A Myth or Reality
Digital Literacy
Digital Literacy
Digital literacy refers
to an individual's ability to find, evaluate, and compose clear information
through writing and other media on various digital platforms. Digital literacy
is evaluated by an individual's grammar, composition, typing skills and ability
to produce text, images, audio and designs using technology.
While digital literacy initially focused on digital skills and stand-alone
computers, the advent of the internet and use of social media, has caused some
of its focus to shift to mobile devices. Similar to other expanding definitions of literacy that
recognize cultural and historical ways of making meaning, digital literacy
does not replace traditional forms of literacy, and instead builds upon and
expands the skills that form the foundation of traditional forms of literacy.
Digital
literacy is a set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that empower learners to
engage with their digital lives. Digital literacy at Virginia Tech includes
data, information, media, and invention literacies, which are comprised of key
values built on core competencies. These competencies empower learners to
become engaged global citizens in a digital world.
Expand
each competency to reveal its learning outcomes.
Identity
& Wellbeing
§
Identify
personal learning needs and goals when engaging in digital environments.
§
Explain the impact
of communication choices on online identity development, privacy, and security
in a digital environment.
§
Recognize
opportunities to manage personal data, privacy, and security in a digital
environment
§
Create and
manage online identities that align to personal and professional values and
goals
§
Plan strategies
to manage emotional and physical health in digital personal and professional
settings
Discovery
§
Recognize the
value of curiosity, exploration, and play in the discovery process
§
Identify
information needs and gaps in personal knowledge
§
Locate and
explore ideas from multiple viewpoints and perspectives
§
Evaluate and
adapt search strategies during the discovery process
Evaluation
§
Critically
analyze information/media/data to determine its relevance, accuracy, purpose,
and bias based on contextual needs
§
Recognize how
algorithms and personalization may influence online information exposure
§
Reflect on how
personal viewpoints and values may influence engagement with data/information/media
§
Evaluate
platforms and tools to determine access, usability, and suitability
Ethics
§ Analyze differences in access, rights, and vulnerabilities of
individuals and groups
§ Distinguish between ethics, laws, and codified
norms
§ Identify rights and responsibilities when using, creating, and
sharing digital data/information/media
§ Apply relevant ethical principles in personal, professional, and
academic contexts
§ Adapt ethical principles when navigating new digital contexts
Creation & Scholarship
§
Recognize that
the creative process can involve a variety of emotional experiences
§
Examine how
format, genre, discipline, and audience can affect creative choices
§
Practice an
iterative design process towards specific goals
§
Engage in
troubleshooting while using tools
§
Create original
works and repurpose or remix existing works
Communication & Collaboration
§
Apply
communication conventions and norms in online communities
§
Recognize ways power
structures influence interactions, sharing, and collaboration
§
Develop roles
and shared expectations for collaboration when working in groups
§
Use relevant tools
and strategies for digitally mediated collaboration
§
Analyze the
effectiveness of team roles, collaborative tools, processes, and outcomes
Curation
§ Select tools and format considering accessibility and compatibility
over time
§ Apply organizational principles to data/information/media
§ Create a plan to preserve, maintain, and sunset data/information/media
§ Assemble content for the purpose of meaning-making and sharing
Significance of Digital Literacy
Digital
literacy is one component of being a digital citizen - a person
who is responsible for how they utilize technology to interact with the world
around them. Digital technology allows people to interact and communicate
with family and friends on a regular basis due to the "busy
constraints" of today's world.
How to Teach Digital Literacy in the
Classroom
Your digital
literacy lesson should include these topics:
Information Literacy
§
Today’s
students rely on the Internet as a primary source of information for both
school and personal use.
§
That’s why
it’s important that you teach students how to evaluate information to ensure
it’s accurate.
§
To teach information
literacy, focus on effective
ways to evaluate the quality and credibility of information and cover learning
strategies that yield more credible results.
Ethical Use of Digital Resources
§
While your
students may know they need to cite information from books, they could forget
that they need to cite information online as well.
§
Talk to your
students about intellectual property, copyrighted material, and the proper way
to reference the information.
§
It’s
especially important to note that copying text from a website is plagiarism just
like stealing text from a book.
Understanding Digital Footprints
§
A digital
footprint is all of the information a person passively leaves and actively
shares about themselves online, especially on social media sites. Text, images,
multimedia, cookies, browsing histories, IP addresses, passwords, and even
Internet service providers all make up a person’s digital footprint.
§
Your students
spend a lot of time online and may not always think about the implications of
what they do. In your digital literacy lessons, discuss the consequences of
what students share online.
§
It’s
especially important to note that students can’t assume anything is private
online. Whether it’s the new phone number they registered or the tweet they
just wrote, it’s all available online.
Protecting Yourself Online
§
With so much
information available online, your students need to understand the basics
of Internet
safety.
§
Creating
strong passwords, using privacy settings, and knowing what not to
share on social media will start them on the right foot.
§
You can also
delve into more technical parts of privacy, like virtual personal networks
(VPNs), data encryption, and hacking.
Handling Digital Communication
§
Today, most
students use technology to communicate in one way or another. That’s why it’s
so important to talk to them about how to communicate safely and appropriately.
§
That includes
both personal and professional communications.
§
Almost every
career requires digital communications at some point. If students don’t have a
good grasp on responsible communications, their careers could end before they
even had a chance to start.
Cyberbullying
§
Cyberbullying
— the use of technology as a means to harass others — has become a daily
occurrence across the United States.
§
According to
the Cyberbullying Research Center, an average of 27.9% of students experienced
cyberbullying over the past 10 years. Those numbers have jumped to an average
of 34% since 2014.
§
The statistics
about cyberbullying speak for themselves! Addressing it in the classroom can
stop current bullies and prevent future harassment.
§
As a
result, cyberbullying
lessons are some
of the most important parts of digital literacy classes.
Benefits of Digital Literacy
Learning Benefits
Digitally literate students are confident using digital content
and tools in their learning. Digital literacy skills enable them to:
- find and access digital content that is fit for purpose
- analyze and combine information to develop their own
understandings
- create and share digital content in purposeful ways.
One-off lessons are not enough to build digital literacy.
Effective pedagogy for developing digital literacy requires:
- repeated instruction, guidance, and scaffolded practice,
including building digital literacy skills in teaching programmes across
all learning areas and topics
- teachers, library staff, and students modeling digital
literacy skills.
Citizenship Benefits
Informed, responsive, and responsible
citizens need digital literacy skills to engage in society.
Digital citizenship relies on digital
literacy. It includes these values and behaviours:
- honest, responsible, and
ethical approaches to accessing and using digital content
- social understanding to act in
ways that respect others and protect individual well-being.
URL References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_literacy
https://www.aeseducation.com/career-readiness/how-to-teach-digital-literacy-in-the-classroom
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