New literacies is a term that is hard to define. Just as the term literacy and what it means to be literate is hard to define. One of the biggest reasons for these difficulties is because literacy and what it means to be literate is constantly evolving and changing. A literate person needs to be able to read, write and navigate the world around them. New literacies requires students to utilize a variety of different mediums to report out on and access a wide range of information. Students must now be literate in the are of technology. And within the realm of technology, there is a revolving door of changes that are constantly being made, causing the term literacy to change. Overall, new literacies is and should encompass all parts of the world, not just more traditional technologies.
NETS for students requires students to be more than familiar with technology. It also requires students to know more about the technology and resources they have available to them on a deeper level. Students need to be technologically savvy. They need to be ready, willing and able to navigate the online world that is constantly growing and changing around them. Students need to be able to acquire foundational computer and technological skills that will help them search, find, evaluate and synthesis all that they have at the tips of their fingers.
NETS for teachers requires teachers to have the same technological "savviness" as their students and then some. Teachers who are comfortable and confident in using and teaching with/about technology will help reinforce that same sentiment in their students. Its is the teachers role to integrate this imperative part of literacy into the current curriculum so students can become literate in all senses and meanings of the word. The successful implementation of technology education will breed success in our students.
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