Bit literacy

Mark Hurst republishes an “old” column (written in 2000) about the concept of “bit literacy.” I remain fascinated by the extent to which we use “literacy” to describe any number of ways of managing various media. I have always liked the New London Group’s description of “multi-literacies” which includes bodily gesture, social interaction, and the like. One day I’d like to think more substantively about the interaction between the pedagogical theories behind multiliteracies, and those in the “understanding by design” framework. My hunch is the exercise would be fruitful. Anyway… bit literacy refers in part to managing one’s relationships with digital data. Something worth pondering.