https://climate.nasa.gov?utm_source=chatgpt.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NASA Climate Change. NASA presents global temperature trends, carbon dioxide levels, melting ice sheets, and sea-level rise through interactive graphs, satellite images, animations, and videos. These representations help students understand patterns and relationships across time and geography. For example, a graph showing rising atmospheric CO₂ levels communicates scientific evidence much more clearly and efficiently than a long written explanation.

In this example, literacies play several important roles. First, they support interpretation. Students must learn how to “read” graphs, symbols, scales, and scientific visuals. Second, literacies support communication. Scientists and students alike use visual and digital tools to share findings with different audiences. Third, multimodal literacies encourage critical thinking because learners must evaluate sources, interpret evidence, and connect visual data with scientific arguments.

This example also demonstrates how literacy today extends beyond traditional reading and writing. Modern scientific understanding depends on digital literacy, visual literacy, and information literacy. Without these skills, students may struggle to interpret scientific evidence accurately. As Cope and Kalantzis argue in their work on multiliteracies, meaning is increasingly made through multiple modes of communication rather than print alone.

Using multimodal scientific representations can also improve engagement and accessibility. Interactive visuals and videos make abstract scientific concepts easier to understand for diverse learners. This shows the power of literacies not simply as basic skills, but as essential tools for constructing and sharing academic knowledge across disciplines.

References

NASA Climate Change Resources
The New London Group – A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies
Common Sense Education: Digital Literacy Resources

Literacies in Science Education: Using Data Visualization to Represent Climate Change Knowledge