Induction - Part 7 - Digital Literacy Skills

* 2. Digital Literacy refers to a particular set of skills that allow you to work, contribute, join, share and take part fully in a digital world.

Nowadays, young people are considered to be digital natives i.e. able to use technology very well and very easily, in other words they have the functional or practical skills.

However, it is equally important to become digital citizens which is someone that acts properly and decently in an online setting. You must be able to solve difficulties, find information properly and link with the wider world in a responsible and respectful manner.

The following 7 skills areas are included in Digital Literacy Skills:

1. Functional or practical skills: As above, being able to use technology well and easily taking account of health and safety.
2. Critical thinking: Being able to think for yourself and to do this you need to be able to examine and weigh up the information and arguments that you read about, see patterns and connections, identify and build meaningful information and then be able to put all this information into a real-world setting and put it in your own words.
3. Online safety skills: Being safe online means that you have the knowledge to identify the possible risks and are conscious of your own personal security while browsing, sharing or surfing the internet. Having these online safety skills means you are not only able to be more alert about your own safety, but it also helps you become a better user of the internet.
4. Digital culture: Technology has become so much a part of our everyday lives where we can shop, bank, communicate, socialise and work with people from anywhere in the world on our smartphone or device. This is a dramatic change in society away from more traditional means of communicating and working i.e. going into a shop or bank and speaking directly with the staff, meeting up with friends rather than ‘talking’ online. But, while we might live in a digital world, we must also remember to live in the present. Generation Z are the ones responsible now for shaping what we call our digital culture and it is important to develop skills to do this safety and knowledgeably.
5. Collaboration and creativity: Learning to work with others is a life skill that will stand to everyone in the future and technology can make this co-operation and teamwork easier and more accessible. Through a host of different websites working together and task-based projects can all be completed with the help of technology.
6. Finding information: With information readily available at our fingertips the problem is not so much getting the information but getting too much information and understanding what is real information, misinformation, opinions and bias. We rely on search engines to do the sorting, but this isn’t enough, we need to know how to search properly and then evaluate the information we find using critical thinking as our guide.
7. Communication and netiquette: Understanding your digital footprint and how respectful online communication will help to create a respectful and safe social media presence.

Throughout your time in Kylemore CTC in all areas, you will get hints and tips, guidelines and suggestions and advise and instruction on all of the above in an effort to develop your digital literacy skills so you can become a well-informed Digital Citizen for the 21st century.