Technological literacy

In order to develop a definition of technological literacy, I will draw on some definitions of literacy, numeracy and competence which reflect some concern for social justice. In defining what is involved in critical reading, Freebody and Luke (1990) say that the reader has to assume four roles. They are: • the text decoder- recognition of the "basic " technology of the text, for example phonics, letters, spelling and so forth of a text • the text participant- comprehension and making meaning of the text • the text user- recognising the significance of the text within the context in which it has arisen • the text analyst- asking critical questions about the text, including how the reader is positioned by the text. The role which reflects most clearly the social justice concerns in this definition of literacy is that of the text analyst where the reader is asking critical questions about the text in relation to their wider social concerns. It is therefore posited that people who have learned to assume these critical reader roles are better abl