IQ, educational attainment

5. Technology: Following directions => Continuing to learn

New media communities Digital libraries Virtual reality Hypermedia, Web Robotics Ubiquitous computing

The computer agent “Come Practice Now” => “Compress, now” Non-interruptible operation Hears, initiates, decides,...? Can we always pull the plug? (Asimov’s three laws of robotics)

The computer hybrid Vivace (~ Music Minus One) Listens, follows, adapts,... New conceptions of practice, performance, music Can it be too adaptive?

Definition of Self Barbie & Her Magical House –Visual discrimination: home decorating –Cause/effect: select music –Decision-making: choosing make-up Materials-centered

In the future already X-Files: on-line forum to discuss show’s direction Science fiction itself has remained the same. We have caught up to it...We are a science-fiction generation. –Ray Bradbury We can’t think far enough ahead anymore. –Ron Shusett

Surveillance & Control The road to freedom via a two-way Information Highway may turn into a one-way Surveillance Street, used to condition people’s thoughts and control their behavior. – Crawford,1994 Video surveillance is now so ubiquitous that we’re on television more than we watch it. CSCW research (program committee)

What will be the 2050 curriculum?

Learning... Integrating knowledge Thinking critically Collaborating Finding problems Learning how to learn

Return to basic questions What is literacy? How does it develop? What is its relation to schooling and life? What is learning? What is teaching? What does it mean to be human?

Closing Dramatic changes in our literacy practices More democracy, liberatory education? Technologies alone do not produce change Need to understand & shape these changes Call for dialogue