Before the twenty-first century, "literacy" was often portrayed as one's ability to read and write. Yet as advances in technology have been integrated into society, being only able to read and write is not enough to be a fully informed individual in the community. Being digitally literal implies that one is competent in their use of technology in order to obtain the information one seeks in a digital environment. As this onset of technology is a recent development in society, being digitally savvy is common to see among the youth, who are sometimes referred as the "E-Generation". As opposed to the older generations who grew up in an era of literacy that relied solely on books and documents, digital literacy in this modern age is bringing up teenagers using technology for education, leisure, and communication.
Especially in education, technology is being implemented even more so in the classroom. As teenagers are becoming more adapt at being digitally literal, it pushes the professors and teachers to work harder and accommodate the need of technology to facilitate the flow of information. In classrooms, teachers can now stream videos and have real time internet access in the classroom, and it is a common expectation that the students are able to comprehend new technology and be able to navigate themselves through cyberspace to research information or supplement their educational efforts. Even with the need of digital literacy in the classroom or workplace, there are still the essential basics of literacy are still required. As Jones-Kavalier and Flannigan emphasize, there is still a need for "analysis, synthesis, and evaluation—we must look at digital literacy as another realm within which to apply elements of critical thinking."
Works Cited
Hilding-Hamann, Knud. "What is Digital Literacy?." Danish Technological Institute (2009): n. pag. Web. 15 Jan 2010.
Jones-Kavalier, Barbara , and Flannigan, Suzanne. "Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century." Edacause Quarterly 29.2 (2006): n. pag. Web. 15 Jan 2010.
Although I agree with the idea that the definition of the word literacy is changing, I have reservations over the claim that being informed requires one to be technologically savvy. Literacy includes the skills of being able to read and write, but one must also be able to analyze and produce information. In my opinion, the latter skills (analysis mainly) is developed experientially. One must engage with the material being read or understood, and relate it to other material that he/she already understands. I agree that technology has become a very important aspect of the classroom, but it is necessary to keep some of the old teaching methods as not to lose the analytical skills which come with "classical" literacy.
ReplyDeleteI like your comparison of digital literacy with regular literacy. I also agree that general literacy is still a crucial part of being digitally literate. Being able to navigate links through a website will be of no value to a person if they are unable to read the information at their final site (or the links leading them there). Thus, it is crucial that basic literacy skills not be neglected simply to make more time for learning new technology. Your post leaves me wondering what parts of life will be left untouched or replaced by a digital version in a hundred years or so. Though I love technology and the capabilities it offers, the thought of its prominence is somewhat scary to me.
ReplyDeleteThe primary focus of this definition is how digital literacy has transformed the classroom. I believe we can all reflect on the amount of technology used in the classroom when we were in fifth grade compared to twelfth grade. Obviously we were not doing as challenging things in the fifth grade, but there was a lack of technology. The fifth graders of today are far more digitally literate than we were in the fifth grade. The use of overhead projectors today has nearly diminished and your post references how teachers now stream videos. The "E-Generation" has forced the innovation of classrooms to keep up with the innovation of current technologies.
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