A couple of summers ago, my friend and I were sitting outside watching our kids play in a winding creek through our neighborhood. Our girls were catching crawdads and were covered in mud. Yet, we were discussing our views on “literacy” and how literacy has changed over the years. I remember asking her, “What does literacy mean to you?”
My friend contemplated for a minute of so before answering, “At the barest minimum it is to read and write. Then [it is to] read for specific information. The thirst for knowledge and curiosity definitely comes into the quest for literacies.”
As we look forward into the multiple possibilities of literacies in and out schools, I wonder what or who frames our “literacies” thinking? Last week we barely tweaked the surface of our last question: What blogs, texts, links, quotes, i.e. persons, have pushed your thinking in regards to contemporary literacies? For week 2, let’s continue on that same vein. As we tossed around “defining” literacies in week 1 and as we dive into many great chats in the future, knowing each other’s frameworks and who/what drives our thinking might prove to be beneficial.
#literacies chat 
I just posted definitions of contemporary literacies grad students in my class last semester penned: http://developingwriters.org/2012/06/28/theres-literacy-and-there-are-contemporary-literacies/
I just came across this list of definitions of “literacy”: http://www.literacyinlearningexchange.org/defining-literacy
The Literacy in Learning Exchange has another “definition of literacy” post. What do you think about this one: “Literacy is the ability to use available symbol systems that are fundamental to learning and teaching—for the purposes of comprehending and composing—for the purposes of making and communicating meaning and knowledge.” Check out more here: http://www.literacyinlearningexchange.org/blog/definition-literacy