Hi Everyone,
Throughout October, we have examined the theme of Literacy Instruction: The Heart of Adult Literacy. We have looked at financial literacy, family literacy, and health literacy. We'll conclude the month with digital literacy.
What Does It Mean to Have Digital Literacy Skills?
Digital literacy skills are “the skills associated with using technology to enable users to find, evaluate, organize, create, and communicate information; and developing digital citizenship and the responsible use of technology” (Museum and Library Services Act of 2010). Digital literacy is made up of:
- Basic Computer Skills - The skills needed to control digital devices and use them to accomplish simple tasks.
- Network Literacy - Focuses on the skills required to access and curate information as required by social networks (Pegrum, 2010).
- Digital Problem Solving - Jacobs and Castek (2018) define this as one's "ability to navigate and use
multiple digital resources to accomplish goals across domains, including work, personal interests,
educational pursuits, social and professional networking, civic participation, and for future uses not yet conceptualized " (p. 681). - Information Literacy - Using technology to enhance information.
- Media Literacy - Media literacy focuses on finding, evaluating, using, and communicating information; however, it emphasizes the range of media found online “from print to video to the Internet,” (n.d.) according to the Center for Media Literacy. Source: TSTM Digital Literacy Information Brief
Some suggested digital literacy resources are:
The Teaching the Skills That Matter in Adult Education project (TSTM) trains teachers to integrate the skills that matter to adult students using approaches that work across critical topics.
“The Digital Skills Library is an open repository of free learning resources designed to help all adult learners develop the digital skills needed to achieve their personal, civic, educational, and career goals” (Digital Skills Library, 2023).
“The target audience for this group includes adult education practitioners, administrators, and policymakers. The focus of the group is to explore integrating technology and digital literacy into adult education, share instructional strategies for teaching digital literacy skills as part of a contextualized curriculum, and improve public policies related to digital literacy and effective use of technologies for learning (LINCS Integrating Technology, 2023).
“To help adult education practitioners improve their ability to support learners who struggle to fully engage in tasks that demand use of digital technologies, JFF and World Education, with support from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, have launched a new initiative called Digital Resilience in the American Workforce (DRAW). DRAW will:
- Support professional development that enables teachers to be strategic and learner-focused in their lesson planning and instruction
- Support adult education programs in designing effective, flexible technology-enabled education and support services
- Provide state Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) funders and their professional development providers with models, guidance, and resources for supporting programs that sustain and expand digital literacy efforts” (DRAW Initiative, 2023).
What are your favorite digital literacy resources?
Thanks for your thoughts,
Steve Schmidt, Moderator
LINCS Reading and Writing Group