Dear Deirdre

Sorry for delaying my comments on your very
interesting posting. I was analysing and studying
8 football matches of European Champions Football League.

You wrote:
"clarifies what is wood and what are trees (a
reference to an idiom in English "You can't see
the wood for the trees" when many details confuse the overall picture)"
"My point is that in this case "literacy" refers
to specific skills, reading and writing.
"Literacy" is specifically about interpreting
symbolic markings into language, and interpreting
language into symbolic markings."Literacy" is an
essential foundation for the state so confusingly
termed as "digital literacy", and involves a
skill which is not "digital" at all."

You also kindly write on a personal discussion
with Prof. Alfred Bork, one pope of learning interactivity using computers.

You remember us his massive project for teaching
the children of the world "to read and write".
But for you "write" meant "interpreting language
into symbolic markings" , and for him meant
"compose; create narrative" because he considered
that "writing" (in your sense) was quickly becoming redundant.

Some facts can, maybe, help us to see "wood" and
"trees" and understand the challenge of simple
"digital" word-world which may be "wood" or
"trees", and, probably, find common points to
understand what is really arriving today, anticipating tomorrow.

1) some years ago I built a Web page with 2-3
years old children, an amusing and exiting
experience! First we discuss on "Which to build a
page to "see (watch)"" in computer screen. I
speak about HTML and they call me "Mr HTML" (in
their own language!). We decide to build "The
Village Square" because each one knows it or
spend time here. Then they draw a tree, a puth, a
man, a girl, a flower (girl and flower make
sense!).to populate the square (using Paint (for
Mac)). Then I take it and create a web page.

Then we open Netscape Navigator and "see" our
work. They were exited "seeing" it but I ask:
"What is the name?" They reply "Mr HTML, it is a SQUARE!"

I agreed,"Where you "see" it in this page?" No one can say where!

So I reply "this is the "Title" (name) and we
will "write" it", you have your own name after all!". We leave Navigator.

I write "The Village Square" and open once again
Navigator. They "read" "The Village Square". Here
is playing Deirdre. I ask each one of you "are
they reading really?" "What is it?"
For the moment I understood that children can
learn to "read and write" using simple computer
screen (and by this way I agreed with A. Bork and
with Deirdre!) with a very little aide! But this
need an appropriated tool and here is playing fully A. Bork!

2) in 2001 I was conferencing in Austral
University (Valdivia, South Chili) on the
"Strategies of searching Internet information",
attended only by professors of that University. I
speak a lot on HTML and surprisingly they named
me "Professor HTML" (as the children before),
they understand the basic on search strategies,
the symbolic meaning, interpret symbolic markings
into languages, language into symbolic markings
as children did. I concluded they enter in "literacy"" on this matter

3) three years ago, I and Henri Samier, begun a
programme for Medicine Doctors in 15 District of
Paris (see this address http://www.ademi.net for
more info on these doctors) to "literate" them in
"Tools and methodologies for searching right
information on Internet". They discover the same
as professors of Austral University (and talk
about at noon): "literacy" in such field

4) A teacher from Ushuaia, Argentina, Claudia V.
Benitez, work with kindergarten children (do not
read and write of course!) using software Clic
3.0 (every one is connected to Internet there.
Marvellous country as Maradona's football is
it!). She learn to use Clic herself! She explain:
other colleagues use Clic as it arrive, without
adapting (which just learn in 20 minutes!) and it
is bad for teaching; in training teachers do not
learn nothing!!!! Even that of Intel for them!
(Kiki share with me her post). Children "learn"
"see", "wood" and "trees" and I concluded: the
urgent necessity of "digital literacy"!

5) Children and not children are confronting such
word and world! Melissa's brother lives in San
Rafael, Mediterranean coast of south France. He
has a computer at home and webcam but he doesn't'
know "How to use an e-mail!", and ask his
children for learning to use webcam! Melissa, who
is organising now WODE (World Organisation for
Digital Equality), an ONG registered in Geneva,
says me "the problem is more complicated:
children "write" manually less and less, they use
more and more "keyboard", phone, vision, and this
changes completely the figure!". Here's I see Deirdre and A. Bork together!

6) the word-world today is symbolic one: and not
only letters and sounds; is multimedia; video, as
a replication of our own! Kiki learn me literacy
on "images". And the foundation of this world is
"digital" (my first lectures dream on this
question). That's the raison why I call in "5D
paper": "we are facing a compound literacy
(classic and digital at least)". Children are
inside from birthing. Not children need to learn to catch the path of our time

7) thus interpreting symbolic marking into
language and language into symbolic literacy
needs classical and digital skills and maybe
Deirdre and Alfred are the same person, as Dr Jykell and Mister Hyde.

Victor Sandoval

PS If you need an Spanish translation I can do it

.
Nearby Thu Mar 9 17:40:21 2006