Digital literacy

Ahhhh, digital literacy. Scary concept isn’t it? Well maybe not for you.. but for me, it is terrifying. At least it was! In education 405, we had some lectures, activities and assignments that utilize digital literacy. One of which being, writing this blog and understanding WordPress as a whole!

What is digital literacy? Well according to Edweek.org, digital literacy is defined as:

So why is it important?

Well, digital literacy is yet another new thing that has been born into this world! As many of you know, the world is ever-changing and in the educational field, we are dedicated, lifelong learners. Therefore, digital literacy is something that we have to get on board with! Something that I believe has been super beneficial to the community I am a part of would be the connections that the digital world can bring. For example, many members of my family live hours away from me and the ones that live close are immunocompromised. Therefore, during the pandemic (touchy subject, I know), the fact that I was able to connect with my family through social media, zoom, FaceTime, etc. was so heartwarming and comforting.

Why wouldn’t we get on board with digital literacy? It is extremely beneficial for us as educators as well as for our students! The world has made big moves in terms of technology. I mean look at the TVs we grew up on and the ones we use now! As educators, we can use digital literacy to enhance student engagement (Career Development). Since it is another way of learning, it can also increase our student’s academics (Career Development). This is through the ability to create presentations, and have more visuals (Ted Talks, blogs, etc.). Overall allowing students to express their ideas and creativity in a new format.

Learning and teaching digital literacy is vital to creating contributing members of our society. The “Online World” can be a beautiful thing, here students or teachers can find, use, and create new information that can be beneficial and useful in many ways (2021). Furthermore, being able to create a document for an essay, proposal, resume, etc. are all things that our little humans are going to have to learn and introducing them to coding at a young age is how they will become the most comfortable with using technology and the internet safely and productively. It is important to remember that digital literacy is just another way to learn and as educators, we are taught that every child learns differently (Career Development). When we get into our older years, it is important to cite the things that we use in our research to prevent plagiarism. The internet is a great resource to learn how to cite and give proper acknowledgements to resources. Overall, this is the world we live in now and it comes with so many new and exciting opportunities. It is important to educate ourselves and our students so we can all be contributing members of society!

Note: This doesn’t change the fact, that there are dangers in the technology world as well. Teaching children to use technology in a safe way is very important.

Note: I found some awesome lesson plans on “Teacherspayteachers” that encompass digital literacy for all ages! Heres the link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:digital%20literacy

References:

*Photo is my illustration*

Digital Literacy. Teachers Pay Teachers. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Browse/Search:digital%20literacy 

Indeed. (n.d.). Career development | indeed.com. Indeed. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development 

Katie. (2021, September 16). Why Digital Literacy is important for kids. Teach Your Kids Code. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://teachyourkidscode.com/why-is-digital-literacy-important/ 

Loewus, L. (2020, December 9). What is Digital Literacy? Education Week. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/what-is-digital-literacy/2016/11