Topic 9

What is Digital
Literacy? What is its
role in society?
Digital Literacy
“Digital Literacy is the ability to use information
and communication technologies to find, evaluate,
create, and communicate information, requiring
both cognitive and technical skills” – ALA Connect
connect.ala.org/node/181197

The Center for Digital Media in California describes

digital media as a combination of technology and
content. It plays a significant role of our everyday
lives.
• Multimedia Resources

• Interactive Resources

• Emerging Technology
Digital Literacy
Fields that now being influence by digital media:
• Academic Research
• Online Education
• E-Commerce
• Online games
• News and Entertainment Media
• Public Information
• Political debate and activism
Digital Resources
• They are sources of information that are
available in electronic or digital format.

• Any information stored on the Internet or

stored in an electronic device.
 Digital Resources

1. Multimedia Resources – a digital

resource that uses more than one
medium. Any application that
combines text with: Graphics,
Animations, Audio, Video

SBC
 Digital Resources
2. Interactive Resources – those that
allow users to manipulate their content.
They are considered more sophisticated
digital resources because they are
“reader-centered” they enable the reader
to interact with their material. Examples
include Virtual Reality.
Virtual reality (VR) is the use of
computers to simulate a real or imagined
environment that appears as a
three-dimensional space
Digital Resources
3. Emerging Technology - refers to the latest
advancements in technology which impact
media and society. Digital resources are sure
to change, develop, or be replaced at an
astonishing pace.
“Information Literacy as a Liberal Art”,
Jeremy J. Shapiro and Shelley K. Hughes
defines it as “the ability to continuously adapt
to, understand, evaluate, and make use of the
continually emerging innovations in
information technology so as not to be a
prisoner of prior tools and resources, and to
make intelligent decisions about the
The Importance of Digital Literacy

Understan
d

Use Create

Digital
Literac
y
The Importance of Digital Literacy
Use refers to one’s competency in operating
software, digital devices, and navigating the
Internet.
The Importance of Digital Literacy
Understand the all-important set of digital literacy skills
referred to as survival skills in digital environments. These are
the thinking skills that allow you to make informed decisions
about what you do and encounter online.
- Comprehend
- Contextualize
- Critically Evaluate
Understand also serves as the foundation to become an
intelligent and responsible contributor to the learning
community.
The Importance of Digital Literacy
According to Yoram Eshlat – Alkalai of the Tel Hai
Academic College in Israel. Some aspects of digital literacy
that need to be considered are:
1. Socio-emotional literacy – Complex skills that require
critical and analytical thinking, as well as some level of
maturity in order to navigate through the social and
emotional aspects of cyberspace.
2. Branching Literacy – The ability to reap the benefits of
hypermedia or the abundance of information from
various resources.
The Importance of Digital Literacy
3. Photo-Visual Literacy – helps us to “read” intuitively and
freely, and to understand the instructions and messages
represented visually.
4. Information Literacy - The ability to know when there is
a need for information, to be able to identify, locate,
evaluate, and effectively use that information for the issue
or problem at hand." There’s a need for skepticism in order
to develop this literacy.
The Importance of Digital Literacy
5. Reproduction Literacy - Digital reproduction literacy is
the ability to create a meaningful, authentic, and creative
work or interpretation, by integrating existing independent
pieces of information (Gilster, 1997; Labbo, Reinking, &
McKenna, 1998). Reproduction literate scholars usually
possess a good multi-dimensional synthetic thinking,
which helps them create meaningful new combinations
from existing information.

Source:
https://www.timetoknow.com/essential-digital-literacy-skills-for-the-21st-century-worker/
The Importance of Digital Literacy
Create refers to the social utility of digital literacy.
This involves judging how to produce content to suit
various context and audiences, always with an aim to
positively contribute to the community.
“Creations – whether through blogs, tweets, or any of the
hundreds of avenues for expression and sharing online – is
at the heart of citizenship and Innovation.”
We are taught to become “Critically engaged consumers
of media.” So a sense of responsibility and ethical behavior
when creating content.
Digital Citizenship
We are no longer confined to a citizenship limited to where
we were born or where we live. Digital citizenship gives us
access to a new kind of global connectedness.
This connectedness has tremendous benefits for all of us
if we connect with one another as digital citizen who:
- Promote understanding across different types of people
(pluralism and diversity).
- Pursue truth and knowledge
- Build a peaceful world through positive online
interactions.
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship is not exclusive to people who have
access in the wealth of information and knowledge on the
Internet.
“Digital Divide,” which refers to a world that is divided
between those who have and don’t have access to the
Internet, which is an urgent concern that digital citizens
must address.
As responsible digital citizens, we must help promote
everyone’s right to Internet access, recognizing the infinite
potential of technology.
Digital Citizenship
Digital Citizenship is based on character education. Here
are some of its basic concepts:
• Everything boils down to good character.
• Treat others the way we want others to treat us.
• Use technology to build relationships, not create
divisions.
• Use technology to pursue truth in information, not to
deceive.
Digital Citizenship
Principles that digital citizens must follow:
• Knowing one’s rights and responsibilities.
• Civic participation, informed political debate and
activism.
• Sense of belonging and membership.
• Multi-cultural sensitivity.
• And norms of behavior and etiquette