As a society, human beings ceaselessly strive towards perfection. The central focus of society has always been continual improvement. It is therefore with little surprise the amount of improvement that has been made over the past century regarding communication. Communication has drastically changed from tangible letters to digital emails, bulky telephones to sleek wireless cellular devices, and concrete newspapers to electronic magazines. This continuous transformation that communication is making from physical to digital creates an important necessity, the requirement for digital literacy.
Although relatively new, digital literacy is required in order to acclimate with a developing, technology-savvy society. Digital literacy conjures multiple definitions, its most primitive being “a person’s ability to perform tasks effectively in a digital environment” (Jones-Kavalier, Flannigan), being able to utilize email, the internet, and other technological procedures that have become commonplace. It is intertwined with literacy in that in includes “the ability to read and interpret media”(Jones-Kavalier, Flannigan) but it introduces the “digital environment” (Aharon, Eshet-Alkalai), an environment that can be intimidating to some but embraced by the majority. The need to be digitally literate is only increasing throughout education, entertainment, and the workplace. It can be hypothesized that the requirement for digital literacy will only escalate with time, and those denying this requirement will fall further away from the mainstream of a digital society.
Sources Cited:
Jones-Kavalier, Barbara R., and Suzanne L. Flannigan. "Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century." Educause Quarterly N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2010.
Aviram, Aharon, and Yoram Eshet-Alkalai. "Towards a Theory of Digital Literacy: Three Scenarios for The Next Steps." European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2010.
Nice job Sheila,
ReplyDeleteI really like your point about "the requirement for digital literacy" escalating with time. That is so true mainly because our digital transformation is occurring at such an exponential rate. Those straggling mildly behind now (like my parents) will most definitely find themselves drastically isolated from society in the future.
I love your diction throughout your definition. In particular, I liked your creative comparisons between the new and older forms of communication. I could tell you put a lot of effort into your blog. I like how you connected literacy to digital literacy when you defined literacy as “the ability to read and interpret media” as well as emphasized their differences. I certainly agree that the necessity of being digitally literacy only increases over time. Excellent job!
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