New Technologies for Literacy and Adult Education : A Global Perspective

Ed uc at io n on th e m ov e ■ UNESCO estimates that there are over 850 million illiterate persons in the world today, constituting 27 per cent of the adult population over 15 years of age in the developing countries. Published as a contribution towards the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012), New Technologies For Literacy and Adult Education explores how new information and communications technologies (ICTs) can support the development of youth and adult literacy in a global perspective, particularly in developing countries. ■ The book analyses two interconnected approaches to using ICT to support adult literacy and adult/basic education. In the first, ICT is viewed primarily as a set of potential delivery and instructional tools to help people acquire the skills associated with traditional notions of literacy. In the second, the relationship between literacy, technology and development is treated in a more integral way, whith literacy defined as a broader set of text and technological skills that include the ability to access, analyse, evaluate, communicate and use information to solve problems and create new knowledge. ■ The authors also discuss ways in which ICT developments can be relevant to industrialized and developing countries alike, and build a case for new notions of literacy and how technology influences and supports basic literacy and information skills crucial for economic and social development. Finally, they examine the implications and options for policy makers in the use – and indeed necessity – of expanded roles for new technologies in literacy development.

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