Digital-Age Literacies 

As society changes, the skills needed to deal with the complexities of life also change. Major new studies now define literacy as the ability to use “digital technology, communications tools, and/or networks to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge society” (ICT Literacy Panel, 2002).

Inventive Thinking 

Experts agree: As technology becomes more prevalent in our everyday lives, cognitive skills become increasingly critical. “In effect, because technology makes the simple tasks easier, it places a greater burden on higher-level skills” (ICT Literacy Panel, 2002).

·    Basic Literacy: Can students demonstrate language proficiency (in English) and numeracy at levels necessary for success on the job and in a digital-age society?

·    Scientific Literacy: Do students have the knowledge and understanding of scientific concepts and processes required for personal decision-making, participation in civic and cultural affairs, and economic productivity?

·    Economic Literacy: Can students identify economic issues; analyze incentives; examine the consequences of changes in economic conditions and public policies; collect and organize economic evidence; and weigh costs against benefits?

·    Technological Literacy: Do students know what technology is, how it works, what purposes it can serve, and how it can be used efficiently and effectively to achieve specific goals?

~ Visual Literacy: Can students interpret, use, appreciate, and create images and video using both conventional and 21^st century media in ways that advance thinking, decision-making, communication, and learning?

·    Information Literacy: Are students able to evaluate information across a range of media; recognize when information is needed; locate, synthesize, and use it effectively; and accomplish this using technology, communication networks, and electronic resources?

·    Multicultural Literacy: Can students understand and appreciate similarities and differences between the customs, values, and beliefs of their own culture and the cultures of others?

·    Global Awareness: Do students recognize and understand relationships among international organizations, nation-states, public and private economic entities, socio-cultural groups, and individuals across the globe?

·   Adaptability/Managing Complexity: Can students modify their thinking, attitudes, or behaviors to be better suited to current or future environments? Can they handle multiple goals, tasks, and inputs while understanding and adhering to organizational or technological constraints of time, resources, and systems?

·   Self-Direction: Are students able to set goals related to learning, plan for the achievement of those goals, independently manage time and effort, and independently assess the quality of learning and any products that result from the learning experience?

·   Curiosity: Do students have a desire to know or a spark of interest that leads to inquiry?

·   Creativity: Are students able to bring something into existence that is genuinely new and original, whether personally (original only to the individual) or culturally (where the work adds significantly to a domain of culture as recognized by experts)?

·   Risk-taking: Are students willing to make mistakes, advocate unconventional or unpopular positions, or tackle challenging problems without obvious solutions, such that their personal growth, integrity, or accomplishments are enhanced?

·   Higher-Order Thinking and Sound Reasoning: Are students adept at cognitive processes of analysis, comparison, inference/interpretation, evaluation, and synthesis, as applied to a range of academic domains and problem-solving contexts?