What is digital literacy?

[Terry Freedman]

Here are my views about digital literacy. Challenge me.

Digital literacy should be one of the key parts of any curriculum.

What is digital literacy? Let's express this in behavioural terms.

I believe that it should not be possible for young people to leave school without being knowledgeable enough to be safe online (not just from sexual predators but from financial, racist, and other types of predator too).

It should not be possible for anyone to leave school and then leave laptops in the back of cars, usb sticks containing sensitive data in pub car parks, or sell hard disks containing data on eBay. All of these kinds of actions are undertaken by digitally illiterate people in my opinion.

Digital literacy should not be seen only in defensive terms:

A digitally-literate person will be able to express herself by creating a presentation, a podcast or a video. She will be able to validate data before putting it into a model, and then verify the results of the modelling process in terms of the accuracy and plausibility of the data.

A digitally-literate person will be able to use software applications in elegant and efficient ways, and even perhaps in ways that could not have been foreseen by the program's creators.

There are, or should be, lots of opportunities for pupils to apply and practise their digital literacy skills, right across the curriculum. However, in order to do so, they need a deep, not a superficial, understanding of the processes involved. These are not trivial. Take, for example, the concept of data validation. It's quite sophisticated, and quite necessary. It's summed up in the adage, "garbage in, garbage out", meaning that if you put rotten data into a computer you'll get rotten results. Someone has to be able to ensure that the data going into the computer is not full of errors, or of the wrong type.

It's been found recently , by the government inspection body in England, that teachers tend to teach technology up to the limit of their own knowledge, and that this effectively holds children back. In my experience, where technology is taught by non-specialists, this kind of "dumbing down" goes on as a matter of course. It's not deliberate: teachers don't know what they don't know. It's therefore not a criticism as such. If I taught English, it would almost certainly be superficial, because I'm not an English specialist, even though I've been speaking the language for over half a century. Why should we assume that if we send someone on an interactive whiteboard training course and give them a laptop for producing their worksheets, and they book their vacations online, that they're qualified to teach technology?

In fact, if we are really serious about embedding technology in the curriculum, the answer is not to get rid of it as a subject and farm it out across the curriculum, but to do the precise opposite and increase the amount of time spent teaching it. That would give pupils a much firmer skills base to employ in other subjects. It would also give non-tech teachers more confidence in using technology in their classrooms because of the knowledge that the youngsters pretty much know what they are doing.

Thoughts? Comments? Let me know!

[Layanne]

Digital literacy is being able to use technology and understanding its use. It is mastering technology, therefore being able to do many different things with it. After mastering technology, a digital literate person would use this knowledge wisely, and not use it to create threats, such as viruses and such. It is also knowing to use it safely, the ability to avoid threats and being aware that not everything on the web is safe. It is not something a student acquires naturally. It requires skill and talent. It is something that is taught and the digital literacy level of a student is based on the student's will to learn it.

[Terry Freedman]

I agree with most of what you say, Layanne, except for "a digital literate person would use this knowledge wisely, and not use it to create threats, such as viruses and such." Why not? Intelligence and digital literacy don't seem to make people better from a moral point of view, unfortunately.

[Moritz]

Digital literacy is when you have the ability to use program and other applications properly and taking advantage of them. It is also being able to use the Internet correctly and using technology to its full potential. Being digital literate helps you in your school life with presentations and it will also help you in your future carrer.

[Terry Freedman]

I agree, Moritz, especially the part about helping in one's future career.

[Burhan 9B]

Digital literacy, in my point of view, is knowing how to use technology in a positive manner. It also means leaving a good impact on the people being affected by your actions on a digital program. This impact could be about technology; it could also be about life. Using technology in an efficient way shows how digitally literate a person is. I believe the everyone should be digitally literate to keep up with the technological risks of this century.

[Terry Freedman]

Burnham, I couldn't agree more about the need to be digitally literate to keep up with techno risks. Well said.

[Chinweike Tayshaun Osubor]

In my opinion Digital literacy is the complete ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, and create information using digital technology. It involves a working knowledge of current high-technology, and an understanding of how it can be used. Digitally literate people can communicate and work more efficiently, especially with those who possess the same knowledge and skills. Certifications are available to determine if a person is digitally literate. it means being aware of the right and wrongs on the net...

[Terry Freedman]

Chinweike, I like yoiur phrase "working knowledge". Absolutely. Nobody can be expected to know everything about every application or situation, but having a working knowledge means that you know enough to deal with situations that arise.

[Maryam 9B]

Digital literacy is basically the use of technology and how we are able to use it. The whole purpose of digital literacy is to see what different things we can do and come up with while using the internet. Before using the internet, we first have to understand the meaning of technology and how important it could be in our lives. It teaches us how to use it safely, what to do and what not to while using it. Nowadays, there are many ways you could cause problems for yourself which is why we must learn how to be safe first before using the internet. We should be aware of certain threats, viruses and problems that are online since it could greatly damage a lot of stuff if we are not aware of it. Digital literacy really requires skills that we must always use and make use of. When using the internet, we should always make a positive impact on people we connect with and socialize with. It is the ability of using a program and applications in the world of technology. Being digitally literate could really help you in the future with your career, even at this age when coming up with presentations for school. Overall, being digitally literate in my opinion is something very important which everyone should be aware of.

[Terry Freedman]

I agree with most of what you've said, Maryam, especially about the importance of being digitally literate from a career point of view. But just one thing: how can you be completely safe using the internet before you use the internet? To me, it's like driving: you can learn the theory, but at some point you can't learn any more until you actually do it?

[ahmed9B]

digital literacy is the ability to use technology and the internet in a safe way. There are many aspects of digital literacy, like using the internet safely, etc. While using the internet, you should think about how to use the internet in a way that it will grow you educationally. You should also use the internet for what you need...

[Terry Freedman]

Ahmed, I agree that it's important to use the internet (indeed all technology) in a way that helps you grow.