9th December 2011 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The government and schools will have to adjust to the fact that literacy has changed in response to new technologies. Gavin Dudeney, director of technology at The Consultants-E, writes this week that a barrage of new technologies which allow for different forms of expression and levels of interaction have changed the face of literacy today.
Tuition agencies and colleges offer ESL lessons (English as asecondLanguage), but Dudeney notes that people are increasingly referring to DSL - digital as a second language. As a private tutor in my twenties I generally find that school children have as good or firmer grasp of new technologies as I do, and are certainly more advanced than I was at their age. Yet the extent to which new technologies are pervading society means that what some are referring to as a new language is a crucial part of daily interaction. Whilst this provides new and interesting forms of communication, it also has the potential to exclude and leave behind those who do not have the opportunity to engage.
How many school children now have their own computers, smart phones and Nintendo DS? Which schools have enough computers to run regular media classes for all students, and how many students have to share computers for a limited amount of time? If developing these skills is dependent on access to these technologies, surely this is one of the most divisive developments in the history of education? If parents cannot afford the time or money to read books at home to their children, it is unlikely that they will afford laptops and smart phones. If this new digital language is to become a permanent feature of literacy in schools, then it must become a priority to investigate how we can provide fairer access before the digital age becomes another symbol of the widening gaps in our education system.