A11.1: Branching Literacy

Deidra Darst

11/2/07

What [do you know/can you find out] about branching literacy skills?

I was first introduced to the concept of branching literacy skills by the Alkali and Hamburger article Experiments in Digital Literacy.  They write that branching literacy skills aid people in staying oriented while searching for information in a non-linear manner (Alkali and Hamburger, 2004).  Aphek labels this type of literacy “lateral multidirectional literacy”(Aphek, 2007).  This term provides a self-explanatory definition of branching literacy; searching, interpreting, organizing, and learning must occur within undirect format.  Aphek writes that lateral literacy allows Internet users to construct new ideas by piecing together bits of information from various sites and sources.  Rather than the traditional linear format of books where information is given in a predetermined sequence, information is not provided sequentially but rather spread out across the Web, requiring users to find the information and construct the knowledge for themselves (2004). 

What are your reactions to the idea that there are such skills?

If I had to choose which of the five subcategories of digital literacy is the most important, I would have to choose branching literacy.  My own experience has taught me that the information I want/need is  usually out there somewhere, I just have  to find it!  Once I find it, I often have difficulties relocating it.  (This speaks to my need to improve my branching literacy skills.)  I am not trying to sound, cheesy, for lack of a better term, but I think branching literacy is something that most students need to improve.  We often expect information to be spoon-fed to us without any work on our part.  I am very guilty of thinking, “Why can’t they just teach us what they want us to know?  Why do I have to find the information on my own?”  Maybe if I had better branching literacy skills, I would not find Internet-based research projects so demanding!  I realize, too, that the process of retrieving the information on my own is the best way to learn.  Going through the process makes me appreciate the learning process more than I would if the information was handed to me during a class lecture. 

How do you think this “new” literacy will change education/schooling?

 Branching literacy has obviously changed today’s educational institutions.  I cannot even count how many times I have been required or encouraged to use the Internet or various databases to find information.  Without this skill I would have been completely lost!  As the readings stated, locating information in a non-linear fashion often requires researchers to compile information from numerous sources.  This allows students and teachers alike to gather information and combine it in order to create knowledge for themselves and others. 

Aphek, E. (2007). Digital, highly connected children: Implications for education. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from http://www.creativityatwork.com/articlesContent/aphek/digital-literacy.html

Eshet-Alkai, Y. (2004).  Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era.  Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 13(1), 93-106. 

Eshet-Alkali, Y., & Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (2004, August).  Experiments in digital literacy.  Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 7(4), 421-429.