Keslande Gabriel
30 Jan 2023
I once watched a comedian during an interview who made a statement that caught my attention. He said, “It’s not what you say that makes people laugh but, it’s how you say it.” (George Wallace). My immediate assumption was that he was simply referring to the tone, and the delivery of punch lines. That may have been on a comedy level however because upon reading James Paul Gee’s Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics, I came across a similar statement, “It’s not just what you say but, how you say it.”
Literacy: Comprehension and Articulation
In the past people understood the word “Literacy” as having the ability to read and write. Whether you knew enough to pass a driver’s permit test, read a map, or able to pass a state test for a degree you were considered literate. We’ve come to recognize that the definition of the word is much deeper than grammar. In addition to knowing how to read, we have to be digitally literate, be equipped with the skills of being able to comprehend higher level texts, articulate ourselves, and getting to the analytical stage. For instance, In the illustration of the two women described in the text, although the first woman did not utilize proper grammar in the situation, that was not the issue for the other woman. It was her articulation, and her inability to deliver the message to get her point across.
What Does it Mean to be Digitally Literate?
For those individuals who attended school in the early years such as millennials for instance knew technology as being able to type on the computer, writing letters, and sending emails. We can all agree that it has gotten much more complex. Especially with the evolution of technology when it comes to games, social media platforms, etc… Even the ones who were well knowledgeable on how to navigate the different types of technology are not deemed to be called digital literacy because they did not know how to use it for the right purpose. One perfect example of that was when students were in virtual learning during Covid. In Howisher’s, and Selfe’s paper I like this statement that says, “Schools are not the sole—and, often, not even the primary—gateways through which people gain access to and practice digital literacies.” The story of Mellisa, and Brittney Moraski who developed their computer literacies differently. Nowadays a two-year-old child knows exactly what to do with a phone or a tablet. Time has really changed from what literacy, and digital literacy meant before, and how they are currently defined.
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