21st-Century Literacies, Critical Media Pedagogies, and Language Arts
“21st-Century Literacies, Critical Media Pedagogies, and Language Arts” by Dr. Ernest Morrell is an article from The Reading Teacher. Dr. Morrell describes the ways in which the Internet, and the literacies required to navigate it, have changed since the early 1990’s. He argues that teachers need to teach these new 21st-century literacies alongside the literacy skills that are traditionally taught in English language arts classes.
Dr. Morrell presents a convincing argument for why “21st-century literacies” need to be part of the English language arts curriculum. He urges teachers that “we have to figure out how to inject our discipline with these new tools and ways of communication as concepts such as reading, writing, listening, and speaking take on new dimensions in the media age” (p. 302). Although students may have a great deal of expertise with technology, they still need to learn how to read, interpret, and responsibly create information digital information online. This brief article might be useful for educators who are first starting to consider how to incorporate information, media, and digital literacy as part of their English language arts curriculum.