Literacy, Numeracy and Technology

373 Words2 Pages
Literacy, Numeracy and Technology | Speculation is rife that poor literacy and numeracy levels among youth are the fault of an over-burdened education system. Perhaps this is not the case; what if our declining literacy and numeracy levels learned are actually deficits? If this is the case, maybe you and I are to blame. What impact does our insatiable desire for technology have on the literacy and numeracy levels of our youth? If we are an individualistic society (Hofstede) our ever increasing uptake of technology may impact negatively on our levels of literacy and numeracy. This lack of core skills may appear as something akin to indifference in our youth. Individualistic societies often exhibit signs like self-centered citizens, employees with low levels of employer loyalty and they are often peopled by individuals who are intent on their own personal goals rather than collective or egalitarian goals. Does this sound like our youth? Ask yourself if you have the following: a mobile phone, a PC, a Laptop, a widescreen TV or your pay electronically lodged into a bank account. If you have a bank account, do you enter the bank regularly and engage a teller in conversation over your transactions? When was the last time you took a child/ youth into a bank and modeled any form of savings mentality? How big a part of our life is credit in the pursuit of technology? Do we use this powerful credit tool effectively or do we overuse it in front of our children? Technology is ubiquitous; technology brings us improved efficiencies, productivity and profits. Progressive governments would have us believe that technology should play an ever increasing role in classrooms. Technology also comes at a price; it is expensive to buy and it may just be a contributing factor as to why many of our youth are indifferent to literacy and numeracy. Who models an appropriate
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