Transliteracy

**Definition**

Research in the digital age requires a different set of skills than it did in the past. Knowing how to navigate across a variety of interfaces, the term " //transliteracy" has been coined to describe the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from handwriting and printed material (think civil war diaries and letters) to databases, podcasts, and social networks (yes, FaceBook) via a variety of tools from a pencil to a laptop or even a mobile phone.//

//**Here are some links to get the discussion started. As you explore these links, think about the following questions:**// //**(please add your thoughts under each)**//

**Discussion Questions** What skills do (and will) students need to be information and technology literate in the 21st century? //**Response:**// Communication, leadership (including creating a vision, self-monitoring, decision making, and motivation), resilience, global awareness, ethical use of information and technologies, collaboration, creativity, innovation, adaptibility, critical thinking, and problem solving, among others.

An example of a specific skill that supports these 21st century skills would be skimming and scanning.

What is reading 2.0? Has the definition of reading changed to reflect the variety of multi-media information formats that students experience? //**Response:**//

Reading 2.0 has a 2-way nature. Rather than simply taking in the text, Reading 2.0 challenges the creator to use and interact with the content. One excellent example of reading 2.0 is the interactive textbook demonstrated in the video below, in which readers can manipulate text, video, and images to gain a greater understanding of the topic.

Newington's definition of reading continues to conceptualize reading in the traditional sense and does not yet incorporate direct instruction in reading, processesing, or interacting with nonprint materials.

Are we preparing students with the essential skills and creative opportunities they need to access, select, understand, extract, remix, mash-up and repackage the text, visual and audio media with which they interact (and do it ethically)? //**Response:**// //**﻿**// In our department, we have several of the pieces that are important for providing our students with 21st century skills, including a desire to collaborate, a new program guide, access to new technologies, and an evolving understanding of Web 2.0, Reading 2.0 and 21st century skills. However, in order to "arrive," we need:
 * Continuing education about technology and 21st century teaching through professional development opportunities.
 * Consistent guidelines to manage the logistics of implementing and using new technologies. (e.g. Who will pay for apps? How do we replace damaged materials? What is process for purchasing technologies and accessories?)
 * Buy-in from the classroom teachers regarding the importance of 21st century skills and the value of collaboration with LMSs.

Is "transliteracy" any different than "information literacy" and is our library media program fully addressing the needs of our students? If not, what do we need to address? //**Response:**// Transliteracy is one aspect of information literacy. What makes transliteracy slighly different from information literacy is the explicit focus on product (repackaging understanding in a different medium for an authentic audience.)

The best means of teaching transliteracy is through project based learning. At this point, the perception of some classroom teachers appears to be that projects are "extra" or "fluff" and there is a lack of time to collaborate or complete projects. Although our newly revised program guide reflects information and transliteracy skills and we attempt to teach these skills within the context of our Library Media Centers, authentic application through collaboration with classroom teachers is a very hard sell!! Consistency is very difficult to achieve within and among grade levels. Hopefully with a district emphasis being placed on the Hallmarks of Effective Teaching, 21st Century Skills and the Rigor Relevance Framework, the thinking in the district will shift to place a value on project based learning. We embrace this challenge and hope to move forward as a department this school year.

**Resources** media type="youtube" key="sk4Cw8vrDuM?version=3" height="345" width="420" While the focus of this video is public libraries and patrons, the message is clear for all libraries.

@http://futureofed.org/transliteracy/ Blog post

http://librariesandtransliteracy.wordpress.com / Transliteracy Blog - Look at the first article, "A Reasonable Objection to Transliteracy"

@http://blog.ncladvocacy.org/2011/08/beyond-foundational-literacy-and-digital-literacy / National Coalition for Literacy Blog Post

http://www.inanimatealice.com / A Digital Novel -- If you haven't seen this yet, make sure to view more than one episode media type="custom" key="10328428" Another example of reading 2.0 - a digital textbook by Al Gore

http://www.only2clicks.com/pages/leolwb The Reading 2.0 tab is a collection of website links to topics of interest from a reading 2.0 workshop that I attended. Browse what interests you.

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/inside-scoop/trans-what-day-literacies-ala-annual-conference ALA talks about transliteracy

@http://www.theunquietlibrary.libguides.com/media21 Brian found this -- Buffy Hamilton's LibGuide page for 21st century skills. Scroll down and take a look at the personal learning networks video.