Literacy and Its Types

When it comes to literacy, the first thing that comes to mind is reading, writing, speaking and listening. Literacy is one of the important indicators that define the level of development in a society.

In addition to traditional media, new media and digital technologies have significantly changed our lives and many new literacy styles such as "visual literacy", "computer literacy" and "advertising literacy" have emerged. [1]

Digital Media Literacy (Digital Literacy)

Digital media literacy basically means a literacy that includes the ability of individuals to use new media environments effectively, and to know how to read new media contents as well as to produce contents peculiar to those new media environments. In other words, digital media literacy can also be defined as understanding the characteristics of new communication, sharing technologies and environments, knowing their cultural characteristics, and having full knowledge of the new media language. [1]

The concept of digital literacy first emerged in 1997 with the book, having the same name, written by Paul Gilster. In this book, digital literacy is expressed as the ability to understand and use the information, which is submitted in the digital environment, in different ways. That is to say, it is the ability to reach the existing information using digital technologies, and to produce new information by using this information effectively. At the same time, it is essential to know and be able to process, keep and transfer information as well. The skills to summarize, synthesize, form and present information are required. [2]

The International Educational Technology Society (ISTE) has arranged the criteria, for digital literacy, around six standards.

1. Creativity and innovation

            2. Communication and cooperation

            3. Research and information fluency

            4. Critical thinking

            5. Problem solving and decision making

            6. Digital citizenship and technology operations and concepts [2]

        Qualifications for digital literacy are classified according to three main principles.

1. Usage: The skills and competencies covered by the scope of usage range from basic technical knowledge, using computer software, to access to information sources such as search engines, and to more advanced and effective abilities to use them.

2. Understanding: Understanding is the most critical part. It helps us to understand, contextualize and critically evaluate digital media. By this means, it helps us make conscious decisions about what we do, and about the things we encounter online.

3. Forming: It is the ability to produce contents with various digital media tools, and to communicate effectively. [2] Digital literacy has been of great importance recently in terms of understanding and using digital media effectively. Today, people use new expression and communication techniques which are different from those in the past. Digital literacy is to be able to access data in real and virtual environments, at the desired intention, in the right way and to use it effectively with the right methods. [5]

Why is digital literacy important?

The dominance of technology in our daily lives emphasizes how important digital literacy is. The digital world offers tremendous benefits and advantages to everyone. However, it is important to use and understand technology correctly to prevent it from being dangerous.

Media professionals and pedagogues increasingly focus on the benefits of digital literacy skills in schools as well. Because today's students deem the internet as the main source of information. In this respect, it is important for students to be digitally literate in terms of how they find and consume digital contents. By this means, they know how to form, forward and share those contents.

Students who develop their digital literacy skills, understand the fundamentals of internet security, such as creating strong passwords, understanding and using privacy settings, and knowing what to share and what not to share on the social media. [3]

Why is reading online not "digital literacy"?

Students using both cognitive and technical skills to find, evaluate, form and communicate information, are definitely on the way to becoming digitally literate and informative consumers in terms of digital contents.

It is important to note that reading online or subscribing to an e-book service does not make them digitally literate students. Actually, students can also make progress by reading online, too because reading practice, the time spent by reading is the key to success for students of all levels. [3]

Basic Concepts of Digital Literacy

1. The Digital Media Is Linked to Networked.

Unlike the traditional media, there is no one-way connection in digital media. In the traditional media, content is provided only in one way. However, in digital media, you are no longer the last ring of a distribution chain, but a node in the middle of an infinite network. In other words, it means that everyone is connected with everything. Consequently, barriers against the participation are much lower than those in the traditional media, and anyone can publish contents and find some audience.

2. Digital Media Is Permanent, Searchable and Sharable.

Digital content is permanent, everything transmitted is stored somewhere, can be searched, and can be added to index in one place. Considering that digital media is linked to a network, this means that most of the contents can be copied, shared or spread at insignificant cost. Even the shares, seemingly temporary, (such as Snapchat photos) can be copied and almost always stored on the servers of the platform.

3. Digital Media Has Unknown and Unexpected Audiences.

Dijital medya ağ bağlantılı olduğundan ve dijital içerik paylaşılabilir olduğundan, çevrimiçi paylaştıklarınız, onu görmeyi istemediğiniz veya beklemediğiniz kişiler tarafından görülebilir. 

4. Digital Media Experiences Are Real, But They Don't Always Feel Real.

Being connected to the network means that all digital media are, at least to some extent, interactive. We are never just passive audience and we are always part of what happens. Because it's interactive, we often respond to online events as if we were really there, but many of the clues that explain us, and how others feel, are missing.

5. How We React and Behave When Using Digital Media is Affected by the Architecture of the Platforms Reflecting the Prejudices and Assumptions of Their Creators.

One of the most fundamental characteristics of media literacy is that the form of a medium affects how we "read" or experience a text. While this remains true in digital media, the network effect means that the architecture of a platform only affects the meaning and message of digital media, extending over algorithms that determine how the architecture of a platform delivers the content to us through the user interface with which we interact. [2]

Digital Literacy in Children

Children have a great advantage with their digital literacy understanding. In such a connected world, children learn digital skills from an early age. Many of these technical skills are important in the classroom and workforce. Digital literacy will be required for children in almost every industry when they start their careers.

As most schools now require projects and assignments to be submitted online, children are expected to have basic skills such as being able to write a document, make research using a search engine, send an email, and also use the internet in a safe way. Now, the digital literacy curriculum has become more mandatory than ever before. Where we face with the problem is the place in which the technology is used without understanding its purposes clearly. Children using social media should understand how it works, who can see them, and what kind of digital footprint they leave behind. [4]

Bibliography:

[1]Emrah Ayaslioglu, Digital Media Literacy- Understanding New Media

[2]https://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/digital-literacy-fundamentals

[3]https://www.renaissance.com/2019/02/08/blog-digital-literacy-why-does-it-matter/

[4]https://teachyourkidscode.com/why-is-digital-literacy-important/

[5] Istanbul Bilgi University Faculty of Communication, Master's thesis by Aydin Alper Irvan