Recognizing Similarities and Differences Between Print and Digital Literacy in Education

Abstract

This article focuses on recognizing similarities and differences between print and digital literacy in the field of education since the 1980's. The author found that many books and peer-reviewed articles agreed that both forms of literacy are social constructions of thought used to help humans read and write in the world. Literature suggests more work must be completed in the field of literacy studies and education in order to best understand the needs of digitally driven students in the United States. Differing definitions of print and digital literacy among articles were apparent, but those differences highlighted the importance of the meaning-making process. The evolution of recent advances in technology gives reason for researchers to question the future of literacy and its role in education. Literature for this review was limited to texts in English from the UNM Library databases: ERIC, WorldCat.org, ArticleFirst, Education Abstracts, Google Scholar, and Academic Search Complete.