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What is Technical Literacy?
Don't look for a concise definition of "technical literacy" because there isn't one. Part of the problem is the word literacy. At its most basic level, literacy is the ability to read and write. But technical literacy entails so much more than simply deciphering combinations of letters on a page or placing words on paper in a certain order.
Technical literacy involves listening, thinking, and speaking in such a way that information and ideas are processed and communicated to the benefit of self and society. This is a broader view of literacy than just an individual's ability to read and write. In fact, the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 defines literacy as "an individual's ability to read, write, speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual, and in society." As information and technology have increasingly shaped our society, technical literacy has come to include the skills listed in this particular definition.
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