Digital literacy has become an important skill for everyone to acquire since technology is rapidly growing by the minute. No matter what you are doing, technology is incorporated into our lives in so many different ways. Ways that you may not even be aware of.
Since technology is continuing to take over our lives, it’s important for us to ask ourselves a few questions.
Am I digitally literate?
What is the importance of being digitally literate?
What can I do to improve my literacy skills?
These questions can be answered by simply reflecting on what digital literacy means and how it is used in our everyday lives.
What is Digital Literacy?
In the book titled, “Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method, Practice,” the University of Michigan Press defines digital literacy in their own way. They describe it as, “the user being able to read and write with a number of sign systems (e.g., coded web pages, video, audio, image, animation), each of which has its own functional and critical requirements.”
In order to obtain digital literacy, there are a set of skills that need to be gathered. Below are a few skills that can help an individual to obtain digital literacy.
Literacy Basics
This refers to the ins and outs of using a computer/ smartphone in a way that is efficient and useful. Knowing how to open applications that are offered on a device and understanding what it is meant for is an example of this.
Literacy in Digital Research
Understanding how to search for important information on the web is a useful skill for understanding how to use technology to your advantage. Also, it is important to understand what kinds of information found on the web are credible vs. which ones aren’t.
Literacy in Digital Communication
Writting letters are old news! Having the ability to write emails and send messages to friends, family, clients, etc. shows a new level of literacy. Conveying these ideas clearly and effectively shows that the user can use technology in a way that benefits others.
Why Obtain These Skills?
Since technology has become incorporated into everything we do, it is becoming a must to obtain a certain level of digital literacy. Eventually, it’ll become required since technology is taking over our lives and we’ll need to know how to adapt accordingly.
Having the passion and motivation to thrive in a digital environment will help with so many aspects of your life and will open up many opportunities for the future. Having that drive to want to better yourself and keep up with the times will help expand your horizons and open up so many doors to new successes.
Some of which you may not have begun to ever dream about!
So why not start today?
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