Categorization, Item Selection and Implementation of an Online Digital Literacy Test as Media Literacy Indicator

Abstract

This paper aims to measure a population’s level of knowledge and active use of certain digital tools that play a primary role in developing their media literacy. To achieve it, an Online Digital Literacy test was designed to measure the knowledge and active usage of 45 different online software packages. This tool works as a reliable indicator to identify a population’s media literacy development in terms of its linguistic and technological dimensions. More than 1,500 subjects of different gender, age and level of studies were tested in different cities within the autonomous community of Castilla and León in Spain, to measure their competence using these tools. The resulting data has enabled the identification of the level differences between age groups and gender and to formulate proposals in respect of digital literacy to enhance the public’s competence in terms of media education. The general results indicate that people’s Online Digital Literacy level is lower than ideal and that there is a level divide in relation to gender and age and that the average user has a social and recreational profile as a consumer of pre-existing content on the Internet rather than as manager, instigator or creator of his or her own content. This paper’s conclusions therefore raise awareness of these deficiencies and encourage academic institutions to design specific digital literacy educational programmes to help citizens become media empowered.La presente investigación nace con el objetivo de medir el grado de dominio por parte de la población de una serie de herramientas digitales que juegan un papel clave en el desarrollo de la competencia mediática. Con ese fin, se ha elaborado una categorización que intenta abarcar todas las funcionalidades que la Web 2.0 brinda al usuario. Posteriormente, se ha delimitado cada una de ellas a través de tres ítems digitales concretos de uso extendido en la sociedad mediática. La selección realizada conforma un test de alfabetización digital on-line (test ADO) que mide el grado de conocimiento y uso activo de dichas herramientas, y que, por tanto, compone un indicador significativo de la competencia mediática en sus dimensiones lingüística y tecnológica. El test ha sido administrado a una muestra de más de 1.500 sujetos de diferente edad y nivel de estudios con el fin de obtener datos que ayuden a establecer objetivos en el panorama de la alfabetización digital y contribuyan hacia el empoderamiento ciudadano en materia de educación mediática. Los resultados y conclusiones generales indican que el nivel de alfabetización digital on-line del ciudadano medio no es el deseado, que existe una brecha digital generacional y de género, y que el perfil medio del usuario de Internet es más social, recreativo y consumidor de contenidos existentes, que proactivo, gestor y creador de contenidos propios.

Empirical study of a sequence of access to Internet use in Ecuador

“…The current conceptualizations on the digital divide result insufficient for finding the reasons why two individuals who have the same degree of digital autonomy and literacy can obtain very different benefits when using the Internet. In this sense, the development of a theoretical framework that is well cemented and that brings to light the relationship between different uses of the Internet and its benefits, has been suggested (Dornaleteche et al, 2015;Blank and Groselj, 2014;Van Deursen and Helsper, 2015). Even though this topic is not analyzed in depth in this study, it does takes into account the use given to the Internet by the students when conducting academic tasks.…”

Validation of an Indicator Model (INCODIES) for Assessing Student Digital Competence in Basic Education

“…Likewise, some works have approached the assessment of media competence in preschool education by means of a questionnaire that allows three levels of competence to be established: excellent, acceptable and minimum (García, Duarte, & Guerra, 2014). The on-line digital literacy test (ADO) has also been proposed as an indicator of media competence (Dornaleteche, Buitrago, & Moreno, 2015). It was applied to citizens whose results and general conclusions indicated that the level of on-line digital literacy of the average citizen was unfavourable.…”

Perspectiva histórica y claves actuales de la diversidad terminológica aplicada a la educación mediática

“…En cualquier caso, y como ya señaláramos en anteriores publicaciones, "después de años de discusión terminológica parece ya casi incuestionable que la educación mediática engloba una serie de alfabetizaciones que van más allá de la adquisición de la tan ansiada competencia digital; pero que, de alguna manera, el dominio del campo abierto por la era digital sigue siendo uno de los pilares fundamentales sobre los que se asienta la educomunicación del siglo XXI" (Dornaleteche, Buitrago y Moreno, 2015).…”