What is Literacy?

Literacy is an ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society.

(The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2010)

 
Literacy has traditionally been descried as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material. 

(The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2010)

 

Literacy is not a single body of knowledge but a varied set of social practice.

                                                                                                                     (Luna, Solsken, & Kutz, 2000)

 

 

Literacy is vital to ensuring people has the best chance to succeed in their everyday life. Literacy allows us to make sense of a range of written, visual and spoken texts including books, newspapers, magazines, timetables, DVDs, television and radio programs, signs, maps, conversations and instructions.

(Department of education and training, 2009).

My Literacy-- Produsing

Tweets

Tweets is an online discussion board to be used in  EDUC 1706 course, I can post any learning questions or useful information on the board page to share. All the students in this course can join in the discussion and share their knowledge  together, and tutor also will give us help to solve our problems by using Tweets discussion board. 
I am not good at science subject, so i always post my question on this board to look forward a help from others. But English is not my first language, so  I need to organize my words well before i posting question, to make sure the others can  understand my question that will be easier for them to give me a help.
 
Facebook

Facebook: To keep in touch with my friends, let them know what happen to me recently. Furthermore, I can read the new status from my friends' home page,to know how are they going these days,  and leave comments on their pages, let them know I am one the of friends caring about them. 
I like to communicate with my friends by using facebook and create, share my own opinion with them. And I found that I really produse a lot when using facebook to communicate with my friends, I take the meaning from their status and contribute my personal responses, it is the literacy used in daily communication.

Telephone

I use telephone to contact with my friends and families, also I can text to them.

I always make a international call with my parents. Because my parents do not good at computer, so telephone is the best option for me to contact with them, to let they know I am all good in Australia, and tell them I miss them so much.



Television

Online television: I use a website to watch the TV from other country, which is not available on Australian TV. Television is a good method for me learning speaking and practicing listening.

Literacy to be used in my schooling history.

Timetable to be used everyday by me.

I need timetable to check out what class do I have each day, and also the time and where do I have my class. 

 In University, online search skill cannot be ignored by every student. Most our assessments are required to search for more information, it seems impossible for all of us go to library everyday and read all the books one by one, so online search skill can help us save our time. 
Therefore, I were required to have IT class starting from primary school in China, and now use laptop to complete assessment becomes to my part of Uni life.
I found that apply literacy in my assessment required me able to search key words online, pick out the most important information, and organize these useful sources, link them together.

Literacy 2011-apply literacy to engage with daily life

Use MSN and SKYPE to contact with families and friends, free call, online chatting or webcam. People can share their  thoughts, information all together. It is a technical  skill for people using to get the newest information from the world, discuss and communicate with others.

Digital literacy class ( webcams, audio recorders, blogs, and other Web 2.0 tools—to boost literacy in students)

For example, teachers can use audio recorders to have student-teachers read sets of vocabulary words, then create matching PowerPoint presentation with the words and burns them onto DVDs for the students to take home and listen to.  Students hearing a model reader helps with their fluency and the comprehension.

                                                                                                                                         (Ash, 2009).

Use bank cards to do online shopping, or pay for any 

Use go card to take bus and train.

Touch-on, touch-off go card and 

top up go card online or by using

automatically machine.

                              expense in daily life.

Read and get fashion information from magazines, apply these information to have a common topics with friends, share and give personal responses. keep in touch with the society.

 

Use iphone to make a call, text message, listen music, search online, check email, play game, google map ect.

      

Literacy Music

In 2011, digital literacy plays a significant role in teaching system, children learn to speak from the music and learn to write by looking the images in this video.

Lyrics, images in music also can help people deliver their emotions.  
If one day I have to leave my boyfriend and go away, this song must be my first option to choose to let him know I must come back because of him,

Promise me you’ll wait for me
’cos I’ll be saving all my love for you
And I will be home soon
Promise me you’ll wait for me
I need to know you feel the same way too
And I’ll be home, I’ll be home soon

People can use music to communicate, lyrics and images are used together to help create meaning in music. In 20^th century, Music literacy is one the methods for people appying to communicate with others.