Digital literacy

Introduction

Wikipedia defines Digital literacy as

the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, and analyze information using digital technology. It involves a working knowledge of current high-technology, and an understanding of how it can be used. Further, digital literacy involves a consciousness of the technological forces that affect culture and human behavior. [1] Digitally literate people can communicate and work more efficiently, especially with those who possess the same knowledge and skills. Research around digital literacy is concerned with wider aspects associated with learning how to effectively find, use, summarize, evaluate, create, and communicate information while using digital technologies, not just being literate at using a computer. Digital literacy encompasses all digital devices, such as computer hardware, software (particularly those used most frequently by businesses), the Internet, and cell phones. A person using these skills to interact with society may be called a digital citizen.

(retrieved 19:22, 5 December 2011 (CET))

See also: computer literacy

Definitions

It is very difficult to give a precise definition of digital literacy and it is probably safer to speak about various digital literacies. “digital literacy” can be understood as “a shorthand for the myriad social practices and conceptions of engaging in meaning making mediated by texts that are produced, received, distributed, exchanged, etc., via digital codification.” (Lankshear and Knobel, nd)

Often, digital literacies are associated with "new literacies". For example, Lankshera and Knobel (2013). adopted the idea that “new literacies” was best understood in terms of practices that were increasingly mediated by new technologies, but not necessarily mediated by new technologies.

The KnowIt Goals

The University of Colorado at Boulder defines ICT skills with a list of goals that describes what students should be able to achieve with IT.

GOAL 1: Students will be able to recognize, articulate, and characterize what they need to know as they approach a problem, project, writing assignment or other research task.

GOAL 2: Students will be able to access needed information effectively and efficiently independent of form or format.

GOAL 3: Students will be able to evaluate information and information sources critically.

GOAL 4: Students will be able to use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose as well as to retain selected information as part of their accumulated knowledge.

GOAL 5: Students will be able to manage and organize information effectively and efficiently using information technologies.

GOAL 6: Students will be able to produce and create structured electronic documents that successfully express their ideas for a specific audience and situation.

GOAL 7: Students will be able to manipulate and use qualitative and quantitative data and aural and visual information using information technologies.

GOAL 8: Students will be able to collaborate appropriately and effectively using information technologies.

GOAL 9: Students will be able to successfully communicate produced content using information technologies.

GOAL 10: Students will be able to participate as informed members of the academy who understand major legal, economic, social, ethical, privacy, and security issues related to information technologies.

Although these goals are then further expanded on the web site, there are not precise definitions of technical skills to be acquired. For example Goal 7 (data analysis skills) are defined as:

1. Recognize when qualitative and/or quantitative data is needed.
2. Select the appropriate application to manipulate data (ex. spreadsheets, statistical packages).
3. Navigate and use applications effectively.
4. Evaluate derived data using application effectively.
5. Generate reports as appropriate.
6. Recognize when visual and aural information is needed.
7. Obtain, manipulate and insert visual and aural information (download, upload, change format, resize, crop, etc.) into personal documents using selected applications.
8. Understand use of images and use appropriately in produced information.

In other words, this kind of list rather reflects the kind of technical knowledge that a student should seek out.