Monteith (2002): 'What has ICT got to do with Literacy?'

Monteith's argument is in line with Evans's: The nature of literacy is changing and ICT is a stage in its development. She advocates early access to computers. Word processing can increase motivation and perhaps overcome the negative connotations that struggling with handwriting can give to writing in general. She also encourages teachers to be patient as children learn computer skills, which can seem laborious but should therefore be practised, not avoided. Children do seem to pick up word processing more quickly than handwriting, presumably because they are older when introduced to it and because they have the background of handwriting to support them. This makes me wonder whether switching the order, and learning to type first could help children to learn to write.

Monteith promotes ICT as a stage for collaboration and, indeed, much technology could provide opportunities for children to work together. I am not convinced that computers do, however, or at least not naturally. In my experience, when two children are sharing a computer, for example, they tend to be in competition more often than collaboration. There is only one of anything and only one of them can use it at any time. Neil Mercer has looked into using computer software to enhance speaking and listening, with positive results. However, I do think that children looking at each other, rather than all at one screen, would promote more of an atmosphere of collaboration.

Monteith envisions 'Mass Literacy', of which there are four factors:
1) Full literacy is needed for economic and social reasons
2) There are government initiatives in place to promote Literacy
3) The use of ICT is transforming it
4) Literacy is an indicator of the Human Development Index

Here, factors 2 and 3 are actual supports, but the first and last points refer to us needing or wanting people to be literate, which, I would argue, is nothing new and cannot in itself change anything.

What I would take from this article, is the need to work with new technologies, to make the most of the new literacies they can bring us, but not to assume they can solve every existing problem