Concept of Literacy

Literacy can be defined as the ability to read, write, and speak. One question that always seems to rack my brain is....who is it exactly that sets the standards for literacy? After reading the article on one of the provided linked websites , I noticed that there were standards set for 21st century readers and writers to be considered literate. The article read that: Twenty-first century readers and writers need to

* Develop proficiency with the tools of technology

* Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally

* Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes

* Manage, analyze and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information

* Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multi-media texts

* Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments


Given this information, it makes it seem as though there is more required to being "literate" rather than just the ability to read, write, and speak. Who is(are) the author(s) exactly to determine literacy? What about some of the people back in history who were not allowed to learn how to read? (example: slavery times) Does that make them illiterate, even it is "forced illiteracy?" Also what about the people who come to America and have a language barrier? Does that make them illiterate by the standards of America? It seems that there are many underlying variables to be considered before judging literacy.

Heres an clip that most of you may be able to relate to:

Materiality cont.

When I think of the materiality of texts, I think of the way we produce, transmit, and store textual and graphic information. It is very important, like a first impression. One of my graphic design books is made in a very interesting manner and I find that I can retain the information better just because it is so different. It keeps my interest and is a delight to my eyes visually. Maybe I am just really anal about the way things are put together anyways because I am majoring in graphic design. I have had to do my fair share of nitpicking, which I believe has given me a slight case of Obsessive-compulsive disorder. (My professors taught me to become a nitpicker and also a “font nazi.”) The space of a book (the material between the covers) has always been an interactive playground. It just depends if a person is brave enough to break these “norms” about the standards.



I love how books and other texts are becoming paperless.
I think that within this day and age that soon ----- everything will become paperless. If you do not own a computer or a device to access the Internet, it’s just going to be SOL (sorry outta luck) for you buddy. I once met this lady at my job that told me that she doesn’t use a computer and never has ever in her life. (I seem to be getting off on a tangent) It was just sad. I wondered if she had been living in a rock all of her life. She wasn’t even elderly.

Materiality

Texts that alert us to their materiality go against much of that we have been taught especially the standards for textbooks. Textbooks aren’t focused on materiality per se but as the information that the text displays. It is really only meant for educational purposes. For these exact reasons is why you see a lot of college students snoozing and wiping the drool off of their college textbooks. Informative textbooks with no materiality are boring, but they seem to get to the point. The standard sizes for these texts are 8 ½ x 11 with a 12-point typeface and usually a font of Arial, Helvetica, or Times New Roman. The reason why there are standard sizes and fonts for typefaces are because of legibility reasons. The 12-point font yields for faster reading speeds and it is the size preferred by a wide range of users. As far as the standard size of paper, the determination that paper should be the size that is if it can be divided into two equal halves parallel to its shortest sides, then the halves will fold again equally. There is a mathematical system involved in the size of paper. Also there are different standard sizes for different countries.