Literacy-in-Persons Video

literacy from Mystery Reflex on Vimeo.

      Johnson and Cowles define literacy-in-persons as the manner in which, "literate practice emerges from individuals' biographies and the histories of communities, local or global" (Johnson & Cowles, 2009, p. 410) I decided to make a video documenting and exploring my own literacy-in-persons. In the video I highlight important experiences that I believe have influenced the literacies I use and the ways in which I use them. School and my mother's interest in technology started me early in developing digital literacies. I have been a regular computer user since early childhood and have been able to adapt along with the technology. I believe this puts me at an advantage for living in the reign of the knowledge economy. As change is forced upon us, those who grew up in a state of constant technological adaptation will be able to adapt much more easily. But how long can we keep up? Already the technology that I studied at film school a few short years ago has become outdated. What used to require a large camera and professional grade software to complete, I can now do with my iPhone and an app that was included with my laptop. I've already become somewhat of a dinosaur in the field of digital film, and it's only been five years since I graduated. Brandt warns that literacies are constantly changing and evolving (2003, p. 249). It is up to the individual to evolve as well, but also to diversify. This is what I have attempted to do by returning to university, as well as studying another language. The documentary The End of Men highlighted the importance of this (De Guerre, 2011). If we fail to evolve, or become too dependent on any one literacy, we may only be setting ourselves up for a fall. My literacy-in-persons is not only an outline of myself, but also of the time and society I live in. It reveals the importance of adaptation and the need to have options, to not keep all of one's literacy eggs in one basket, so to speak.

References

Brandt, D. (2003). Changing literacy. Teachers College Record, 105(2), 245-260.

De Guerre, M. (Producer/Director). (2011). The end of men [Documentary]. Canada: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Johnson, A. S., Cowles, L. (2009). Orlonia’s “literacy-in-persons”: Expanding notions of literacy through biography and history. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(5), 410-420