Dennis Baron, Colin Lankshear, and Michele Knobel review how digital literacies are used for social and cultural benefit. They also discuss the overall understanding of being literate; That, if reading and writing count as being literate. In Dennis Baron’s From Pencils to Pixels The Stages of Literacy Technology, he confers on the invention of the pencil. From his research he adds that many people in the Roman Empire era did not have access to writing technologies due to its expense. Hence, deeming the Romans and Greeks illiterate. Now, Lankshear and Knobel from Digital Literacies–Concepts, Policies and Practices, touched on a similar perception on the topic of accessibility. Their research suggests many children who are unable to access computers perform poorly academically. Whereas, children coming from a family of a higher stature, have those opportunities to succeed.
Technology leading to literacy?
Thus, bringing up the question, does the advancement of technology lead to literacy? Some argue that everyone can read and write but literacy means to understand what you have just read. An article written by Pritika Reddy, Kaylash Chaudhary, and Shamina Hussein called “A digital literacy model to narrow the digital literacy skills gap”, discusses that individuals who are not digitally literate tend to fall behind socially and academically. Basically, these individuals struggle to keep up with the new advancements. In addition, the 21st century was hit with a global pandemic where most students were faced with digital literacy. That being, most of their education was put through their computers and children had to adjust to this new learning system. Does this new adjustment deem them as being digitally literate? Some students made do with what they have, regardless of income or accessibility, yet they have exceeded the expectations of this new adjustment within a few months of the global pandemic. Ultimately they have set a higher standard.
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