Am I digitally literate?

Am I digitally literate? I thought and hoped so…. But what does it really mean?

It is in my habit not to get carried away and fall into the trap of adopting new gadgets or even trends or fashion. I found myself not to be the first in line to buy a smartphone or to create a facebook account. However, it has been a while since I started to embrace ‘the new way of organizing my things’. I now use my phone to keep my notes, do my taxes, book appointments, pay my bills…. With few exceptions, I have had relatively easy times navigating around the internet and most learning platforms so I would have answered ‘absolutely!’ if I was asked this question. However, the first webinar of the ONL course and the literature I read subsequently compelled me to question myself.

As Grazier (2016) states, digital literacy does not simply translate into knowing how to use the latest chatroom slangs and acronyms or hashtags. Rather it meant having an understanding of the appropriate and effective use of the current information technology to gather or spread information to the better end. I also agree with the reasoning of Eshet (2014) who underscored the importance of our ability to process a large variety of cognitive, motor, sociological, and emotional skills. This, I believe, is what most users like me need to possess in order to function effectively in digital environments. I have had discussions with my colleagues about their experience in the digital platforms.

I am not sure if most of us need to do a lot to read and understand ‘instructions or information’ from digital interfaces. However, the struggle we have, in my opinion, is the lack of knowledge when it comes to preparing materials that would be relevant and meaningful for our audiences. Apart from evaluating the quality and validity of information the literature also indicates that we as teachers need to seek information and familiarise ourselves with the ‘rules’ that govern the digital environment. This rules might be, as I learned from the webinars, copyright issues that might have legal implications or even other unwritten etiquettes (Eshet, 2014).

I also believe that it is our responsibility to inform and encourage our students about the use of digital environments for the learning-teaching process. I know I have a lot to learn, but the future seems bright…

References

Eshet, Y. (2004). Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era. Journal of educational multimedia and hypermedia, 13(1), 93-106.

Richard Grazier (2016). So what does it really mean to be digitally literate? https://edtechnology.co.uk/Article/so-what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-digitally-literate (available online: accessed 2018-10-03)