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With the advancement in technology over the years, it is undeniable that digital literacy plays an important role in our everyday lives, not just for adults but also children. In this article, the definition of digital literacy is given in an easy manner to understand. Children can get a lot of benefits from learning digital skills; therefore, enriching digital literacy in the classroom and at home is necessary. Besides, safety in the digital world is a must and internet users, especially kids, should be aware of it.

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Importance of Digital Literacy [2023 Guide]

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Why is digital literacy important? With the advancement in technology over the years, we now live in a world that is both enriched and burdened by computers and gadgets. The domination of technology in our

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Being teacher in situation where Digital era dominated, we should be aware and should have skill in using technology of digital and internet. Because, as a teacher in Digital era, we should have skills in using technology because it become essential in academic and school

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Being teacher in situation where Digital era dominated, we should be aware and should have skill in using technology of digital and internet. Because, as a teacher in Digital era, we should have skills in using technology because it become essential in academic and school

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As a future teacher, we should know how to bring and utilize digital literacy in the class room in order to prepare learners to become a part of this ever-changing society. Another reason is learners now are most probably 'Digital Native' where using smartphone and computer is part of their daily lives. in account to that, the article below talks about incorporating digital literacy in the classroom and some examples of the course which focus on 21st century skills.

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Resources for English Language Learners and Teachers | Pearson English

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Phrases like 'digital native' and 'the smartphone generation' have become part of our everyday vocabulary in recent years. But what do we mean by 'digital literacy'? And why is it an important 21st century skill for our students that we should incorporate into our lessons?

What is digital literacy?

Although many people think that digital literacy refers only to a person's ability to use modern technology, such as a smartphone or tablet, it's actually much more than that. It's also about using this new technology appropriately; knowing how to communicate with different people using different tools, searching for relevant information online, identifying reliable sources, having an awareness of online safety and more.

Why is it important?

As technology evolves, the way we communicate with the people around us is changing. More companies are doing business online and, with the rate of technological innovation, it's difficult to imagine how they will be doing business in ten years' time.

This means it's essential that education evolves too - there's no point in training students for skills that will be obsolete by the time they start working. It's key that we are future-focused and help students prepare to become a part of this ever-changing society.

At the same time, it's important that we help our learners to become aware of the social aspect of online communication. Social networks have become a much more important part of everyday life, and students need to know how much of their information can be seen, by whom and for how long - so they can stay safe.

How can you incorporate digital literacy into your classes?
Allow smartphones in the classroom
Rather than thinking of smartphones as a distraction, you can use them as helpful educational resources.

There are lots of tools and platforms designed for learning on smartphones, which you can use during lessons. , for example, is great for creating quizzes which can be used to revise a topic at the end of the unit. Quizlet is another useful tool for vocabulary revision and with Quizlet Live , students can play online against each other during the lesson. Then there's - it lists lots of other ESL apps which your students can use in the classroom.
Discover more ideas for using smartphones in class. Using search engines
The ability to find information quickly is a great skill which students can take with them into the workplace. To make it relevant to their current interests, ask them to prepare projects on their favorite celebrity with information about where they were born, their family, their professional experience. Set them a time limit to keep them on task and supervise to make sure they are using appropriate websites.

They can use an online presentation tool such as to prepare their project, which will also help them to further develop their computing skills. Classmates can grade each other on the information and the visual quality of the presentation, as well as their use of English and presentation skills.
Identifying reliable sources
Teach them as well about taking a critical look at where information comes from. For example, if somebody writes a blogpost or tweets about a topic, the information might be their personal opinion rather than the facts.

To work on this in class, tell your students to choose a topic which interests them and to find three credible sources of information (such as news sites, official blogs or verified crowd-sourced sites such as Wikipedia) and three personal opinions about the topic, which could come from personal blogs, Facebook posts or Twitter. They must then share all six pieces of information, without the sources, so classmates can take a critical look at the information and try to identify where it came from.
Practice writing to different people
Some people have said that today's text speak is affecting our students' ability to write well in English, and so it's important for our students to know who they're writing to, the purpose of their text and the type of language it should contain.

Asking them to write a status update at the start of every lesson is a great way to teach them how to write short, informal texts. Classmates can then comment on each other's updates.

However, we should also make sure our students know how to write more formal texts, such as cover letters for a job application. They can do this by searching in English for jobs online which interest them and then writing a cover letter to you explaining why they are the ideal candidate for the job.

Read about the six other essential 21st century skills for secondary learners on our blog.

Materials with digital literacy skills in mind

Pearson offers a number of courses with a focus on 21st century skills to best prepare your teenage students for their futures.
GoGetter
Perfect for lower secondary students, GoGetter incorporates motivating multimedia and interactive activities to support teenagers in today's fast-moving, dynamic world.

With authentic material from the BBC, as well as interactive stories in the Grammar and Communication videos, it makes the most of modern-day technology to bring the outside world into the classroom.

MyEnglishLab , our digital alternative to traditional workbooks, will also help them to further develop their digital literacy skills with its engaging, interactive format.
Wider World
Our Wider World series is a four-level course with a focus on digital literacy, which reflects the way today's teenagers use technology for entertainment and to access information.

It includes interviews with real people in the Vox Pop videos, authentic BBC clips and ideas for collaborative projects to further interact with the content.
Focus

This best-selling five-level course for upper-secondary students is teaching learners to use English confidently in the 21st century and offers a wealth of materials and digital tools to help keep lessons engaging.

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Digital literacy and secondary education

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Phrases like 'digital native' and 'the smartphone generation' have become part of our everyday vocabulary in recent years. But what do we mean by 'digital literacy'? And why is it an important 21st century skill for our students that we should incorporate into our lessons?

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The attached video, by the BBC, guides us with one of the important aspects of Digital Literacy, which is the effective search for information from online resources.
The internet, as we all know, is one of the fastest growing entities of the world. This lightning growth is directly proportional to the increase in chances we end up confused in our quest for knowledge in this Pandora's box called internet, or worse, which is to be exposed to false information and hoaxes. This video highlights the importance of being aware about the right sources and the right methodologies in exploring the world of web.

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Digital Literacy – Searching for information online

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The following article is short but informative. It talks about the importance of using Digital literacy in a Language classroom.(To find the basic difference between Literacy and Digital Literacy and the principals of Digital literacy.. Please go through this link https://www.teachthought.com/literacy/4-principals-of-digital-literacy/ ) It starts with an interesting statement.. Please have a look through the article to find out what it is :)

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Digital literacy and second language instruction should be integrated, and not taught separately. This message was conveyed by researchers and practitioners from Minneapolis to Belgium at the recent Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults (LESLLA) Symposium in Portland, Oregon.

The three main reasons to integrate digital literacy and second language instruction:

Digital literacy is now an essential skill for participation in today's digital world. Not teaching digital literacy along with language or other literacy instruction does our students a disservice. Nowadays, applying for a job or even filling in an online form to reserve a picnic table at a local park requires digital literacy skills.

Teaching digital literacy involves teaching vocabulary. The EdTech Center's Jen Vanek presented research underscoring the importance of teaching key vocabulary for digital literacy. Learners do not quickly grasp and transfer the meaning of key vocabulary and its functional use from one digital program to another. For example, if they learn what bold and its symbol means in Microsoft word, learners don't automatically then know how to use bold in another program such as G-mail. The implication is that vocabulary and their functions must be taught and practiced across multiple programs. Jen, together with a group of AmeriCorps service members, created a free Digital Homeroom with resources for vocabulary and other digital literacy instruction.
And most importantly:
Students learn by practicing. Computers and the Internet are natural contexts to practice language skills for real life tasks. Learners can practice English when finding information on their child's school website, researching the going rate for apartments in their area, writing a resume, or using online learning programs. It's important to use instructional activities that provide both an opportunity to practice digital skills and strengthen the problem solving process implicit in knowing what skill to use and when. Jen's guide offers a framework and examples for supporting digital literacy by having students problem-solve in a technology rich environment. These examples can be scaffolded with some explicit vocabulary instruction to make them accessible for English language learners.

This focus on applied practice is critical as the biggest long-term learning gains for lower-levels learners are shown not by students who spend the most hours in any classroom, but in students who practice skills outside of class. EdTech Center partner Steve Reder's work in Practice Engagement Theory for the Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning suggests that instruction should focus on giving students the competencies and confidence they need to successfully go out and practice skills in their real lives.

Computers and the Internet offer endless opportunity for language learners to practice, whether through online programs or completing real digital tasks. Meanwhile, higher language competencies open up more opportunities for students to practice their digital literacy skills. Language and digital literacy instruction are mutually reinforcing.
Alison Ascher Webber develops and leads innovative projects for the EdTech Center, including advising the new Employment Technology Fund and leading its field testing. She also manages the Mobile Up! Project bringing mobile learning and career coaching to low-wage immigrant service workers.

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Integrating Digital Literacy and Language Instruction - EdTech Center @ World Education

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By Alison Ascher Webber Digital literacy and second language instruction should be integrated, and not taught separately. This message was conveyed by researchers and practitioners from Minneapolis to Belgium at the recent Literacy Education and Second Language Learning for Adults (LESLLA) Symposium in Portland, Oregon.

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See all the wonderful things Kshema Jose has made

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Some people might say that Digital Literacy is important and useful for helping people in their daily life, works, and education, but some people might say that it has some disadvantages.
Here is the link to shed light on the advantages of being digital literacy in some aspects of life especially in education as well as the disadvantages. some references are also available in this website which you can visit.

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What are the Advantages and disadvantages of being digital literate?

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Answer (1 of 5): Advantages: 1 ) You have the whole world's knowledge at your fingertips. If I ask you if you know who Oshun is, it will only take a few seconds for you to find the Wikipedia page and have enough basic knowledge to give quite a concise answer.

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This article mentions the definition of literacy is not only about the ability to read and write. There are some sub-skills under that term. Likewise, digital literacy must be recognized as another sub-skill of literacy. According to this webpage, digital literacy could be classified into several kinds of literacy, those types might be included in the so-called 21st century language learning categories – language based, information based, connection, and (re-)design based literacy.

Other topics that also need to be considered are the reasons why nowadays the promotion of digital literacy in ELT tends to grow rapidly. The initial phenomenon of the ‘Digital literacy in ELT classroom’ is the fact that the use of digital devises or tools cannot be limited to the IT class only, the development of digitalized materials on any subjects of learning goes widely, then followed by the increasing of creativity and productivity in the ELT classroom. Currently, the elaboration of literacy can be broaden neither to conventional manner nor to such a modern and more effective way.

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This article talks about the need for digital literacy in India. It begins by defining the term and moves on onto the various challenges and hurdles. It also makes use of statistics to substantiate the importance of Digital Literacy in the country.

https://www.civilserviceindia.com/current-affairs/articles/the-need-for-digital-literacy.html

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This blog post gives several reasons emphasizing the importance of digital literacy in classrooms. It talks about how teachers can enhance learning by bringing in technology into the classroom. And how social media and online platforms can be used for educational purposes to expand students' learning opportunities.

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The meaning of "digital literacy" has shifted over the years. While there was a time when job candidates were encouraged to list "Proficient at Microsoft Word" on their resume, now such skills are considered standard. This shift toward a technologically savvy workforce has permeated the classroom as well.

It makes sense to assume that the more digitally literate our teachers are, the more they'll employ these skills in the classroom, which will in turn foster a strong sense of digital citizenship in our students. However, the importance and scope of digital literacy extends beyond this simple theory. Here, we've laid out seven reasons why digital literacy skills are important for today's teachers.

1. Moving Beyond Google

Google is a powerful tool. Students with access to a computer and the Internet are able to find the answers to not only simple questions, but also incredibly complex problems. However, there is a significant difference between Googling an answer and understanding why. Looking at Bloom's Taxonomy, we want students to gain the deepest level of understanding when faced with a problem.

Create: Produce new or original work; Evaluate: Justify a stand or decision; Analyze: Draw connections among ideas; Apply: Use information in new situations; Understand: Explain ideas or concepts; Remember: Recall facts and basic concepts

Simply Googling an answer does not provide students with true, deep learning. And while most students understand how to use a search engine, it is up to teachers to provide students with the additional skills to bring the answers to the next level.

There are several ways teachers can embed digital literacy skills into Internet searches:

Teach students to evaluate and question their sources. Students need to know the difference between a trustworthy and untrustworthy source.

Teach students how to draw a strong conclusion. Sure, students might find the right answer to a problem, but what use is that search if they've only memorized the logic to get them there? It's up to teachers to teach that logic and to contextualize the answer.

Push students to new levels of creativity. Once students have a deeper understanding of the answers they've found, push for creative application of that knowledge. This could be anything from challenging students to pose related questions to having students use other digital platforms to create something new. Examples include:

Again, digital literacy does not mean knowing how to use every piece of software students will encounter. Teachers should encourage students to seek out and learn the software they need to know in order to do what's required.

2. Teaching Digital Citizenship

Being a good digital citizen means understanding and applying appropriate and responsible uses of internet and technology. Two issues top the list when it comes to digital citizenship: academic plagiarism and cyberbullying.

Academic Plagarism

In a culture where students are constantly sharing content, they may not know what plagiarism is, let alone when they're doing it. Teachers should set clear anti-plagiarism policies at the beginning of each year.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place through the use of electronic technology, and is a pervasive issue in schools and online communities. And while today's students may be digital natives, they still need to be taught that social norms apply to online behavior. Resources should be in place to prevent cyberbullying and to help students who are being bullied.

3. Closing the Digital Divide

According to a 2014 report by the Federal Communications Commission, 31 percent of urban schools and 41 percent of rural schools do not have an Internet connection. Students in these schools struggle to take advantage of the tools, platforms, apps and resources available to their connected peers. But this digital divide isn't just in schools - there is also a lack of access to devices and broadband at home. The divide is pervasive and accentuates already destructive achievement gaps. Digitally literate teachers advocate for change and seek innovative solutions.

4. Expanding Conceptions of the Digital World

While students may be adept at using digital tools, their understanding of what these tools can do is often limited.

For example, students use Instagram to post photos but don't think to use the platform for art or history projects. They record themselves with a voice memo app but do not realize those apps could also be used for journalism projects or a historical narrative piece. Digitally literate teachers know how to inspire students to use today's technology as a powerful toolset to expand their learning opportunities.

5. Enabling Differentiation

Differentiation in the classroom is essential to meeting the needs of all learners, but it is time-consuming, especially for new teachers. Technology, when used creatively and correctly, can be used to mitigate those differences, such as in one-to-one classrooms. Teachers can lead the class through a lecture, while visual learners follow along with illustrations on their tablets and audio learners record the lecture for later review. Technology like this enables teachers to give their students choice in the kind of work they create for projects, such as a video, podcast or written story. Digital literacy is required in order to set the standards and boundaries for this kind of differentiation.

Digitally literate teachers also understand that it is less about the technology itself than it is about the tailored experience the technology can provide to each student. This is what drives differentiation and can make it powerful and highly targeted to students' individual needs.

6. Making Thoughtful Cultural and Platform Decisions

Teachers often receive mandates from administrations to use a particular technology product or app even though it doesn't make sense for their students. Good teachers know how their students engage and learn and can use that knowledge to push for technology that will unlock new teaching potential. This makes digitally literate teachers great advocates for the appropriate technologies. These skills become increasingly important in diverse classrooms in which students are bringing different cultural contexts into the mix. Both the content and the technologies chosen may vary in effectiveness given a student's familiarity with the tools and the various norms within their culture. A sensitive teacher will make digital choices that reflect these varied cultural contexts.

7. Improving the Technology

Teachers can offer important pedagogical and practical insights for edtech companies developing learning technology for students. Today "teacherpreneurs" are sparking teacher-based technological innovation - and they're drawn largely from the ranks of the digitally literate. Teacherpreneurs are teachers who see the need for digital solutions in their classrooms, and some take on roles where they coach other teachers on using technology as a powerful differentiation tool. As teachers master digital literacy with their lessons, they can collaborate with peers to share technology and work toward improving learning outcomes for their students.

Moving Forward

It is crucial that school and district administrators emphasize teacher digital literacy to avoid policies that simply mandate placing technology into the hands of students without thought for how that technology will be used.

Digitally literate teachers see technology for all of its creative potential, rather than something they are mandated to do in a step-by-step fashion. Digital literacy doesn't require that teachers become experts, but it does require that they understand the digital tools that can unlock their deeper teaching potential.
Graduate Degree Programs From USC Rossier School of Education
USC Rossier offers a range of online graduate degrees for aspiring teachers and experiences educators. Request information to speak with an admissions counselor.

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7 Reasons Why Digital Literacy is Important for Teachers

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Our shift towards a tech-savvy workforce has permeated the classroom. Here's your crash course in the importance of digitally-literate teachers.

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I am curious about the development and the use of Digital Literacy in many aspects of life (i.g. Education/ school). some people might say that it is useful or important and needs to be developed , whereas some people contradict it. it could be right that; "Although students are now quickly able to find information, the problems of information overload, confusion about credible sources of information and short attention spans have created a generation for whom digital technologies may “do more to distract…than to help them academically” (Purcell et al, 2012)". this link provides some resources and comments regarding the Digital Literacy.
Contradiction of Digital Literacy"

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I am interested in exploring some of the contradictions of digital literacy that are suggested by the article ""Multiliteracies": New Literacies, New Learning." Written by Cope and Kalantzis in 2009, the article revisits the New London Group's influential article "A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures" (1996). Both the 1996 and 2009 articles place the multiliteracies theory in the context of political changes that have taken place in Western countries over the past 30 to 40 years, namely the shrinking of the welfare state and the rise of neo-liberalism. With political and private power increasingly decentralized in many ways, and the loss of authority that has taken place in almost every realm of Western culture and society, Cope and Kalantzis create a new paradigm for literacy pedagogy that gives stronger agency to the learner. The crux of the new paradigm is that literacy is a process of "design" or meaning-making that incorporates changing practices of multilingualism (hybridity, varied social and cultural discourses) and multimodality (text, image, sound, video, print, digital...).
Digital literacy in the schools
The growing importance of digital literacy is a commonplace. A recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life project reports that 47% of American teachers surveyed "strongly agree" and 44% "somewhat believe" that digital literacy lessons should be taught at every school (Purcell et al, 2012). Although students are now quickly able to find information, the problems of information overload, confusion about credible sources of information and short attention spans have created a generation for whom digital technologies may "do more to distract...than to help them academically" (Purcell et al, 2012). Empowerment, creativity, collaboration, communication...these are all buzzwords of the Internet skill set and the goal of educational reform rhetoric of the past decade. Yet teachers perceive distraction and confusion in the schools. Is this because of a disconnect between the old paradigm of education/literacy (hierarchical, authoritarian, standards based) and the new paradigm where students expect more engagement as well as personal control over their time and efforts? Or is it a result of changes to the brain created by a media diet of constant stimulation? (Richtel, 2012) So we are faced with the contradiction of limiting screen time, while at the same time trying to incorporate more and more technology into our children's education.
Growing income inequality
Another contradiction is that proficiency with digital technologies is widely seen to even the playing field in many areas, such as publishing (blogs, websites) and education (MOOCs, distance learning). But, of course, proficiency itself is not evenly distributed, and it is the poor, unemployed, and undereducated who overwhelmingly populate a digital underclass, excluded from the benefits of digital technologies (Helpser & Kaczuba, 2011). Income inequality is growing in almost all developed countries (OECD, 2011) - the rich are richer and the poor are poorer. Some studies have placed the blame on technological progress. Since access to the benefits of the ICT revolution is skills biased, the benefits accrue unequally to those with the skills (IMF, 2007), and "those low or no skills have been left behind" (OECD, 2011, p. 2). Over time, as the supply of ICT educated workers increases, inequality due to technological change may lessen, therefore the appropriate policy response is not to reject technological progress, but to improve the ICT skills and education of the general population (IMF, 2007).
Funding for education
Hence we see large scale initiatives such as the Digital Agenda for Europe (http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/) - "the EU's strategy to help digital technologies, including the internet, to deliver sustainable economic growth" (the tagline of the Digital Agenda website). Some of the specific goals of this overarching Agenda are to implement digital literacy policies and prioritise digital skills for jobs. Yet although government rhetoric and programs are pushing for more advanced ICT skills, appropriate financial support for education has not been forthcoming. It is troubling that the ideas of student-centred learning, distance education, and technology in the classroom can too easily be given lip-service by governments in a way that belittles the role of the teacher and entails no commitment for significant resources to genuinely transform education. In fact, "educational reform" and "21st century learning" can be a good way to cut costs.
A pedagogical solution
Cope and Kalantzis (2009) write: "For every moment in which agency is passed over to users and consumers, power is also centralized in ways that have become more disturbing with time." (p. 172). Concentration of ownership in the technology industry, not to mention video game and internet addiction and the 'escape from reality' effect of media immersion, suggest the opposite of freedom and empowerment. Contradictions are inherent in any complex issue. "The multiliteracies approach suggests a pedagogy for active citizenship, centred on learners as agents in their own knowledge processes, capable of contributing their own as well as negotiating the differences between one community and the next." (p. 172) If we are aware of the contradictions, we can individually attempt to resolve them to the benefit of ourselves and others.
References
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2009). " Multiliteracies ": New Literacies , New Learning. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 14, 164-195. doi:10.1080/15544800903076044

Helsper, E. & Kaczuba, D. (2011). Dossier: digital inclusion and ICT policies. Retrieved from http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mediapolicyproject/dossier-digital-inclusio/

International Monetary Fund. (2007) World economic outlook. Washington, D. C.: IMF. Retrieved from http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2007/02/pdf/text.pdf

OECD. (2011). Divided we stand: why inequality keeps rising. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/els/socialpoliciesanddata/49170768.pdf

Purcell, K., Rainie, L., Heaps, A., Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., Jacklin, A., ...Zickuhr, K. (2012). How teens do research in the digital world. Retrieved from Pew Internet & American Life website http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Student-Research.aspx

Richtel, M. (2012, November 1). Technology is changing how students learn, teachers say. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com

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I am interested in exploring some of the contradictions of digital literacy that are suggested by the article ""Multiliteracies": New Literacies, New Learning." Written by Cope and Kalantzis in 2009, the article revisits the New London Group's influential article "A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures" (1996).

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Priya Velayudhan.                                                            The following article gives all the necessary information about digital literacy . Please go through the article to know more about it. 

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Priya Velayudhan.                                                            The following article gives all the necessary information about digital literacy . Please go through the article to know more about it. 

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Introduction

Today's youth are often called "digital natives" by adults because of the seemingly effortless way they engage with all things technological. It's easy to see why: young Canadians live in an interactive, "on demand" digital culture where they are used to accessing media whenever and wherever they want. Instant-messaging, photo sharing, texting, social networking, video-streaming and mobile Internet use are all examples where youth have led the charge in new ways of engaging online.

But this enthusiasm masks a potential problem: although young people don't need coaxing to take up Internet technologies and their skills quickly improve relative to their elders, without guidance they remain amateur users of information and communications technology (ICT), which raises concerns about a generation of youth who are not fully digitally literate, yet are deeply immersed in cyberspace. Therefore, "it is not... enough to assume that young people automatically have all of the skills, knowledge and understanding that they need to apply to their use of technology. All young people need to be supported to thrive in digital cultures; they need help making sense of a rapidly changing world of technology which gives them access to vast amounts of information, which is infused with commercial agendas and which for many reasons can be difficult to interpret."[1]

In order to be literate in today's media-rich environments, young people need to develop knowledge, values and a whole range of critical thinking, communication and information management skills for the digital age. As increasing numbers of businesses, services and even democratic processes migrate online, citizens who lack digital literacy skills risk being disadvantaged when it comes to accessing healthcare, government services and opportunities for employment, education and civic participation.[2] Nor is digital literacy confined to the parts of the curriculum that traditionally deal with technology: "Digital literacy is as much a key part of learning about history and learning how to study history, and learning about science and learning how to study science, as it is about learning about ICT and learning the skills of using ICT. Indeed, possessing digital literacy is an important set of life skills to complement and extend the skills and knowledge already taught in school."[3]

A basic question, then, is what exactly is digital literacy?

This section looks at the various aspects and principles relating to digital literacy and the many skills and competencies that fall under the digital literacy umbrella.

What is Digital Literacy?

Digital literacy is more than technological know-how: it includes a wide variety of ethical, social and reflective practices that are embedded in work, learning, leisure and daily life.

Globally, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) frames its benchmarks for digital literacy around six standards: creativity and innovation; communication and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking, problem solving and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts.[4]

Digital Literacy Model

This model[5] illustrates the many interrelated elements that fall under the digital literacy umbrella. These range from basic access, awareness and training to inform citizens and build consumer and user confidence to highly sophisticated and more complex creative and critical literacies and outcomes.[6] There is a logical progression from the more fundamental skills towards the higher, more transformative levels, but doing so is not necessarily a sequential process: much depends on the needs of individual users.

Use, Understand, Create

Traditional definitions of literacy have focused on skills relating to numeracy, listening, speaking, reading, writing and critical thinking, with the end goal being developing active thinkers and learners who are able to engage in society in effective and meaningful ways.[7] These skills are needed for full participation in digital society as well, but they are only part of a larger set of skills and competencies that are required.

Competencies for digital literacy can be classified according to three main principles: Use, Understand and Create.

Userepresents the technical fluency that's needed to engage with computers and the Internet. Skills and competencies that fall under "use" range from basic technical know-how - using computer programs such as word processors, web browsers, email and other communication tools - to the more sophisticated abilities for accessing and using knowledge resources, such as search engines and online databases, and emerging technologies such as cloud computing.

Understand is that critical piece - it's the set of skills that help us comprehend, contextualize, and critically evaluate digital media so that we can make informed decisions about what we do and encounter online. These are the essential skills that we need to start teaching our kids as soon as they go online.

Understand includes recognizing how networked technology affects our behaviour and our perceptions, beliefs and feelings about the world around us.

Understand also prepares us for a knowledge economy as we develop - individually and collectively - information management skills for finding, evaluating and effectively using information to communicate, collaborate and solve problems.

Create is the ability to produce content and effectively communicate through a variety of digital media tools. Creation with digital media is more than knowing how to use a word processor or write an email: it includes being able to adapt what we produce for various contexts and audiences; to create and communicate using rich media such as images, video and sound; and to effectively and responsibly engage with Web 2.0 user-generated content such as blogs and discussion forums, video and photo sharing, social gaming and other forms of social media.

The ability to create using digital media ensures that Canadians are active contributors to digital society. Creation - whether through blogs, tweets, wikis or any of the hundreds of avenues for expression and sharing online - is at the heart of citizenship and innovation.

As Douglas Belshaw puts it, "Digital literacies are transient: they change over time, may involve using different tools or developing different habits of mind, and almost always depend upon the context in which an individual finds herself."[8] Given how quickly and frequently our media world is evolving, developing and maintaining one's digital literacy is a lifelong process. The specific skills that are needed will vary from person to person depending on their needs and circumstances - which can range from basic awareness and training to more sophisticated and complex applications. What remains constant, however, are the key concepts that apply to all networked media and are relevant to students - and adults - at all ages.

Key Concepts of Digital Literacy

MediaSmarts' conception of digital literacy incorporates the five key concepts of media literacy (Media are constructions; Audiences negotiate meaning; Media have commercial implications; Media have social and political implications; and Each medium has a unique aesthetic form) and supplements them with five more key concepts that reflect the added dimension of networked interactivity. These key concepts of digital literacy apply to traditional media as well, with the difference being that while the aspects they describe are relatively rare in traditional media, they are dominant in digital media. Communicating these concepts is essential for enabling students to transfer their learning to different contexts: for example, teaching students to authenticate information for assignments may motivate them to do this for schoolwork, but they may not see the need to do so in other situations. When young people understand how the networked nature of digital media makes it possible for anyone to create online content, however, this helps them to understand why this is important.

As with the key concepts of media literacy, key concepts for digital literacy are essential both in providing a common language for theorists and educators and in being a guiding principle for teachers in a rapidly changing technological landscape. Whatever the topic, tool or platform, the purpose of digital literacy education is to communicate these key concepts to students in a way that's appropriate to their age and context.

1. Digital media are networked.

Unlike traditional media, there are no one-way connections in digital media. In traditional media, content only flowed one way: producers created it, then sold or licensed it to distributors who then brought it to you. In digital media, by contrast, you're no longer the final link in a distribution chain but a node in the middle of an infinite network. You can share content with other people as easily as a producer or distributor shares it with you. Collaboration and dialogue are the norm, rather than solitary creation and broadcasting.

These links are always at least two-way, even if you're not aware of the ways you're sending data. This means that everyone and everything is linked to everything else. As a result, the barriers to participation are much lower than in traditional media and anyone can publish content and find an audience. This means that users can interact with peers and celebrities at the same time, and also has important implications when we need to authenticate information or recognize a source's bias and point of view. The networked nature of digital media also makes it possible for formal and informal communities to develop online, whose norms and values are created by their members.

2. Digital media are persistent, searchable and shareable.

Digital content is permanent: everything that is transmitted is stored somewhere and can be searched for and indexed. When considered together with the concept that digital media are networked, this means that most of this content can also be copied, shared or spread at a trivial cost. Even things that are apparently temporary (like Snapchat photos) can be copied, and are almost always stored on the platform's servers.

Because it's persistent, digital content is mostly consumed asynchronously: we typically react or reply to something at a time other than when it's posted, and reactions to our reaction will also come at a later, usually unpredictable time. This can make digital media hard to turn off, since a reaction - or a chance for us to respond to something - may come at any time.

3. Digital media have unknown and unexpected audiences.

Because digital media are networked and digital content is shareable, what you share online may be seen by people you didn't intend or expect to see it. Your ability to control who sees what is limited: both content creators and traditional gatekeepers and distributors have much less power to control what happens to it once it's posted. This can make it difficult to manage audiences, and there is always a risk of context collapse when what was intended for one audience is seen by another. As well, you may be sharing content that you're not aware of with audiences you don't know about, such as cookies and other tracking tools that record information about who you are and what you do when you visit a website.

4. Digital media experiences are real, but don't always feel real.

Being networked means that all digital media are, to at least a certain extent, interactive: we are never just passive viewers but always a part of what's happening. Because it's interactive we often respond to things online as though we are really there, but most of the cues that tell us how we and others feel are absent. One result of this can be "empathy traps," features of networked interaction - such as a feeling of being anonymous, or the absence of cues such as tone of voice or facial expressions in the people we interact with - that prevent us from feeling empathy when we normally would, and these traps can make us forget that what we do online can have real consequences. For the same reasons, it can be very difficult to determine someone's actual meaning and motivation when interacting with them online, a phenomenon popularly known as "Poe's Law."

Partly because of this, and also because of the lack of physical presence online (we may not even entirely feel we're "in" our bodies, as we're usually sitting and immobile when using digital media), it's easy to forget that laws, morals and rights still apply online. The norms and values of the online communities we're part of can also affect our own personal norms and values, as the values of our offline communities do.

Taken together with the lowered barriers to publication discussed above, this can also mean that the people and images we interact with online affect us as much or more than images in traditional media because they are (or seem to be) our peers. The images of ourselves we create online have an extra impact on us because they embody who we imagine (or wish) ourselves to be.

5. How we respond and behave when using digital media is influenced by the architecture of the platforms, which reflects the biases and assumptions of their creators.

One of the most fundamental insights of media literacy is that the form of a medium influences how we "read" or experience a text. While this remains true in digital media, the network effect means that the architecture of a platform - everything from the user interface we interact with to the algorithms that determine how it delivers content to us - affects not just the meaning and message of digital media but also our own behaviour when using them. On the most fundamental level, for example, the networked nature of digital media creates a centripetal effect, as hyperlinks encourage us to move to other texts and platforms. danah boyd describes this architecture in terms of "affordances," which "do not dictate participants' behavior, but they do configure the environment in a way that shapes participants' engagement."[9]

As with traditional media, these influences are not natural or neutral: they reflect the beliefs, unconscious biases and unquestioned assumptions of their creators. Sometimes these values will be consciously applied: if a platform's designers consider freedom of speech their top priority, then protections from hate speech and harassment will be an afterthought at best - which will influence who feels free to speak and what kinds of conversations happen. But unconscious attitudes can be at play, too, such as an "engineering mindset" that sees no problem with showing different job listings for Black and White users, or with delivering an ever-narrower feed of news that you're sure to agree with if that's the most efficient and effective way to advertise to you. As is almost always the case, commercial considerations are also key: a platform that makes money from user engagement will naturally encourage interactions that produce the most intense engagement, no matter the content or tenor of those interactions.

There is often an interplay between the influence of platforms and users' own needs, as can occur in traditional media as well. Teens may choose to post casual photos on Snapchat and more formal ones on Instagram, for instance, based on how they see the two platforms serving their purposes differently, but they are also being influenced by the structure of those platforms: Snapchat, where photos are temporary by default, creates an expectation of being casual and "fun," while Instagram's persistent feed promotes the careful maintenance of a public-facing profile.

Where Does "Digital Citizenship" Fit In?

Digital Citizenship is "character education" in a networked world. As one teacher puts it:
One of the big mission statements and themes of our school is building character today for communities of tomorrow, so we are always tying things back into good character and how we want to be perceived by others; how we want to treat others; and how we want others to treat us... technology provides one more way to teach it, one more way to make it relevant to students. [10]
Being a critically engaged user and consumer of media is an essential part of active citizenship in the 21 st century: we use media to inform ourselves, to help shape our opinions, to interact with our communities and to make our voices heard.

Models for digital citizenship are generally framed around elements such as rights and responsibilities, participation or civic engagement, norms of behaviour or etiquette, and a sense of belonging and membership.[11]

Digital citizenship is closely aligned to civics in a traditional sense, where understanding digital media and being able to use it is becoming a vital part of active citizenship. As media messages dominate our political debates and tools such as Facebook and Twitter are used for activism and organizing political movements around the world, it's increasingly important for young people to be able to view media critically and be prepared to be engaged digital citizens who contribute to their communities in a positive way. To do so, they need the full range of skills we associate with media and digital literacy to be able to know and exercise the rights they hold as consumers, as members of online communities, as citizens of a state and as human beings.

Fostering Digital Literacy in the Classroom

Many teachers are using technology in their classrooms to support different learning styles and to engage students: what's missing are guidelines to help them do this in ways that promote innovative thinking and collaborative work, promote ethical practices, and strengthen their own professional development.

Teachers interviewed by MediaSmarts identified several key factors that limit the ability of educators to help students build digital literacy skills. They also offered some solutions to these problems, including the need to:

provide students with authentic learning opportunities that are enhanced through technological tools;

position teachers as facilitators and co-learners, instead of "drill and kill" experts;

focus teacher training on how to use technology to enhance learning and meet curricular outcomes; and

create reasonable policies and less restrictive filters in schools so that teachers can better help students develop and exercise good judgement.[12]

Technology has shifted the traditional classroom paradigm that positions the teacher as the expert. This can be hard for many educators to accept, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. In our quickly evolving technological world, we are all learners, and teachers who are willing to share responsibility with students are more likely to be comfortable - and effective - in a networked classroom.

This is where our education system can benefit from models in the youth engagement sector, where young people are acknowledged as decision-makers, partners and agents of social change, and adults assume the role of trusted guides and lifelong learners alongside youth.[13]

One of the supporting principles of Manitoba's Continuum Model for Literacy with ICT is the gradual release of responsibility from teacher to student.[14] According to this principle, teachers act as facilitators and guides who provide scaffolding to help students develop higher-level critical and creative thinking and deeper understanding relating to ICT as they gradually become more autonomous users of networked technology.[15]

This principle fits well into effective programs for digital literacy and digital citizenship that:

are holistic, building links between school, home and the community and taking into account both online and offline opportunities for engagement and empowerment;

are evidence-based;

are proactive, as opposed to reactive;

position digital technology as a right and a responsibility;

reinforce positive and pro-social uses of technology;

provide a wide range of tools and resources;

focus not just on safety, but also on the whole range of digital literacy skills and competencies;

are built upon traditional aspects of character and moral education as well as a broader interpretation of civics education;

are child-centred and youth-led - building on the reality of young people's lives and providing real and authentic experiences;

foster a gradual release of responsibility towards independent practice by youth - working with youth in building resilience, finding solutions and promoting positive engagement with technology; and

position adults as supportive mentors and facilitators.

MediaSmarts has drawn on the work of academics and educators across the country to develop a curriculum framework to ensure that students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 can receive a comprehensive digital literacy education. This framework consists of lessons, classroom activities and other teacher resources that translate the five key concepts into specific digital literacy skills that are essential for each grade level. These skills are grouped into seven categories:

Ethics and Empathy: This category addresses students' social-emotional skills and empathy towards others as well as their ability to make ethical decisions in digital environments when dealing with issues such as cyberbullying, sharing other people's content and accessing music and video.

Privacy and Security: This includes essential skills for managing students' privacy, reputation and security online, such as making good decisions about sharing their own content, understanding data collection techniques, protecting themselves from malware and other software threats, and being aware of their digital footprint.

Community Engagement: Resources in this category teach students about their rights as citizens and consumers, and empower them to influence positive social norms in online spaces and to speak out as active, engaged citizens.

Digital Health: Digital health skills include managing screen time and balancing students' online and offline lives; managing online identity issues; dealing with issues relating to digital media, body image and sexuality; and understanding the differences between healthy and unhealthy online relationships.

Consumer Awareness: These skills allow students to navigate highly commercialized online environments. They include recognizing and interpreting advertising, branding and consumerism; reading and understanding the implications of website Terms of Service and privacy policies; and being savvy consumers online.

Finding and Verifying: Students need the skills to effectively search the Internet for information they need for personal and school purposes, and then evaluate and authenticate the sources and information they find.

Making and Remixing: Making and remixing skills enable students to create digital content and use existing content for their own purposes in ways that respect legal and ethical considerations, and to use digital platforms to collaborate with others.

Browse our digital literacy curriculum framework.

Digital Literacy Across the Curriculum

Digital education has a place in nearly every course and subject. You can see our Curriculum Charts to get specific information on how each of our lessons and resources meets the curriculum of different courses in your province or territory. Here are some ideas to get you started:

English Language Arts: This subjectis where media literacy expectations have most often been found, and those apply to digital media as well. Some of the most important implications of our key concepts - like the idea that anyone can publish online - make traditional media literacy skills more important than ever, but also require more up-to-date ways of recognizing advertising, for example, and the ways that we're susceptible to bias.

Digital tech also provides enormous opportunities for creative media production. We need to take advantage of those opportunities, while also making sure that our students understand the ethical issues involved in it - as well as their own rights as media creators.

Social Sciences: Finding and verifying information is at the heart of social science. Teachers can explore the use of the Internet for research, including access to uncensored information and alternative news sources. As with English, students can also learn to distinguish bias, misinformation and propaganda in online content. In more advanced classes like anthropology and psychology, students can learn how the values of their online communities are shaped and how the features of online environments shape our behaviour.

Civics: Digital platforms are the new arena for both online and offline civic participation, and digital technology also offers students a chance to participate as full citizens in a way that they can't offline. Teaching them to be an active part of their online communities - as well as to use digital tools to be involved offline - is essential to prepare them to be fully engaged citizens when they're older.

Careers: Students will need to learn that what they post online might be around for a long time - and that they have some control over whether that reflects well or poorly on them. As well, digital literacy skills such as communicating clearly, collaborating remotely and managing information will be some of the most important and longest-lasting job skills when students graduate.[16]

Health and Personal Development: Because digital tech is so central to young people's lives, no subject may need to integrate digital literacy more than health. Traditional health topics like body image and sexual health education need to incorporate digital literacy key concepts, as well as digital health issues such as "fear of missing out" that are caused by persistence, shareability and asynchronous communication.

Young people's self-image is influenced by the photos of their peers - and themselves - that they select, and often edit or manipulate, so carefully. As well, the line separating them from the celebrities they admire - whose images are very definitely Photoshopped - is largely gone, as they all participate in the same platforms like Instagram. Beyond just body image, young people need to be able to ask questions about the ideals of masculinity and femininity that they feel pressured to fit into on social media.

Young people's health can also be affected by some of the features of digital media like persistence and shareability, which can make it very hard to log off and give the haunting feeling of "fear of missing out" - the idea that your friends are having a good time online without you.

Finally, students need to understand some of the effects we've discussed that digital media can have on relationships, as well as how to deal with them, and to understand how ideas like respect and consent apply in the online context.

The Arts: As more and more artistic production is created or distributed through digital media, arts courses also need to reflect the impacts of digital technology, such as how platform architecture influences aesthetics and self-presentation, and the effects of networked technology on arts industries and communities. The Internet has definitely been a mixed blessing for most arts industries, but students need to understand those changes - and be able to see what changes are coming - if they're considering careers in the arts.

Technology and ICT: Technology courses themselves need to adopt a wider view of digital literacy and go beyond a focus on technical skills - which are likely to be obsolete within a few years after students graduate - to a more critical understanding of digital technology, and should expand from a focus on using technology to include understanding and creating as well.

[1] Alexander, B., Adams Becker, S., and Cummins, M. (2016). Digital Literacy: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief. Volume 3.3, October 2016. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.
[2] Hobbs, Renee (2012). "Hobbs: Info literacy must be a community education movement." http://www.knightcomm.org/hobbs-info-literacy-must-be-a-community-education-movement/
[3] Hague, C. and Williamson, B. (2009). Digital Participation, Digital Literacy, and School Subjects: A Review of the Policies, Literature and Evidence. Bristol: Futurelab.
[4] International Society for Technology in Education (2007). iste.nets.s: Advancing Digital Age Learning. Iste.org/nets.
[5] This figure is based on models from the Report of the Digital Britain Media Literacy Working Group. (March 2009), DigEuLit - a European Framework for Digital Literacy (2005), and Jenkins et al., (2006) Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. http://www.newmedialiteracies.org/files/working/NMLWhitePaper.pdf
[6] Jenkins, H. et. al. (2006). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21 st Century. MacArthur; Chicago Ill. p 4.
[7] Combes, B. (2010). How much do traditional literacy skills count? Literacy in the 21st century & reading from the screen. http://www.slideshare.net/IASLonline/literacy-skills-challenged
[8] Belshaw, Douglas A.J. (2012). What is 'digital literacy'? A Pragmatic investigation, Durham theses, Durham University.
[9] danah boyd. (2010). "Social Network Sites as Networked Publics: Affordances, Dynamics, and Implications." In Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites (ed. Zizi Papacharissi), pp. 39-58
[10] Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III - Teachers' Perspectives at http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/corporate/media_kit/upload/YCWW-III-Teachers-Perspectives_EN.pdf
[11] Collier, A. (2011). "Making the Case for Digital Citizenship." Slideshare presentation. http://www.slideshare.net/annecollier/making-the-case-for-digital-citizenship-111104
[12] Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III - Teachers' Perspectives at http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/corporate/media_kit/upload/YCWW-III-Teachers-Perspectives_EN.pdf
[13] Youth Infusion. "Continuum of Change". http://www.youthinfusion.com/
[14] Government of Manitoba, Ministry of Education, Citizenship and Youth (2006). A Continuum Model for Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum. www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/index.html
[15] Ibid.
[16] Moran, G. "These Will be the Top Jobs of 2025 (And the Skills You'll Need to Get Them.)" Fast Company, March 31 2016. https://www.fastcompany.com/3058422/these-will-be-the-top-jobs-in-2025-and-the-skills-youll-need-to-get-them

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This section looks at the various aspects and principles relating to digital literacy and the many skills and competencies that fall under the digital literacy umbrella. The relationship between digital literacy and digital citizenship is also explored and tips are provided for teaching these skills in the classroom.

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This recource concise the challenge of using three ideas for enriching DL in the classroom. There are build a healthy skepticism which mean support students understand the longevity of digital. Then, try new ways of communicating by using online discussion that can enhance their relationship to course material. Last, the using of emojis which can make communicate with a kind of digital body language where using them requires a creativity.

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Digital literacy is the product of our modern age of instant messages, after-hours emails (if there were still an "after-hours"), and on-demand programming. The digital age of connectivity and mass communication has led to the development of new and dynamic forms of literacy, constantly changing in the on-going search for increased computing power. In short, if we could send a faster message - we would. But, what is digital literacy anyway?

Digital literacy refers to our ability to actively and competently express ourselves within a network of connected digital technologies. For example: digital literacy means knowing the difference between a multi-paragraph text-message and a short email. For many of us, these skills are almost second-nature as we move through the constant communications of daily life. If your day is anything like mine, then you likely get more emails than you know what to do with, you send more emails than is healthy, and you eat lunch at your desk. The modern world of business hours combined with the fluidity of academic life means that you can often feel as though you're constantly behind. For the most part, it's possible to survive in an academic digital world without being completely bogged-down, but not without cutting a few corners on the work/life balance.

For many of us, digital literacy was a set of skills developed in response to the increasing posed by continuous connectivity. So while it may seem somewhat strange to think of digital literacy as something that can be developed and refined, it is important to consider that there are new grammars and syntaxes emerging that need to be learned. For example, everyone thinks they communicate just fine, but we all know people who still reply to emails in ALL CAPITALS.

If you have taken time out of your lecture or seminar to let students work in groups or talk amongst themselves, then you have also likely noticed the grey box with blue bubbles in the corner of nearly every student's laptop screen. The world of constant communication and connectivity is already in your classroom, so why not incorporate digital literacy into your teaching? With as little of an in-class commitment as a slide or two, or maybe ten-minutes of discussion, you could build a foundation for students to use as they adapt to a fluid digital world . The following are three ideas for enriching digital literacy in your classroom.

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Build a Healthy Skepticism

While many students already approach the digital world with a healthy skepticism, enriching digital literacy means developing an awareness of the impact digital communications have. Other than instilling an awareness about the development and production of digital media, social media, and multimedia in students it is also important that they understand the longevity of digital communications. While their comments on social media, or their own multimedia content may seem like a good idea at the time, digital literacy means understanding that these things last forever and can be used or seen by others long after they seem relevant. This is a level of forethought humans have never had to consider in the history of social interaction.

To develop this sense of skepticism, try having students use whatever means they can to find their own earliest mark on the internet. Challenge students to find the first thing they ever put online and then have them reflect on how that piece represents or misrepresents them. As students may learn: some things can be misconstrued when you aren't around to explain them.

Try New Ways of Communicating

We all know the tried and true method of in-class discussion, the tutorial or seminar setting, the lecture: verbal and textual communication in the classroom is typically bound up in these methods. It is therefore possible for students to develop a completely disconnected set of academic literacy skills from those of the digital world. Maybe you use online discussion boards, maybe you do an online office hour, or host webinars whatever the case there are always new ways of reaching students that can enhance their relationship to course material.

The next time you plan a discussion try asking students to choose the least efficient means of communication and then have them reflect on how and why they felt it inhibited their expression. Have students work in groups to identify common roadblocks to communication, and have them compose a list of things they believe are essential to enhanced digital expression. The next time you try this exercise, ask student to refer to the lists they made and then have them find a digital communication technology that fits their list. You may even consider having students use their chosen tool as part of an assignment, or even as an assessment itself.

Is There Space for Emojis in the Classroom?

The ancient Egyptians used pictograms and in the present day we still do. Emojis or emoticons are the little smiley faces and cartoon objects that pepper peoples text messages, web commentaries, and emails. While it might seem like emojis fall outside the realm of digital literacy, knowing when to use them is not an agreed upon rule, nor is it something we explicitly explain. What emojis do is allow you to enhance the expressiveness of your communication by engaging more than one human language. When we use emojis, like pictograms, we communicate with a kind of digital body-language that contextualizes what we are saying. Sounds pretty useful, right? Well maybe it is, but the unfortunate reality is that we don't learn how to conjugate "smilies" the way we learn about similes.

Emojis are contentious at best, so using them in classroom exercises requires an open mind and a bit of creativity. In class, ask students to develop a list of "rules" or grammars that they would use to govern what they see as proper emoji usage. Have students work in groups to compare their emoji grammars and establish a common list of rules. Divide students into two groups and have one use emojis and the other none. Correct the examples using the pre-established grammars and as students to reflect on what each form of communication offered or inhibited.

While I don't expect to see emojis in any midterm essays, professional proposals, or cover letters I don't see why they can't become a part of classroom communication. After all, experimentation breeds discovery. While these ideas are just a few simple ways of enhancing digital literacy in the classroom, they offer blueprints for developing your own digital literacy curriculum with the potential for enriching the communication between instructors and students, students and their communities.
In need of some more inspiration? Read our free guide containing 13 tactics from some of North America's most innovative professors.

Jeremy Haynes

Jeremy Haynes is a PhD candidate in English currently completing a dissertation on Indigenous and Canadian literatures. He has also performed the roles of Sessional Instructor and Teaching Assistant.

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Digital Literacy: What It Is And How To Use It In The Classroom

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Digital literacy is the product of our modern age of instant messages, after-hours emails (if there were still an "after-hours"), and on-demand programming. The digital age of connectivity and mass communication has led to the development of new and dynamic forms of literacy, constantly changing in the on-going search for increased computing power.

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This paper titled 'Bridging the Gap: How Digital Literacy Tools Help English Language Learners Succeed', talks about the ways in which new tablet based literacy programs provide potential solutions to increase the success rate of ELLs. It also focuses on the advantages of these programs over the traditional ELL approaches. Towards the end of the paper, many of the features of digital programs are mentioned that would help the English language learners succeed in class.

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This resource explains the importance of digital literacy in classrooms, need for the change in roles of teachers according to the needs of learners.

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Digital literacy: Implications for teaching and learing

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Related to digital literacy, there is a book which discuss about children's e-literature. This book is about the advance concept of learning by using Web or CD-ROM for children in learning literature such as, narratives, hyperfiction, games. It will brings the children to the new form of studying such a literature area by using technology, this will be something more excited, fun and interested in their generation. However, this is one of ways in enhancing digital literacy learning.

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E-Literature for Children_ Enhancing Digital Literacy Learning (2005)

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Please take a look at this article on digital literacy that I found interesting. The article talks about the advantages of using digital literacy in 21st century classrooms. It also talks about the different kinds of digital age literacies. It further provides an interesting video that talks about why it is important to incorporate technology into the classrooms today and then talks about how we can achieve this. It also provides a set of activity examples that require technological support. Since, the article includes videos and illustrations, it's easy to understand and interesting to read.
http://purposefultechnology.weebly.com/how-can-we-embed-digital-literacy-in-the-classroom.html

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Purposeful Technology-Constructing Meaning in 21st Century Schools

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Digital Literacy has many linked components that can be integrated into other academic curriculum.

In which subject area disciplines would you integrate Digital-Age Literacies?

Just like text has different genres, technology too requires that students be able to think critically about different types of media to evaluate purpose and to construct their own meaning.

The various Digital-Age Literacies apply to the more traditional academic disciplines of reading, writing, mathematics, sciences, social studies, history and the humanities.

The goal of all teachers is to promote higher order thinking skills in their students. Incorporating Digital -Age Literacies and technology into lessons and activities is a sure way for teachers to facilitate their student's construction of knowledge and meaning.

For easy reference, here are technology related standards by grade level. Please see the link above to view/reference both the literacy and mathematics Common Core Standards in their entirety on the CCCS's website.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading (K-5):

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as
well as in words. (Please see "Research to Build and Present Knowledge" in Writing and "Comprehension and Collaboration" in Speaking and Listening for
additional standards relevant to gathering, assessing, and applying information from print and digital sources.)

Production and Distribution of Writing (K-5):
These objectives are very similar, but each one builds on previous exposure and knowledge. For space, just grades K, 3 and 5 are shown.

CCK.W.6.- With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

CC3.W.6 - With guidance and support from adults, use technology to produce and publish writing (using keyboarding skills) as well as to interact and collaborate with peers.

CC5.W.6 - With some guidance and support from adults,use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to typea minimum of two pages in a single sitting.

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Reading (6-12):

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: 7. Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse formats and media, including visually and quantitatively, as
well as in words. (Please see "Research to Build Knowledge" in Writing and "Comprehension and Collaboration" in Speaking and Listening for
additional standards relevant to gathering, assessing, and applying information from print and digital sources.)

Production and Distribution of Writing (6-12):
Again, the standards build upon one another from grade level to grade level. Below are the standards for grade 6, 8, 9-10 and 11-12.

CC6.W.6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient
command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.

CC8.W.6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well
as to interact and collaborate with others.

CC9-10.W.6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's
capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dramatically.

CC11-12.W.6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback,
including new arguments or information.

Learning and constructing knowledge in the 21st century!

First and foremost - encourage, request, even demand that teachers in your school district get EXTENSIVE (not just one workshop)training in the use of technology in the classroom and Digital Citizenship! Teachers are the front line of content delivery, but if teachers are not comfortable and confident with the use of technology, then they will not incorporate its use into their classrooms.

Collaborate with grade level colleagues to design lessons and activities that allow students to construct knowledge using technology. Collaborate across grade levels to ensure that all teachers are on the same page regarding what skills are deemed important for success in each grade level, along with what skills should be introduced earlier to students who are ready.

Be enthusiastic! Show your excitement towards the use of technology and your students too will follow suit!

Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Be confident when using technology, but realistic. If something doesn't go right the first time, try again! Also, technology at times fails for various reasons. Have a back up plan and adjust your lesson accordingly if need be. Your students will understand if you give an explanation.

Some suggested activities to promote Digital Literacy, higher order thinking and construction of meaning in your classroom:

Use an interactive whiteboard as often as possible to design and deliver lessons. Promethean and Smart Notebook have websites with teacher created lessons if you are not yet comfortable designing your own.

Allow students to maintain blogs, wikis, web pages related to their learning.

Engage in email/video chat exchanges with students from other countries.

Utilize storytelling media to allow students to create and publish stories.

Set up a blog site/Facebook page and post weekly discussion questions for students to respond to. Encourage them to respond to each other too!

Use video cameras to dramatize stories, record scientific experiments and expose students to video editing software to create video productions of learning.

Engage students in discussions about how and why various media work well to showcase learning and why others do not. Thinking critically about the medium use use to present a message is just as important as the message itself.

The above list is not extensive and there surely are 1,001 (if not more) ways to incorporate Digital Literacy and technology into your classroom. When in doubt, have FUN with your teaching and your students will have FUN learning!

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How Can we Embed Digital Literacy in the Classroom?

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Digital Literacy has many linked components that can be integrated into other academic curriculum. In which subject area disciplines would you integrate Digital-Age Literacies? Just like text has different genres, technology too requires that students be able to think critically about different types of media to evaluate purpose and to construct their own meaning.

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This article talks about digital libraracy in education. One of the most prominent constituents of digital libraracy is the benefit of profound learning. It talks about the e-safety cover i.e the most of the online lives of the people distorted :very far from reality. It helps to understand how to be aware of fake news. How to use Internet properly, and how to save the students from the trap laid by online advertisement.  etc.

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Despite sounding very similar to computer literacy, digital literacy comes with a completely different meaning. This is a branch of study that requires a deep understanding of the communal issues emerging out of digital technologies. Digital literacy is also about creating an awareness of the standard governing online behavior. To proceed with this arm of education, you also need to put your vital thinking skills to the ultimate test. Hence to sum it all, digital literacy is a combination of critical thinking, social engagement and the wide knowledge of various digital tools. After understanding the definition of digital literacy it is time to learn about its significance in the classroom.

The Emergence of a Class Called Digital Citizens

As you all are aware that reading, writing and mathematics are the three pillars of education, here is a fourth pillar that comes in the form of digital literacy. All set to create a unique fraternity named as digital citizens, students through this field of education will learn the tips connected to the use of technology.

Students will be informed about how to indulge in a legitimate use of technology while they are interacting with their online contacts. It is through this section of education that you as a student will be better prepared to thrive in your area .

Deep Learning - The Star Attraction

One of the most prominent constituents of digital literacy is the benefit of profound learning. Emerging in the form of six Cs, these are the skills that can be honed, while treading the path of digital literacy.

Character: Through digital literacy, students will be able to hone their traits like resilience, perseverance and strength of purpose. Along with these improvements, you will also develop an innate push to embrace learning as part of your everyday lifestyle.

Creativity: Only when you ask intelligent questions, will you develop your creativity. Your creativity will come to the fore when you develop an ability to weigh and grab your opportunities coming out of fresh entrepreneurial ideas presented by online platforms.

Cooperation: This trait is to work in tandem with others alongside demonstrating strong team-based and interpersonal skills.

Critical Thinking: Applying logic to everything that happens around you is the basic premise behind developing a critical mindset. In doing so, you will be prompted to evaluate information while identifying different patterns and associations between various elements. Eventually, you will be able to lay hands on resourceful information that can find a place in the real world.

Communication: The ability to communicate better with different audiences is an essential arm of digital literacy. When you focus on this aspect of expressing your thoughts and views to global audience, you will be employing different tools and methodologies that will make your communication effective to every online reader or viewer.

Citizenship: Here, your value system comes to the front when you develop a holistic view of the world around you. Through a deeper understanding of societal issues, you will be able to come up with solutions to complex problems involving diverse beliefs and values.

Most of the online lives of people are distorted; very far from reality. Drifting away from ethics, digital interfaces come in as thriving grounds for bullies and criminals. These anti-social elements try to rope in innocent youngsters and prompt them to accept fake information. It is also through misrepresented facts that a lot of children fall prey to such harmful netizens. The end result of such unlawful acts shows up in the form of mental health issues along with feelings of detachment and loneliness amongst students.

So what is the way out? You may ask.

It is here that the educational curriculum should step in so that students are taught the ethics concerning digital literacy. A host of lesson plans should be initiated by teachers to shed light on the need for online safety. Students should be taught to not only secure their personal online information but also to be vigilant about sharing photographs on social media platforms. It is through this e-safety education that students should be cautioned against sharing personal data to unwarranted sites or people.

Fake News - A Red Flag of the Digital World

Modern classrooms have now taken the shape of anchors spreading false news. It is hence the need of the hour to bring in a sense of discretion between fact and fiction, especially when it concerns students.

Teachers are thus required to equip their wards with tools that can differentiate between fraudulent and trustworthy news. They can achieve this goal by discussing news trivia as part of daily curriculum. They are also required to discuss about the role played by social media in the spread of false information. Through examples, teachers can compare the differences between a satire, false news and a real piece of valuable information. You as a teacher should validate all your instructions by stressing on the need to verify authentic sources of information.

Everything concerning digital literacy is linked to ethics. Students in their pursuit of learning or entertaining themselves should pay heed to what sort of online behavior is acceptable and what attracts corrective action. Since the online space does not clearly compartmentalize your private and public spaces, it pays to tread the online path with caution.

Teachers step in here to address this issue when they prompt students to think about their personal information that is published online. This exercise will be an eye-opener to students who will try to assess the reactions of others with regard to their public presence.

Live the World of Digital Classrooms

With digital literacy, you will be able to enjoy the benefits of a modern classroom which employs digital lessons as learning tools. Modern classrooms which are governed by collaborative learning and student-centric learning can make the most of digital literacy as the much needed educational tool.

For instance, an English teacher can look at blogging as a promising tool to teach her wards about the power of words. On the flipside, a social-science teacher can present the scenarios of real world issues that are available online and encourage students to understand them and prompt them to offer solutions.

Save Students from the Trap Laid By Online Advertisements

You know for sure the impact of ads on children. Most of the promotional campaigns run by companies target the younger generation and excite them to buy their stuff. Hence it comes as a dire need to safeguard children from the traps laid by online advertising.

Digital literacy, here demands the intervention of teachers to coach students about online ads and their striking influence on their day-to-day lives. Allowing students to closely examine the commercial ads that have been targeted at them is a tested means to teach them about consumer behavior. Students will also pick up tricks on selling. With this knowledge in hand, children will be able to create innovative ads that are not only encouraging but appropriate for their age.

Inculcate A Positive Sense of Body Images

With the online territory a buzz with images of fit and toned bodies, young girls and boys of today are giving utmost importance to their body measurements and weight, so much so that they are relying on fad diets. If you are a parent of a young boy who has just entered his teens, you will notice his strong intent to flaunt a sculpted body. This attitude can pose a host of health complaints in kids.

In an attempt to nip off the bud of ideal body shapes amongst young adults, teachers can rely on digital literacy by showing them online images of their Snapchat contacts. Then, they should encourage their wards to attach a sense of judgment to the images they are seeing. Students should also be prompted to share a couple of positive statements about themselves and others, with regard to their bodily appearances. This intelligent exercise can help students develop a positive sense of well-being. They will then be able to brush aside unwanted and harmful effects of diets with an intention to be accepted by their peers.
Key Takeaways
Technology that is impacting every sphere of human life has a widespread influence on the lives of pupils. While students are tending to the digital world to learn, it pays to safeguard them from the challenges posed by technological advancements. It is as if they are breathing technology in every step they take. With so much going in favor of digital media, it is also important to prepare them for the threats that are a part of this emerging educational trend. All these are possible by relying on digital literacy as the whistleblower of online learning platforms.

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Importance Of Digital Literacy In Education - Edsys

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Digital literacy enables students to enjoy the luxury of active learning through engaging content and images while keeping an eye on the communal repercussions of their online presence. Below are the numerous ways in which digital literacy paves the way for holistic education for pupils of different ages.

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This Article talks about the meaning of Digital Literacy and why it is important to teach in a Language classroom. It discusses the different topics needed in developing the 21st century skills in a class and what should be included in the Digital Literacy Classrooms. Moreover, this article also looked into the safety of the students and also teaches the different ways to create Digital Literacy Curriculum in the class.
https://www.aeseducation.com/how-to-teach-digital-literacy-in-the-classroom

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This Article talks about the importance of digital literacy in today's learning. It gives awareness about cyber citizenship and also gives suggestions on useful digital tools for classroom use

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Every day, students are bombarded by endless media messages. From ads on YouTube videos to peer-to-peer communication on social networks, students are constantly exercising their ability to process and respond to technological communication in a nanosecond.

Digital literacy provides the framework to teach students appropriate ways to interpret the constant influx of information. Accessing, analyzing and evaluating media are essential skills, and will only become more imperative in a world that is making the shift towards increasingly prevalent and sophisticated technological automation.

Digital literacy is also important for the creation of media. Presentations requiring students to be technologically literate continues to be a requirement throughout education, whichever standard one goes by. New guidelines state that educators need to "make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations."

This includes having students create their own presentations using technologies like PowerPoint, Prezi or eMaze, creating or viewing graphs in Excel and teaching critical data analysis. All of these skills fall under the umbrella of digital literacy and are an observation point that administrators are sure to look for in teachers' lessons.

Cyber Citizenship

Additionally, students should be taught to be responsible cyber-citizens, much like they're taught to be appropriate and responsible in their "real" lives. Similar to raising children in the physical world, educators have the unique opportunity to make sure students know how to navigate the internet safely, to protect themselves from predation or trolling and to not abuse the genre by becoming a cyberbully.

As with any tool or skill that children learn, there needs to be a framework wherein they understand the limitations, danger zones and pitfalls that are inherent in it. Digital literacy is not just a user manual or a how-to guide-it is also a system of ethics and civic-minded behaviors that hopefully will guide young technology gurus as they grow. Luckily technology, such as this Digital Citizenship program from Learning.com, can also help teachers help students as they develop their digital literacy skills.

Digital Literacy Resources

Thankfully, many digital tools have been developed in recent years that are easy for both teachers and students to use. They also serve to engage students in their own path of learning and end up often going beyond what is required by the particular unit of instruction.

One of these useful edtech options is ReadWorks, which provides age and skill-level appropriate articles and reading material for students. The article-a-day feature allows students to absorb background information about history, fun facts and culture. Teachers can then use this as an opportunity to teach students to mindfully read media online by asking students to analyze what they see. Does the source seem reliable? What is the image telling you about who the intended audience is?

Any time a child accesses the internet, they are inundated with countless news articles and opinions. Online reading and article software like ReadWorks can teach students to filter, decipher and analyze the components of quality scholarship and news.

Another useful edtech option is Voki, an app that guides children on how to properly represent themselves digitally. Students create unique digital avatars and then use them to create a digital representation of themselves in classroom presentations and communication with their teacher. This gives students a user-friendly way of learning technology that they have not been exposed to in the past and allows teachers the opportunity to correct and guide them towards more sophisticated and acceptable digital behavior. It also encourages non-verbal students to have a voice in the classroom and helps them feel confident that their contributions are valued and important.

This gives students a user-friendly way of learning technology that they have not been exposed to in the past and allows teachers the opportunity to correct and guide them towards more sophisticated and acceptable digital behavior. It also encourages non-verbal students to have a voice in the classroom and helps them feel confident that their contributions are valued and important.

While the task of teaching students digital literacy can be daunting, it has essentially become a necessary part of today's learning. Teachers and parents can embrace the opportunity to be digital role models and leaders for students, and provide monitored outlets for them to practice digital literacy in a safe and protected space.

For more, see:
Stay in-the-know with all things EdTech and innovations in learning by signing up to receive the weekly Smart Update

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How Digital Literacy Impacts Today's Classroom | Getting Smart

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Every day, students are bombarded by endless media messages. From ads on YouTube videos to peer-to-peer communication on social networks, students are constantly exercising their ability to process and respond to technological communication in a nanosecond. Digital literacy provides the framework to teach students appropriate ways to interpret the constant influx of information.

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This article encompasses the opportunities and challenges of digital learning. It is  noted that the use of digital learning is fruitful for education nowadays as long as we endeavor to overcome its challenges.

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Twenty years ago this week, one of my very first writings on education policy appeared in print.[i] It was an opinion piece I wrote while teaching middle school in East Harlem, in which I described my school's struggle to effectively use classroom computers. Two decades later, as a professor of economics and education policy, I am engaged in several research projects studying the use and impact of digital learning.[ii]

Much has changed since I taught middle school. I am struck by the extent to which recent technological innovations have created many new opportunities to better serve traditionally disadvantaged students.

First, increasing speed and availability of internet access can reduce many of the geographic constraints that disadvantage poor students. Schools serving higher-resourced families are often able to recruit better teachers and administrators-perhaps the most important school resources-even without additional funding.

Unlike teachers, however, technologies have no preferences for the schools in which they work. The resources available on the internet, for example, are equally available to all schools with the same internet access and internet access costs the same for all schools in the same area, regardless of the student population served. Students can now access online videos that provide instruction on a wide variety of topics at various skill levels, and participate in real-time video conferences with teachers or tutors located a state (or even a continent) away.[iii]

Second, the evolution of touch-screen technology has enabled very young children to engage in technology-aided instruction. Prior to tablets, it was difficult for pre-school, kindergarten and even early primary grade students to work with educational software because it required use of a mouse or keyboard. Now there are a hundreds of applications that can effectively expose children to early literacy and numeracy skills.

Third, advances in artificial intelligence technology now allow teachers to differentiate instruction, providing extra support and developmentally-appropriate material to students whose knowledge and skill is far below or above grade level norms. The latest "intelligent" tutoring systems are able to not only assess a student's current weaknesses, but also diagnose why students are making specific errors.[iv] These technologies could enable teachers to better reach students who are further from the average within their classroom, potentially benefiting students with weaker academic preparation.

And these technologies scale easily so that innovations (or even good curriculum) can reach more students. Much like a well-written textbook, a well-designed educational software application or online lesson can reach students not just in a single classroom or school, but across the state or country.

While technologies such as virtual instruction and intelligent tutoring offer great promise, unless the challenges that are associated with implementing them are fully understood and addressed their failure is almost surely guaranteed. To date, there is little evidence that digital learning can be implemented at scale in a way that improves outcomes for disadvantaged students.

Hundreds of thousands of students attend full-time online schools,[v] but a study released last year found that students of online charter schools had significantly weaker academic performance in math and reading, compared with demographically similar students in conventional public schools.[vi] Computer-aided instruction has been studied extensively over the past twenty-five years and the findings have not been encouraging. Consistently, programs that are implemented widely and evaluated with rigorous methods have yielded little to no benefit for students on average.[vii]

What are the key challenges?

Let's start with student motivation. If technologies can draw in otherwise disenfranchised students through the personalization of material to a student's interest or through gaming technology, they could benefit disengaged, poorly performing students. However, these technologies often reduce oversight of students, which could be particularly detrimental for children who are less motivated or who receive less structured educational supports at home. It is also possible that these technologies will be less able to engage reluctant learners in the way a dynamic and charismatic teacher can.

Moreover, approaches that forgo direct interpersonal interaction completely are unlikely to be able to teach certain skills. Learning is an inherently social activity. While an intelligent tutor might be able to help a student master specific math concepts, it may not be able to teach students to critically analyze a work of literature or debate the ethics of new legislation.

The experience of Rocketship, a well-known charter school network, illustrates this concern. Developed in the Bay Area of California in 2006, Rocketship's instructional model revolves around a blended learning approach in which students spend a considerable amount of each day engaged with computer-aided learning technologies. The network received early praise for its innovative approach to learning and, most importantly, for the high achievement scores posted by its mostly poor, nonwhite student population. In 2012, however, researchers and educators raised concerns about graduates from Rocketship elementary schools, noting that they had good basic skills but were struggling with the critical analysis required in middle school.[viii]

More broadly, it is important to realize that technologies can be either substitutes for or complements to resources already in the school. To the extent that they are substitutes, they are inherently equalizing forces. For example, well-designed and structured online content might provide critical support to a novice teacher who is too overwhelmed to produce the same coherent and engaging materials that some more experienced teachers can create.

However, in many cases it may be more appropriate to think of technologies as complements-e.g., when they require skilled teachers or students with strong prior skills to be implemented well. In these cases, technologies must be accompanied with additional resources in order for them to benefit traditionally underserved populations.

Perhaps most importantly, systems that blend computer-aided and face-to-face instruction are notoriously difficult to implement well. In recent studies of the popular Cognitive Tutor math programs, teachers reported trouble implementing the program's instructional practices that revolve around collaborative work, making strong connections between computer-based activities and classroom instruction, and maintaining the expected learning pace with many students who lacked prior math and reading skills.[ix]

Finally, even with the best implementation, digital learning is likely to benefit students differently depending on their personal circumstances and those of their school. For instance, non-native English speakers might benefit from online instruction that allows them to pause and look up unfamiliar words. Likewise, we might expect an online course to be more advantageous for students attending a brick-and-mortar school with very low-quality teachers.

Indeed, some recent research finds exactly this type of heterogeneity. A large IES-funded evaluation of computer-aided instruction (CAI) released in 2007 found that students randomly assigned to teachers using the leading CAI products fared no better than students in control classrooms. Several years later, then graduate student Eric Taylor, decided to reanalyze the data from the study, focusing on whether the impacts of these technologies varied across classrooms. His analysis suggests that the introduction of computer-aided instruction had a positive impact on students in classrooms with less effective teachers and a negative impact on students in classrooms with more effective teachers.[x]

In recent years, the worlds of online learning and computer-aided instruction have converged to some extent, morphing into what is often referred to as blended- or personalized-learning models. There are a number of interesting projects underway across the country, including pilots supported by the Gates Foundation's Next Generation Learning Challenge, and the emergence of charter networks with a goal to provide truly personalized learning for every student, such as Summit Public Schools in California and Washington.[xi]

In order for these new endeavors to be successful, they must overcome the challenges described above.

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The opportunities and challenges of digital learning

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Twenty years ago this week, one of my very first writings on education policy appeared in print.[i] It was an opinion piece I wrote while teaching middle school in East Harlem, in which I described my school's struggle to effectively use classroom computers.

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This resource gives the definition about digital literacy. Digital literacy means  reading, writing and creating but without paper, pencils, books, or lectures.  In this resource, there are some kind of digital literacy that can be used for the teacher, students and also the school. It also tells how to use it and how it can be useful for teacher, students and school.

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Digital literacy is one of those EdTech buzzwords floated by experts as being granular to 21 st-century students. It's everywhere, but figuring out what it means can be daunting. Literacy is simply the ability to read and write, so digital literacy should be achieving those goals using technology in the classroom. Here are the eight transformative technology-in-the-classroom skills required of the digitally literate student.

Social Media

The power of social media cannot be denied. Although its usage continues to be controversial in some circles, including education, its immediacy and reach are hard to beat as a communication tool. Most students are aware of the benefits of social media - now it's your job to harness it by equipping students with the right knowledge to use it properly.

Cloud Computing

Today's classwork means starting a report at school and finishing it at home. It requires switching seamlessly between the Chromebook in the classroom and the student's computer at home. It means sharing a report with team members without worrying that you don't have email addresses or they can't read the format you published in. Cloud computing makes all that happen. It's accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, on any device, by whoever you give access. Whether that's one document a week or ten, people expect you to be that versatile.

Basic Educational Technology Tools

Digital literacy implies the same reading-writing skills but without paper, pencils, books, or lectures. It's purpose-built and student-driven. As a teacher, you'll want to provide the following:

Digital devices such as laptops, iPads, Chromebooks, or desktops for daily use.

A digital class calendar with due dates, activities, and other events.

Student email or some method of communicating quickly with students outside class time.

An annotation tool (like Acrobat, Notability, or iAnnotate), to take notes.

A device to assess student learning while it's happening.

A class website or blog to share class activities with parents and other stakeholders.

Student digital portfolios to curate and collect student work for viewing and sharing.

Vocabulary tool so students can quickly decode words they don't understand in their reading.

Digital Databases

Digital databases are the new library. They're infinite, everywhere, and welcome visitors at all hours. Students should learn how to roam these virtual halls as soon as they're expected to research classwork. This includes online access to their school library as well as dedicated databases like the Smithsonian and the History Channel.

Virtual Collaboration

Student study groups used to be hindered by finding a time that worked for all participants, agreeing on a meeting place, and then actually getting there. Virtual collaboration has none of those problems. Documents can be shared with all stakeholders and accessed at will. Many digital tools allow students to collaborate on a document from separate personal devices. Meetings can take place in the student's bedroom or their backyard through websites like Google Hangouts and Skype. A wide variety of resources can be shared without lugging an armful of materials to the meeting and ultimately forgetting to bring half of them home. These get-togethers can even be taped and shared with absent members or re-watched for review.

Sharing to Build Knowledge

No one person can provide all we need to know on a subject. When everyone shares their knowledge and insights, the group grows in competency. That used to be attempted awkwardly with class presentations. Now, all it takes is a virtual curation of student work, presented through webpages, wikis, a YouTube stream, or another approach that fits the unique student group. Quickly and easily, everyone's work can be shared.

Evaluate Information Found Online

Because students get so much more of their information online, they need the tools to evaluate reliability and veracity of what they find. This includes questions such as:

Is the site legitimate or a hoax?

Is the author an expert in this subject?

Is the information current or dated?

Is the data neutral or biased?

Digital Citizenship

Because students spend so much time online, they need to learn how to act in that neighborhood. This includes topics detailing the rights and responsibilities of digital citizens, such as:

Cyberbullying

Legality of online material

Buying items online

Digital footprints

Privacy and safety while traveling the digital world

Being a good citizen of the digital world is no different than the physical world. There are practical strategies that revolve around proper etiquette and an understanding of the culture that permeates a vast, anonymous, Wild West-like territory often defined by the accountability of those who visit it.

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Technology in the Classroom: What is Digital Literacy? - TeachHUB

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Digital literacy is one of those EdTech buzzwords floated by experts as being granular to 21 st-century students. It's everywhere, but figuring out what it means can be daunting. Literacy is simply the ability to read and write, so digital literacy should be achieving those goals using technology in the classroom.

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It informs us on how technology skills can be integrated in to English language programs. It also explores the role of digital literacy with adult learners. Besides. it provides the example of the involvement of DL in creating simple programs/lessons that meet  students’ needs.

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According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 77% of jobs within the next decade will require some degree of technology skills. How can these skills be integrated in to English language programs? Kathy Harris explores the role of digital literacy with adult learners. Dr. Harris teaches in the MA TESOL program at Portland State University and also teaches literacy and low-level adult English Language Acquisition.
Think about the variety of your daily tasks that involve technology. Those tasks might include writing an email to a coworker, paying bills online, finding directions to a location, reading the academic calendar on your child's school website, checking medical tests results in your eHealth portal, or reading an online manual for a new gadget you bought. The list is long!

The adult learners in our English language programs need to do these things too. They need to be able to get accurate health information, communicate and collaborate using the Internet for school or work, communicate with their children's schools, apply for jobs, among many other things. Traditionally, digital literacy has not been considered to be part of literacy in adult English language programs, but that is rapidly changing.

In the 21 st century, learning English literacy includes literacy in digital contexts, or digital literacy. Digital literacy includes the ability to use the Internet and other technologies to

Find, evaluate and organize information

Create and communicate information

Generate useful questions to solve problems

Share answers and solutions to problems

As we create classes and programs that meet our students' needs, digital literacy needs to be included. One effective way to do that is to integrate digital literacy tasks right alongside literacy tasks in our classes, ideally doing the same type of task multiple times in different lessons or units.

For example, in a topic unit on health you might create a simple online form for learners to fill out for each lesson. It is very easy to create online forms. Here is an example of a very simple online form that I made for a low-level ESL class in a unit on going to the doctor:

The form was a follow up to reading the online book called Amir gets sick. Students are learning medical questions and medical vocabulary as well as having face-to-face roleplays with the questions and answers. Creating the form took less than 5 minutes and was a great way for my students to practice the vocabulary and grammar that we had been learning, while also building digital literacy skills.

Google Forms is one free online survey tool that is easy to use. Here is a list of videos created for teachers to show them how to create and use Google Forms created by Richard Byrne in his blog FreeTech4Teachers.

There are many benefits to integrating digital tasks alongside related lessons. It uses the same vocabulary and grammar as well as topic, so that only the digital format is new, making for a straight-forward learning situation. The same type of activity is done multiple times it allows for the development of both task and technology expertise by the teacher and the students as well as the opportunity to work through and get past the inevitable glitches. Most of the activities described here can be done with computers, smartphones, or other digital devices. If devices are limited, students can work in small groups sharing one device.

There are many digital literacy tasks that easily accompany English language lessons and units, including writing email messages or sending text messages, listening to related podcasts, reading the news online, creating short presentations, writing blog posts, creating digital stories, and many more.

Finding and evaluating information is a critical aspect of digital literacy. While many of us English language teachers use the Internet for searching, we don't always consciously know the strategies that we are using. Henry (2006) provides a nice pneumonic for the strategies used in searching that is really helpful when integrating search activities into our English language instruction. Like other types of digital literacy tasks, it is useful to have a search activity that is related to a lesson or unit that is alongside the other activities in the unit. That way the Internet search utilizes the same (or related) vocabulary, grammar structures, and topical information and only the actual Internet search task is new. Some examples include finding accurate local weather information, finding job information, locating a business, researching a health condition, comparing features and prices of an object or service, etc. Creating a search activity to accompany the units in a course can be an effective way to bring digital literacy skills into your classroom that creates opportunities to practice the digital skill of online searching while also providing practice using the language in the unit.

For more information on how to integrate digital literacy into English language instruction, there is a free online module for teachers on the topic here. You can equip students with the language they need for success with resources such as the Oxford Picture Dictionary. The brand new Third Edition has been updated with a section dedicated to Digital Literacy, and includes other relevant topics such as Cyber Safety, Information Technology and Internet Research. Find out more here.
References
Federal Communications Commission. (2010). Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan. Retrieved from http://www.broadband.gov/download-plan/

Henry, L. A. (2006). SEARCHing for an answer: The critical role of new literacies while reading on the Internet. The Reading Teacher, 59(7), 614-627.

Leu, D. J., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J., Castek, J., & Henry, L. A. (2013). New literacies: A dual-level theory of the changing nature of literacy, instruction and assessment. In D. E. Alvermann, N. J. Unrau, & R. B. Ruddell (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (6th ed.; pp. 1150-1181). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. (2015). Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act: Integrating technology. WIOA Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/AdultEd/integrating-technology.pdf

Categories: Adult ESL, Adults / Young Adults, Multimedia & Digital, Skills | Tags: Adult, Digital literacy, Oxford Picture Dictionary, Skills, Step Forward, TESOL | Permalink.

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Digital literacy: the missing piece for Adult ESL learners - Oxford University Press

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According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 77% of jobs within the next decade will require some degree of technology skills. How can these skills be integrated in to English language programs? Kathy Harris explores the role of digital ... Continue reading →

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This resource gives us definition of digital literacy and how necessary it is in the classroom. It also provides information about essential digital literacy skills and some practical examples to help teachers introduce digital literacy into the lessons. Besides, students’ safety from digital literacy was mentioned in this resource as well.

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This resource briefly discusses the importance of DL. It considers DL an important skill to succeed in the current world. Hence the source provides lesson plans for teachers of adults, which can be used to develop DL in the ESL classroom.

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This article mentions some of the definitions that were given by various people regarding digital literacy and also explores the reasons why a language teacher and learner should understand and take into account the concept of digital literacy. The article, then, talks about the various ways in which language learning can happen outside the classroom through certain digital practices (which requires the learners to possess digital literacy) and also discusses about how far digital practices are actually included in the language learning curriculum. The article ends by stating the various obstacles that stand in the way of enabling digital practices to become an important part of the curriculum.

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Post a source on digital literacy OR how digital literacy can be developed in the ESL classroom. Mention your name as title of the post. Add a 2 - 3 sentences summary of the source. Please see mine for reference.