How can digital literacy be defined?
o Generally refers to an individual’s ability to:
- communicate
- search for info
- use applications on various digital platforms like social media, email services and search engines as well as using different digital mediums like smartphones, tablets and laptops.
Does digital literacy replace traditional forms of literacy?
o Digital literacy does not replace traditional forms of literacy but it builds upon the foundation of traditional forms of literacy. (According to Henry Jenkins, ‘Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century’)
- So many overlaps with information and academic literacies.
Who is Jisc and how does it define digital literacy?
o Jisc is a UK company which aims to digitally empower people in higher education by equipping them with the necessary skills, resources and services.
o The company defines digital literacy as:
- ‘those capabilities which fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society; for example, the skills to use digital tools to undertake academic research, writing and critical thinking: as per personal development planning: and as a way of showcasing achievements.’
In general, what does digital literacy cover?
o It is important to clarify that digital literacy is much broader than computer literacy and IT skills.
o It covers:
- Critical use of technology
- Discernment and skepticism about online information
- Consider ethics and respect for the work of others
- Focus on using tools to communicate, creativity & collaboration
- Online identity, safety and wellbeing
What other terms can be used to refer to digital literacy?
o Digital skills (used in UK by House of Lords report from 2015)
o Digital competencies (used by company Jisc in recent work they’re doing for UK higher education)
Why is digital literacy became more important ?
o The increasing prevalence of digital media in today’s society creates a demand for digital literacy.
- E.g. digital literacy is becoming more demanded by academic settings.
o Never before has so much content been created and shared digitally.
- E.g. each minute there are approximately 30,000 apps downloaded by iPhones across the world, 600 new videos uploaded to YouTube and 695,000 Facebook status updates (according to GoGlobe.com).
o Digital media has become so prevalent that everyone has developed some level of skills.
What are 2 models that illustrate the skills involved in digital literacy?
o FutureLab Model of Digital Literacy
o Digital Information Fluency Model
Detail the FutureLab Model of Digital Literacy.
o Model developed for schools
o Aim to imbed these skills in education curriculums
o Many skills are not exclusively ‘digital’ – clear overlap with other literacies.
o Skills include:
- Functional skills
- Creativity
- Critical thinking and evaluation
- Cultural and social understanding
- Collaboration
- Ability to find and select information
- Effective communication
- E-safety
Detail the Digital Information Fluency Model.
o Questions the process of retrieving relevant information and how it can be ethically used.
o Ethical use of information can generally refer to info that will have a positive influence/impact on the public.
- Copyright can also determine which info is ethical to use i.e. if copyright is infringed then info is being used unethically.
- Ethical use of info difficult to fulfil as abused by many people i.e. using info however they like.
What does the term ‘digital natives’ refer to?
o People born 1980 onwards that have been exposed to tech from early age.
What idea exists surrounding ‘digital natives’/what can be assumed about them? Why is this true or untrue?
o Idea exists (myth) that these people inherently digital literate.
o Untrue as despite having easy access to tech from a young age, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they know how to determine which info is good or how to use it ethically as well as utilise other digital literacy skills.
Who does the ‘Google Generation’ refer to?
o People born after 1993.
What did research concerning the ‘Google Generation’ discover?
o Research conducted by CIBER in 2008 (UCL Centre for Information Behaviour & Evaluation of Research) indicates:
- Online searching tends to be shallow, information skimming, not in-depth searching
- 60% visit a site once only and view each web page only a few seconds
- Prefer quick information in form of easily-digested short chunks rather than full-text.
What are the different source types and explain what they are?
o Primary sources (first-hand info)
- Original documents, images or eyewitness accounts.
- Original research from scholarly, peer-reviewed sources.
- Raw data, government reports such as census data.
o Secondary sources (second-hand info)
- After-the-fact.
- Analyses/interprets primary source info.
- E.g. textbooks, encyclopaedias, non-fiction books.
o Tertiary sources
- Little info
- Points to other sources
- E.g. guides, dictionaries, bibliographies
Explain the significance of identifying key words as a searching strategy.
o To identify key words one must ignore:
- ‘Small’ words (e.g. what, are, the etc.)
- Words connected to time (e.g. sometimes, always, perhaps, often etc.)
- Words that show relation (e.g. effects, lead to, increases etc.)
What is a taxonomy structure and why is this used by search engines as a searching strategy?
o The word taxonomy refers to the practice and science of classification of things or concepts
o This structure connects terms based on their relevance and relationship to each other.
- It explores the use of a hierarchy of categories nested into subcategories, and sometimes into even smaller groupings of categories, and how those might be linked together.
o Google excludes some words which are ambivalent/convey emotion to produce objective results (e.g. words like effects and impact)
o Used by search engines to improve relevance of searches
To effectively evaluate information, what 6 criteria’s must be considered?
o Authority o Purpose o Coverage o Currency o Objectivity o Accuracy
Explain importance of determining authority when evaluating information.
o Concerned with whether the person, institution or agency responsible for a site has the qualifications and knowledge to do so.
- It should be clear who developed the site.
- Contact information should be clearly provided: e-mail address, phone and fax number.
- Credentials: the author should state qualifications, credentials, or personal background that gives them authority to present information.
- Check to see if the site supported by an organisation or a commercial body
Explain importance of determining the purpose of information when evaluating it.
o The purpose of the information presented in the site should be clear – some sites are meant to inform, persuade, state an opinion, entertain, or parody something or someone.
- Does the content support the purpose of the site?
- Is the information geared to a specific audience (students, scholars, general reader)?
- Is the site organised and focused?
- Are the outside links appropriate for the site?
- Does the site evaluate the links?
- Well organised example = YouTube
- Also, Google as tailors’ ads to user esp. if user has account which can be used to influence search results through browsing history/cookies.
Explain importance of determining coverage when evaluating information.
o It is difficult to assess the extent of coverage since depth in a site, through the use of links, can be infinite – one author may claim comprehensive coverage of a topic while another may cover just one aspect of a topic.
- Does the site claim to be selective or comprehensive?
- Are the topics explored in depth?
- Compare the value of the site’s information compared to other similar sites.
- Do the links go to outside sites rather than its own?
- Does the site provide information with no relevant outside links?
Discuss importance of currency when evaluating information.
- How current is the information presented?
- How often is the site is updated or maintained? It is important to know when a site was created, when it was last updated, and if all of the links are current.
- E.g. important with news websites.
Discuss importance of considering objectivity when evaluating information.
o Objectivity of the site should be clear.
- However, no one is truly objective – objectivity is a subjective term so difficult to determine, everyone has different ideas of objectivity.
o Beware of sites that contain bias or do not admit its bias freely.
o Objective sites present information with a minimum of bias.
- Is the information presented with a particular bias?
- Does the information try to sway the audience?
- Does site advertising conflict with the content?
- Is the site trying to explain, inform, persuade, or sell something?
- E.g. Recommendation systems may limit the objectivity of sites as they refine content that a user is exposed to e.g. YouTube will display suggestions based on similarity to other videos a user has watches so limits user’s exposure to other content.
Discuss importance of determining accuracy when evaluating information.
- Reliability – is the author affiliated with a known, respectable institution?
- References – do statistics and other factual information receive proper references as to their origin?
- Does the reading you have already done on the subject make the information seem accurate?
- Is the information comparable to other sites on the same topic?
- Does the text follow basic rules of grammar, spelling and composition?
- Is a bibliography or reference list included?
- E.g. Free app offered by Google Chrome, ‘Whapalizer’ provides accuracy statistics for a web resource.
What is a static web page?
o The most basic type of website and are the easiest to make.
o Consists of an HTML document that resides on a web server as an individual file and that doesn’t change unless it is edited by someone.
o Each page is coded in HTML and displays the same information to every visitor.
o Does not require any web programming or database design.
