Outcome 1.1

Clearly describes how the concepts are connected to & supported by social relationships & contexts.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a list of all the literacy and numeracy related things I had done over a 24-hour period (or more correctly those I could remember). I will now us one literacy and numeracy example from this list to describe how literacy and numeracy concepts are connected to and supported by social relationships and contexts. 

·         Judging distances

This numeracy related activity is heavily dependent on social contexts and relationships. Judging distances is important is almost all movement related activities including walking, running, jumping, driving, skating, dancing, spinning, writing, reading, typing, and viewing/watching. The amount of distance needed between us and certain objects varies depending on the activity. When reading a book, newspaper, or a technological screen, the object should be close enough to read comfortably without straining our eyes by either too much or too little distance. However, the distance needed to comfortable read a book is different to that needed to comfortably read a road sign. Another example is judging the distance between you and the objects in a house you need to walk around, this distance could be increased by the addition of crutches, a walking frame, or a wheelchair or even just glasses (I found when I first got glasses that I managed to misjudge the distance between my glasses and the doorframe many more times than I would care to admit). Judging distances between friends when having a communication can be determined by a number of things, for instance if the space you are in is loud you may need to decrease the space between you and the person(s) you are communicating with, or if the space is quiet this may happen also.  However if you were playing sport on a pitch or field you might not decrease the distance but instead increase the volume of your voice, or include gestures and hand signals. The ability to judge distances and relate them to the activity we are doing is a highly numerate experience, that is connected to and supported by social relationships and contexts. 

·         Reading and replying to text messages (and other forms of technological communication)

The social connections in this activity should be as obvious as the literacy abilities used to complete it. The use of a mobile phone to communicate with others, whether through texting, calling, emailing, Facebooking, Skyping, or any other form of mobile communication is connected to the society and technological age we live in. Children in early childhood are unlikely to own their own phones, but many of these children will be aware of what a mobile phone is, and how it can be used to communicate, though they may not distinguish the differences in applications. Mobile phones and other forms of social networking technological communication have also been used to create a different form of language, through the use of emoticons and SMS English. This is another example of how literacy concepts are connected to and supported by social contexts. The development of emoticons to express emotions, thoughts, and opinions through pictures in written language, as well as the abbreviating of words in SMS English is an example of how literacy has been changed and supported by social contexts. The different types of language used in technological communication is dependent on social contexts and relationships. This does not just refer to SMS English and emoticons, but also the language used in different forms of communicating. The language you use to text your best friend might not be the language used to formulate a business email, which again would be different to a Facebook post that your friends and family can see, and different again when writing a personal post on something like Tumblr where your identity can remain anonymous. Additionally, those with hearing or vision impairment may not be able to use certain types of technological communication as effectively, as well as those who do not use English as their first language. Social relationships, such as friends, family, associates, peers, students, parents, etc, and contexts, such as work, home, social, etc, are connected to the types of language we use.