“Multiliteracy” without walls in the age of convergence. Digital competency and the "culture of making" as incentives for continuing education

Résumé

In this article, the authors address relationships between the diverse proliferation of real and virtual learning spaces available in the Information Society. The contemporary ubiquity of sites for learning makes learning "continuous" in time and space. The best practices from formal and informal learning spaces can be combined only when the barriers that isolate traditional schooling from the broader society are removed. A constant interplay between formal and informal learning spaces is proposed. Examples of convergence between education practices inside and outside the classroom are described. In particular, convergence between communication and education through diverse literacy practices are also presented in order to propose that multiliteracy education is a priority for all. The potential for digital technologies and new initiatives from maker cultures (like the “maker” movement) to transform schooling from the outside is analyzed. Examples of transformative multiliteracy education in informal, collaborative learning are also analyzed to assess their potential to change traditional pedagogical models in traditional schools and to contribute to the convergence of educational agents and learning environments.