Digital literacy can be broken down into many levels and categories. A person can be literate in one digital aspect but not another. Do we define it be each word or with both words together.
The google definitions of literacy is the ability to read or write, and the knowledge within a specific area. Different skill sets require different literacies. Whereas the google definitions of digital are something involving or relating to the use of computer technology. Also defined as signals expressed by series of 0 and 1.
Digital literacy as defined on wikipedia is said to be one’s ability to find, evaluate, and communicate information by utilizing typing or digital media platforms. From this definition I could say that I have some digitally literate. I know how to operate different digital media platforms. This definition is too broad in response to everything that is digital. I have computer literacy and phone literacy if that could be considered a thing. This definition is too broad in response to everything that is digital. Yet, I’m sure that is not what is meant by digital literacy.
Scholars Opinion
There are those who would prefer to keep the words separate. They deal with digital in one way and literacy in another. Kress is a scholar who believes they are separated. Kress argues that “literacy is the term to use when we make messages using letters as the means of recording that message.” The other side of that keeps the words together but separates everything in smaller categories.
To better understand these terms Gregory Ulmer came up with electracy. In Ulmer’s Teletheory he states that electracy helps us see the difference between “media literacies. Ulmer’s approach to electracy is a bit complex. He focuses more on literacy as an apparatus rather than a literate practice. By using this as tool one can better understand digital literacy and move on to understanding digital rhetoric.
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