Developing Digital Literacy for Teaching and Learning

Abstract

Digital literacy is a critical competence for empowering citizenship in a digital world. It has become a key element in teaching and learning across the different educational stages that has been addressed since the last decade of the twentieth century within the field of open, distance, and digital education. The literature so far has not agreed on a common definition, but multiple international, national, and even local, frameworks exist to foster digital literacy and to evaluate and certificate it, especially with a focus on educators and students in different educational levels, but also with the citizen perspective. These frameworks are reviewed in this chapter, along with the evolution and conceptualization of digital literacy and some strategies to foster digital literacy in different educational sectors, with a focus on the educator as a key player in this fostering action. The most remarkable challenges for developing digital literacy for teaching and learning include the same conception of digital literacy, which is multiple and situated, the digital divide and the actual consideration of digital literacy as a social practice. Being digital literacy a transversal competency nowadays, clear implications for education can be drawn, such as reshaping organizations to the digital conditions, thinking on digital literacy as a collective effort, and enriching the global discourse through diversity in debates.

An analysis of digital literacy skills of high school students in biology

“…Having digital literacy skills also provides access to various applications and the ability of human resources to use digital devices (Eguz, 2021). Digital literacy is very necessary to support communication and participation as citizens in contemporary society (Marin & Castaneda, 2023). More digital skills are required to support learning so that they can be used in the future (Eguz, 2021).…”

When belief becomes research: conspiracist communities on the social web

“…Another area ripe for further investigation is the lack of digital literacy evident within these communities. While there is not one definition of digital literacy, strides are being made by educators and researchers (Tinmaz et al, 2022;Marín and Castaneda, 2023;Palmer, 2023). At its most basic, digital literacy entails understanding the online information environment -how information is created, shared, and repurposed through systems and platforms.…”

School principals managerial leadership strategies in increasing students' digital literacy

“…The objective of employing such technology is to diversify learning materials, preventing student boredom and promoting comprehensive knowledge acquisition. Digital literacy facilitates access to information from various sources [10]. Utilizing YouTube as a learning platform combines entertainment with education, enhancing student engagement [20]- [22].…”

“…Digital literacy encompasses the skills and knowledge necessary for utilizing communication tools, digital media, or networks to acquire, create, evaluate, and use information wisely, adhering to applicable laws in everyday communication and interaction activities [9]. Implementing and understanding digital literacy is crucial for fostering students' character values in this century [10]. However, the reality persists that students' digital literacy remains underdeveloped [11].…”