Literacy evolution. Today’s students can expect more than any previous generation to consider themselves digital citizens in a global community. Fluency in digital literacies is becoming a prerequisite for living as a fully functioning digital citizen. This means that literacy instruction must evolve to include teaching students how to read and write digitally as well as in the traditional manner, with paper and books.
Ohler’s (2012) explanation of digital literacy addresses the fundamental differences between reading and writing digitally as opposed to reading and writing in the traditional manner. Ohler explains that reading digitally, that is, on screen, is more difficult than reading from a book or paper, requiring a different set of skills for the reader to create meaning from the text (p. 207). As a fluent adult reader of digital, on screen materials, I have learned to filter out extraneous advertisements or to discern which links might provide relevant, related information, and those which are most likely dead-ends. My students, however, have not yet acquired these skills. As an English teacher, it is as imperative that I teach my students how to read digitally on screen and online as it is to teach them how to read from their textbooks or novels. Considering the speed of technological developments, teaching digital reading skills may actually be more important for my students.
Writing on screen also embodies a different set of skills, according to Ohler (2012, p. 207). He proposes the 7B’s of on screen writing: “breaks, bullets, boldface, boxes, beyond black and white, beginning, and banners” (p. 207). Traditional composition values such organizational structures as well-constructed paragraphs with clear topic sentences; indented paragraphs and correct punctuation; as well as transition words and phrases that draw the reader in a logical progression from one idea to the next. Digital writing venues value a different set of elements. While grammatical correctness and a clear writing style are important for all written communication, digital writing has a unique set of elements to consider. These include embedded pictures, video files, hyper links, and audio files, and almost unlimited choices of text fonts, sizes, and colors. The writer of on screen text must consider how easily a reader could become lost in the vast sea of information available, then decide which elements contribute to the purpose of the venue, and which detract.
Littlejohn, Beetham, and McGill (2012) make the claim that “digital literacies are valuable only insofar as they are capable of evolution in light of changing technical, social, economic, cultural and educational contexts” (p. 551). The “basic literacy skills” of a decade past have been surpassed by basic digital literacy skills that will prepare students for the decades- and the technological advances-to come. These basic digital literacy skills include the ability to read, comprehend, and evaluate information presented on screen, and also, the ability to create and contribute meaningful content to the body of knowledge available on screen.
The ability to evaluatively read and understand digital content and the ability to write in order to share knowledge effectively in a digital venue are the underpinnings of digital literacy. Although further refinement through study of Ribble & Bailey’s (2007) nine elements of digital citizenship would enhance any current student’s understanding of what it means to act as a responsible digital citizen in 2013, those who would define digital citizenship or digital literacies must bear in mind the fluid nature of the digital realm. Thorough and careful instruction in basic digital literacies empowers students to evolve with the ever evolving technologies of both the present and the future, to live as global digital citizens even as they create what it means to be a global digital citizen.
References
Littlejohn, A., Beetham, H., & Mcgill, L. (Dec2012). Journal of Computer Assisted Learning.,
28(6), pp547-556. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00474.x.
Ohler, Jason. (2010). Digital Community, Digital Citizen. SAGE Publications. ISBN- 13:
9781412971447.
Ribble, M. & Bailey, G. (2007). Chapter 2: The Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship. Found in
Digital Citizenship in Schools. International Society for Technology in Education.
Washington, D.C. ISBN: 9781564842329.