#14 Open Post--More on Print Literacy and Media Literacy

Many educators believe that with the growth of media and information technology, media literacy is just as important as--or even more important than--print literacy.  The Roblyer text refers to print literacy as learning to read and write.  In my opinion, a person cannot be media literate without being print literate.  I feel that print literacy should still be the primary literacy instruction for developing readers, but I also agree that much more emphasis should be placed on media literacy once a child acquires the ability to decode and comprehend text. 

This then leads to more questions--at what point does this print literacy acquisition happen and when can I begin teaching media literacy?  I do not think you can pinpoint an exact time that a person becomes a "good" reader.  Becoming a good reader takes practice--the more you read, the better you read, the more you read, the better you write, the more you write, the better you read...  The cycle continues.  There are observable skills that a child displays while reading that indicate he or she has a comfortable grasp of reading.  When that is present, I believe the process of teaching media literacy can begin.  Becoming media literate requires practice just like print literacy.  Why not teach the two literacies simultaneously and not exclusive of one another? 

The traditional definition of literacy, when print was the supreme media format, was the ability to decode, understand and communicate in print. But the world has evolved, and print is no longer the dominant media format—that role has been usurped by the electronic media. To be literate today, people must be able to:


decode, understand, evaluate and write through, and with, all forms of media

read, evaluate and create text, images and sounds, or any combination of these elements.

In other words literate individuals must possess media literacy as well as print literacy, numeral literacy and technological literacy.  I do not think the question should be if and when to replace print literacy with media literacy.  As I stated earlier, print literacy is a prerequisite to achieving the other types of literacies.