Learning/WebLiteraciesWhitePaper: Difference between revisions

<strong>The web is a system of interlinked documents and resources accessed via the internet.</strong> The internet can also be used to access email, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and other non-web services, but for the purposes of this white paper we’re interested in the things that can be accessed and created via modern web browsers. Taking Leo, Martha and Abdullah as our examples, no matter what devices they choose to use, the web is accessible to them all.

Literacy isn’t just about reading, but about writing too. When we think about literacies on the web it’s important to go beyond just the differences between paper and screen. Those differences, like the <em>hypertextuality</em> of the web, are certainly important. But mastering these differences does not automatically lead to ‘web literacies’. <strong>Being web literate means not only being able to read the web but also having the ability to ‘write’ it.</strong>

consumption’ towards creating a generation of <em>Webmakers</em>. <strong>We’re not talking about everyone becoming a fully-fledged programmer, but we do believe that everyone should have the skills, competencies and literacies to be able to tinker and make things with and on the web.</strong> This is what Martha, the teacher in our example above, wants to help her students learn. She wants them to be able to make parts of the web as well as consume them.

identifying a web browser’s address bar, using copy/paste functions, and entering the URL of a site directly (rather than searching). Likewise, there’s ‘Advanced’ skills such as code workflows and server-side technologies that go beyond what we’re talking about here. <strong>Both ‘Pre-Beginner’ and ‘Advanced’ skills are currently out of scope for this white paper.</strong> We’re focusing on the kinds of skills that Abdullah might

<strong>As set out in the [https://www.mozilla.org/about/manifesto.en.html Mozilla Manifesto] we believe that the web is a resource to be protected; one to be co-created not merely co-consumed.</strong> To create things with and on the web means being able to both read and write it. In other words, to be web literate, “we must learn not just how to use programs but how to make them” (Rushkoff, 2010).

<strong>The web is becoming the world’s second language, and a vital 21st century skill.</strong> Digital literacy today is as important as reading, writing and arithmetic. Mozilla believes it’s crucial that people develop the skills they need to understand, shape and actively participate in that world, instead of just passively consuming it.

<strong>We want to help create a web literate planet.</strong> We want to teach people about the web through the web, moving them from consuming it to making it as a means of self-expression. We want to create a generation of people who know how the web works and can remix it. We also want to empower educators, those who want to teach other people about the web.

<strong>Mozilla’s work is underpinned by a philosophy that we learn best through doing and making.</strong> While our work is underpinned by the works of academics in related fields, we’re interested in <em>practical action</em>. We’re focused upon encouraging people to become experienced in writing parts of the web and participating in online communities.

Learning by making and tinkering is not a new idea, nor is our belief in interest-based pathways for learning. Both of these concepts are fundamental to the work of foundational thinkers such as Froebel, Montessori, Dewey, Thorndike, Vygotsky, Papert and Csikszentmihalyi (amongst many others). Learning theories such as Constructivism<span id="Foot2">² and Connectivism,<span id="Foot3">³ influence our work around Web Literacies along with notions such as <em>Flow</em> states<span id="Foot4">⁴ and the importance of a sense of play.

We’re putting these learning theories into action through the Webmaker tools we’re creating but also through the badge system design accompanying our work in this area. Interest-based pathways through a series of (badged) challenges promote flow states through clear goals and immediate feedback. More about this can be found in the <strong>Webmaker badges</em> section below.

<strong>We’re currently working towards defining web literacies as part of our work around Mozilla Webmaker.</strong> We understand web literacies to be comprised of parts of digital literacies, media literacies, computational/algorithmic thinking and computer science. We’re also interested in newly-defined and emerging areas such as 'Hacker Literacies' (Santo, 2012).

We see there being three steps to Web Literacies. First come <strong>Web Skills</strong> such as searching and using URLs appropriately. Two or more Web Skills combine into <strong>Web Competencies</strong> that we could call, for example, 'Browser basics' or 'Search Engine basics'. These are bundles of Web Skills for a particular purpose 'assessed' via a lightweight peer review system.

Finally, <strong>Web Literacies</strong> consist of a range of these Web Competencies - for example, 'Browser basics,' 'Search engine basics,' and 'Web mechanics'. In addition, some element of self-reflection is required here to realise that you’re now able to ‘Explore’ the web at a beginner level.

<strong>By ‘skills’ we mean learned capacities to perform specific actions.</strong> Skills can be generic (transferable) or domain-specific. In terms of Web Skills the following may be helpful by way of illustration: a generic skill is understanding how code is structured; a domain-specific skill is how to use various elements of HTML (e.g. &lt;p&gt; and &lt;h1&gt; tags). In our earlier example, Leo learns both generic and domain-specific skills in his HTML classes.

<strong>By ‘competencies’ we mean collections of skills for pre-defined purposes.</strong> Web Competencies are bundles of Web Skills that allow individuals to ‘level-up’ in their knowledge, skills and understanding. Abdullah, for example, is interested in showing progression through the workshops and sessions he provides through his nonprofit start-up. He might decide to focus on teaching the skills young people need to gain the <strong>Web design basics</strong> competency badge.

online and asks the Webmaker community to look at it. Leo receives 13 up-votes and only 2 down-votes meaning he has received enough peer recognition to be awarded an <strong>HTML basics</strong> badge.

<strong>At it’s most basic, ‘literacy’ is the ability to read and write something.</strong> As we’re focusing on Web Literacies the ‘thing’ that we’re reading and writing is the web. In addition to this, however, as people become more literate we expect them to think critically and be able to look at the world from more than one perspective. For someone to be ‘literate’ they have to be aware that they are literate and be accepted within a wider community of literate peers.

Let’s take Leo as our example here. He continues attending his Monday HTML classes and starts tinkering with HTML and CSS at home as well. After a few months he gains Web Competencies badges in <strong>HTML basics</strong>, <strong>CSS basics</strong> and <strong>Web design basics</strong>. When a friend asks for help with a website she’s designing, Leo decides start an after-school interest group with her. Soon, he’s creating ‘howto’ videos for the benefit of those in his nascent community, whilst she’s working towards <strong>Javascript basics</strong> to be able to teach others. Teaching something you’ve recently learned yourself forces self-reflection on your own knowledge, skills and understanding.

<storng>Literacy is a condition to be obtained not a threshold to cross.</strong> We want people not only to self-identify as Webmakers but demonstrate the knowledge, skills and understanding required to be part of one or more

<li><strong>Exploring</strong> - I navigate the web while learning, questioning and evaluating what it has to offer.</li>

<li><strong>Creating</strong> - I create things with the web and solve problems while respecting the work of others.</li>

<li><strong>Connecting</strong> - I communicate and participate appropriately in one or more web communities.</li>

<li><strong>Protecting</strong> - I protect the web as a public resource for free expression.</li>

An example of our thinking (still a work in progress) is the <strong>HTML basics badge</strong>. This is a Web Competency badge made up of a collection of Web Skills such as:

As we’re providing <strong>interest-based pathways</strong> the idea is that whilst a certain number of web skills would have to be gained to achieve the <strong>HTML basics</strong> badge, there’s no requirement to gain every skill.   

We believe that everyone should have the skills, competencies and literacies to be constructive and creative on the web. Not everyone needs to be a fully-fledged programmer, nor does everyone want to be a web designer. However, given the pervasiveness of the web in our lives, everyone certainly needs to feel like it’s a medium to be <em>written</em> and <em>made</em> as well as one to be read and consumed.