1. What is digital literacy, and why does it matter?

1.1 Defining Digital Literacy

Objective: Given the Educause definition of digital literacy, develop a personal definition including the real world importance of multiple digital literacies.

Digital literacy has been defined in many different ways by many different people. You’ll begin this module by developing your own working definition.

Digital citizenship

First, though, let’s put digital literacy in context. Let’s start with a broader concept: digital citizenship. Digital citizenship can be defined as the norms of appropriate, responsible behavior with regard to technology use.

Digital citizenship includes nine elements:

1. Digital Access: full electronic participation in society
2. Digital Commerce: electronic buying and selling of goods
3. Digital Communication: electronic exchange of information.
4. Digital Literacy: process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology.
5. Digital Etiquette: electronic standards of conduct or procedure.
6. Digital Law: electronic responsibility for actions and deeds
7. Digital Rights & Responsibilities: those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world.
8. Digital Health & Wellness: physical and psychological well-being in a digital technology world.
9. Digital Security (self-protection): electronic precautions to guarantee safety.

In this module, we’ll be exploring only element 4, digital literacy.

Definitions of digital literacy

Jones-Kavalier and Flannigan (2006) provide the following as their definition of what digital literacy entails:

Digital literacy represents a person’s ability to perform tasks effectively in a digital environment, with “digital” meaning information represented in numeric form and primarily for use by a computer. Literacy includes the ability to read and interpret media (text, sound, images), to reproduce data and images through digital manipulation, and to evaluate and apply new knowledge gained from digital environments. (Source: Barbara R. Jones-Kavalier and Suzanne L. Flannigan, “Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century,” Educause Quarterly 29:2 (2006).)

There are other ways of thinking about digital literacy, of course, and you should use some of them in developing your own understanding.

In North Carolina standards

Begin with this chart showing the relationship betweeen North Carolina’s Essential Standards for Information & Technology and the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards. (We’ll take a closer look at the ITES later in this section of the module.)

Interconnectedness of the NC Teacher Evaluation Process and the Information & Technology Standards

NC Teacher Evaluation Rubric	ITES Strands
	Sources of Information	Informational Text	Technology as a Tool	Research Process	Safety and Ethics
I a. Teachers lead in their classrooms. They establish a safe, orderly environment, and create a culture that empowers students to collaborate and become lifelong learners.
I e. Teachers demonstrate high ethical standards.
III a. Teachers align their instruction with the North Carolina
III c. Teachers recognize the interconnectedness of content areas/disciplines.
III d. Teachers make instruction relevant to students.
IV d. Teachers integrate and utilize technology in their instruction.

More topics to consider

If you’re an instructional technology directory, you may want to review ISTE’s National Education Technology Standards for students and teachers (available in PDF format).

Also consider these topics:

Web 2.0

• If you’re moderately comfortable with technology, consider this definition from Webopedia.
• If you’re very comfortable with technology, see this more detailed definition from Tim O’Reilly of O’Reilly Media, an I.T. publishing company.
• If you’re a library media specialist, an instructional technology specialist, or a teacher looking for new tools, Discovery Education’s definition might suit you.

Web applications

• “What Is a Web App?” provides a simple definition of a complicated term. (You may find this especially helpful when talking with your technology director.)
• The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) offers a list of web apps that take into consideration Universal Design for Learning.

Activity

To get a better understanding of digital literacy, search the web on your own for more resources relating to the topic.

In your journal

After reviewing some web resources, create your own definition of digital literacy that reflects your view of the topic and real-world applications to your classroom. Record your thoughts in your journal.

Optional: This activity may also be completed through your PLCs; share your journal entries online to begin a discussion.