Hello students!
Next week, we will be sharing thoughts on digital literacy, something being described as one of the most important 21st century skills. Study the text, and get ready for a group and plenary discussion on the importance of digital literacy.
Imagine for a moment what it’s like not knowing how to read or write. The world becomes much more difficult to navigate and understand. While people around you use written words to apply for jobs and follow instructions, you can’t understand or communicate as well, and this can prevent you from succeeding. Literacy matters.
Literacy also comes in many forms. For example, being literate in healthcare may mean you have learned and understand the terminology and gained skills to communicate and be a productive and responsible part of the healthcare community. This is a kind of literacy that makes the healthcare community stronger.
But there is a new kind of literacy that touches almost everyone in our modern world. It’s not related to a specific industry or job title. This literacy matters to both young and old and has become more important as computers and electronic devices have become more of a necessity in daily life.
I’m talking about digital literacy - the ability to use technology to navigate, evaluate and create information. By looking back at history we can understand what this means.
Basic literacy used to be a privilege. Books and publications were rare and expensive compared to today and success didn’t necessarily depend on the ability to read and write.
Over hundreds of years, as the world became more oriented around the written word, literacy became a requirement for success in almost any field and societies with literate citizens prospered.
Similarly, technology used to be a privilege. Computers and devices were rare and expensive compared to today - and the ability to use them wasn’t always expected or necessary.
But over the past 30 years, technology use has exploded and touched nearly every business, school and community. Many of us now carry powerful computers in our pockets and use the Internet everyday.
This explosion of technology and digital information has helped individuals and societies achieve great heights, but its quick adoption has also left many behind.
This is why digital literacy matters - it is becoming a requirement for success in almost any field.
Nearly every job today now requires some form of technology use, from email to basic research. Neighbors and friends depend on technology for communication and organizing events. So much of how we learn and express ourselves is now made easier by technology. And it’s not just gadgets and websites - digital literacy means using technology thoughtfully and responsibly.
Today, digital literacy is not a privilege or just a convenience - it’s an expected and often required part of being a productive and responsible citizen.
By inviting more people to become digitally literate, we can improve our own future in the way basic literacy improved societies in the past. Literacy comes in many forms. As the adoption of computers, mobile devices and the Internet has grown, digital literacy has become more important than ever.
You can download the complete text below:
digital_literacy_matters.doc |