Literacy has a whole new meaning.

On Tuesday, The Christian Science Monitor announced that it is abandoning paper and moving to an online only version (although they will continue to publish a weekly magazine). For anyone who has read Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody, this comes as no surprise. He clearly documents why journalists and publishers will be subjected to ruthless change in their industry as the costs and complications of publishing dwindle to zero.

For educators, this is a clear sign that “21st century literacy skills” are more relevant than ever. That phrase is entering hackneyed status, but the notion is clear: more and more young people are reading digital type over print versions. Students’ desire to get their news online is clear. What’s really important is that teachers embrace this as “really reading” and facilitate student ability to think critically about the material. Just because it’s published, doesn’t mean it’s true …