Digital literacy

Digital literacy is the name for a set of fundamental life skills that enable a person to exist in what is called information society, which is generally understood to have begun around the 80s. This means that people can use digital media platforms to their advantage. They can use information technology to create, evaluate, and share information. In English Literacy traditionally meant to be well educated and familiar with literature. In modern usage, literacy is the ability to read and write, in a given language. People who can read and write use these skills to communicate. Digital literacy is similar: The idea is to use modern electronic devices such as computers and mobile phones to get up to date information, to share this information with others, and to comment on this information on digital platforms. However, the definition of the term is broad and also includes sociocultural context. Digital literacies are "the practices of communicating, relating, thinking, and ‘being’ associated with digital media”. Multimodality is the integration of multimedia into digital text. This facet of digital literacy can expand the experience of the reader. The distinction between the people who have digital literacy and who can use it to their advantage, and those who don't have it, or can't use it is called digital divide. While using digital media platforms is often free, special devices (such as computers or mobile phones) are needed to access the platforms. Factors that contribute to the digital divide are the following: age, socio-economic class, education, and national infrastructure.  

Sources:

http://www.unesco.org/education/GMR2006/full/chapt6_eng.pdf 
https://dx.doi.org/10125/44574thumb|A teacher with students, in a computer lab

Category:Digital divide