“Literacy” generally refers to writing and reading skills, while the word “digital” encompasses many fields, such as information technology, eCommerce, and internet marketing.
From reading kindle books to creating websites, digital literacy is involved. What is digital literacy? How can you benefit from it? If you’re looking for the answer to these questions, then just continue reading.
Defining Digital Literacy
According to the American Library Association, digital literacy is the ability of an individual to utilize communication and information technologies in order to communicate, evaluate, find, and create information.
The said tasks require both technical and cognitive skills. Nevertheless, they can be learned easily through training, self-learning, and engaging in relevant programs.
Hiller Spires, the executive director of the Friday Institute, a professor of literacy and technology at North Carolina State University, stated that digital literacy has three buckets:
A. Consuming and finding digital content
B. Creating digital content
C. Sharing and communicating the work
More simply, digital literacy is the ability to search, evaluate, and create clear information through the use of mediums. The mediums could be blogs or video-sharing platforms.
Take Youtube as an example. It’s easy to use Youtube. You just need to input a keyword into the search box found on its home page.
After that, millions of results will generate. Once you click a thumbnail, you can watch a video relevant to your query. Do you think that that action exhibits digital literacy?
You know how to search and evaluate information on the platform. But, you don’t know how to create any kind of digital content. In this case, are you digitally literate?
Key things to have
To have this skill, you must at least know how to execute the following tasks:
- Enter queries on search engines and other similar platforms
- Be able to use a web browser and a word document program
- Assess generated results
- Create digital content, such as blog posts, videos, pixel arts, or edited images
- Typing skills
- Output quality
Aside from those, he or she must be able to use different technologies, such as programs and applications, to produce original works. If you can surf the web and publish digital media, then you’re digitally literate.
Thirty years ago, digital literacy only encompassed stand-alone computers and digital skills. The rise of the internet, the web, and some social media platforms resulted in more inclusions than ever before.
Like other forms of knowledge, digital literacy doesn’t omit/replace its earliest forms. Rather, digital literacy expands. This discipline builds on top of the skills that serve as its foundations.
Digital literacy is built upon the expanding role of social research. As time passes by, it absorbs concepts from information, computer, and visual literacy. As science and literacy continue to evolve, it will continue to expand.
Over the years, digital literacy has become popular in higher education settings. Now, it’s used in international level selection and standards. The yearly European Conference on e-learning aims to improve the digital literacy of the participants.
How Can You Benefit from Digital Literacy?
This discipline is vital for the correct use of computing machines and digital platforms. Most office positions in corporations require applicants to be computer literate.
Proficiency in basic programs is required as well. Fundamentally, employers consider expertise with excel sheets, document programs, and messaging applications. Skype, Document Word, Google Docs, and excel applications are indispensable in modern businesses.
In the United States, the majority of blue-collared jobs require digital literacy too. This is because delivery and machine operation now includes the use of digital trackers and automatic machines. In 2018, the federal government required truck fleet owners to install GPS systems into their vehicles.
In Web 2.0 websites and social networking platforms, digital literacy helps users to keep in contact with their followers and friends. If they possess the knowledge, they can send important/urgent messages.
They could also trade online. Nowadays, buying and selling goods and services online is a profitable business.
What’s more, digital literacy prevents users from being taken advantage of by malicious actors. Phishing, email frauds, and photo manipulation can fool people who are new to the World Wide Web.
Online fraud costs money. In addition to that, victims are made vulnerable to data and identity theft.
When you use gadgets and computing devices, you must always be one step ahead of hackers and scammers. Check the security of eCommerce sites that you’re visiting. Whenever you’re inputting financial details on a site, run an SSL encryption service.
Doing that hides your data from any data thieves. Data is most vulnerable when it’s being transferred from the website to the server. With SSL/HTTPS encryption, hackers can’t steal your pin code and account number.
The takeaway
Communication is important in digital literacy. When communicating in virtual space, you must express your thoughts, ideas, and questions clearly.
The same thing can be said when you’re making digital content. If your viewers/readers can’t understand you, they will not linger on your website. With this, you will lose money and followers.
Most modern jobs today require digital literacy. Unlike other forms of knowledge, it’s easy to learn. You only need a personal computer and a study program or a digitally literate mentor. From here, you can learn the ability to search, evaluate, and publish data through self-study.
