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First, we want to extend the idea and scope of literacy pedagogy to account for
the context of our culturally and linguistically diverse and increasingly
globalized societies, for the multifarious cultures that interrelate and the
plurality of texts that circulate. Second, we argue that literacy pedagogy now
must account for the burgeoning variety of text forms associated with
information and multimedia technologies. This includes understanding and
competent control of representational forms that are becoming increasingly
significant in the overall communications environment, such as visual images and
their relationship to the written word - for instance, visual design in desktop
publishing or the interface of visual and linguistic meaning in multimedia.
Indeed, this second point relates closely back to the first; the proliferation
of communications channels and media supports and extends cultural and
subcultural diversity. As soon as our sights are set on the objective of
creating the learning conditions for full social participation, the issue of
differences becomes critically important. How do we ensure that differences of
culture, language, and gender are not barriers to educational success? And what
are the implications of these differences for literacy
pedagogy?

there are still vast disparities in life chances - disparities that today seem
to be widening still further

what new learning needs literacy pedagogy might now
address.

multiliteracies - a word we chose to describe two important arguments we might
have with the emerging cultural, institutional, and global order: the
multiplicity of communications channels and media, and the increasing saliency
of cultural and linguistic diversity.

A pedagogy of multiliteracies, by contrast, focuses on modes of representation
much broader than language alone.

These differ according to culture and context, and have specific cognitive,
cultural, and social effects. In some cultural contexts - in an Aboriginal
community or in a multimedia environment, for instance - the visual mode of
representation may be much more powerful and closely related to language than
"mere literacy" would ever be able to allow. Multiliteracies also creates a
different kind of pedagogy, one in which language and other modes of meaning are
dynamic representational resources, constantly being remade by their users as
they work to achieve their various cultural purposes.

When technologies of meaning are changing so rapidly, there cannot be one set of
standards or skills that constitute the ends of literacy learning, however
taught.

Effective citizenship and productive work now require that we interact
effectively using multiple languages, multiple Englishes, and communication
patterns that more frequently cross cultural, community, and national
boundaries.