MODLUE 4:

DIGITAL LITERACY
OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the module, you are expected to:

 Learn concepts on digital literacy and digital footprints;

 Be aware of the skills needed in order to engage with the digital world responsibly and
effectively;
 Proactively take control of your own digital identity;
 Describe ways you use technology in your own life and learning; and
 Reflect on your own digital footprint.

As digital technology has become more common, affordable, and portable, more and more
people from all parts of society are starting to increase their online and digital participation.
Understanding the new opportunities, rules, and potential pitfalls of the digital world doesn’t
necessarily come automatically with long-term use. Not everyone using digital technology
knows how to handle the range of available tools to their best extent, and even experienced
digital technology users can fall prey to hackers, lose control of how they are represented
online, or otherwise fail to maintain their digital identity in an optimal manner.

Digital literacy is a relatively new concept that emerged in the 1990s during the era of the
Internet revolution. Before that, people talked more about “computer literacy.” But in 1997, Paul
Gilster, a historian and educator first coined the term “digital literacy,” arguing that digital literacy
went beyond just skills in using technology. He said it is about “mastering ideas, not [computer]
keystrokes” (Gilster, 1997, p. 1).

Gilster (1997) further defined digital literacy as “the ability to understand and use information in
multiple formats from a wide range of sources when it is presented via computers” (p. 1). For
him, digital literacy involves the ability to critically evaluate information (presented in different
formats) and make decisions about how to use this information in different real-life contexts.

Initially digital literacy was viewed primarily as the functional skills and competencies that
people needed in order to use computers and the Internet. However in the last decade this has
been expanded to consider the broader capacity needed to participate in a digital environment.
UNESCO (2011) views digital literacy as a life skill that not only increases employability, but
serves as a catalyst that “enables the acquisition of other important life skills” (p. 1).

The view of digital literacy offered by Jisc (2015) is even more comprehensive, defining digital
literacy as “the capabilities which fit someone for living, learning and working in a digital society”
(para. 3). 

WHY IS DIGITAL LITERACY IMPORTANT?

You might be familiar with the concept of a “digital native” or the “net generation.” These
terms refer to the idea that a person who has been born or brought up during the age of digital
technology will be familiar with computers and the Internet from an early age.
 In fact, this generational desire to be constantly
connected has even been inserted into Maslow’s
hierarchy of needs as the ultimate foundation of basic
human needs. This psychological model is depicted
as a pyramid with people’s basic survival needs as its
foundation which need to be satisfied before people
can realize their full potential (Figure 1.3).

However, there has been a lot of criticism about the

concept of the digital native because it assumes
many things, not least that somehow all young
people have access to technology, that older people
don’t have the same level of digital literacy as
younger people, and that having access to
technology automatically means you know how to
use it.

So if young people are so adept at using digital technologies, why do they (and perhaps you for
that matter) need to improve their digital literacy?

There are many answers, and hopefully this introduction has already hinted at some of them.
One is that it’s not enough in this globally connected world to just be able to use technology.
You need to be able to develop socially responsible digital practices and also to contribute to
digital practices in your own personal, work, and learning lives.

BECOMING AN IMPROVED DIGITAL CITIZEN

Digital identity refers to your “online self,” the side of you that people see on the Internet, the
electronic representation of who you are. We all have different identities in different contexts
and one of the things about being a digital citizen is the ability to control the representation of
yourself in the online environment.

Your digital footprint is all the stuff that you leave online, the digital tracks and traces, the stuff
that makes up other people’s perception. Some of those things are really visible and some of
them invincible, the things that you’ve watched, and the trails of things you watched on
YouTube that recommends something else. But lots of the things that we leave online are stuff
that are entirely within our control and are about our creative process.

What was the last thing you shared online? What does it say about you? If someone is looking
at that, what does it tell you? Does it tell them what you are or about your interests? Maybe it
says something really positive or quirky. You might be sharing stuff you don’t really intend to get
a wider airing. Then your identity starts to be this slight model of things intended for different
kinds of audiences. It’s not about what you share and where you share it, it’s also who you
share it with. Researches had been done on how students, like you, use social media, how they
think about their identity online, and 61% very rarely check their privacy settings and 5% have
found something online they did not want to see, they thought it’s been taken away, they didn’t
think they posted it.

So, privacy settings, who you share with and the circles you share with, matter. You have
control of that, but most of you choose not to exercise that. We also create other’s footprints for
them, but we don’t always think about it that way. We try to figure out this etiquette about what
we tag, about what we share, how our digital footprints are constructed and how we’re
constructed by other people everyday. In another research, 11% of people said they had been
tagged in an unwanted way in a photograph. Your presence online, actually is very much part of
your personal identity. The stuff you’re sharing now, the stuff you shared everyday can have
long term consequences.

We love social media. There are a lot of creative and fantastic tools in it. They are like a big,
giant shop for anonymity. And it’s a huge suite of things that are creative and wonderful creating
marvelous things. There can be really good thing about being present online, 16% of them had
approaches for jobs, for volunteering opportunities because having a presence online. It can be
really fantastic to build up your network. It’s a really positive thing as long as you’re being
deliberative and thinking about what you are doing. Because once something is out there, it’s
really hard to get it back. These things go out of hand, they grow, they network – you end up
with this big tangle of things. If you want to take back a post: you might delete it in one place, it
might have been copied to somewhere else. It’s not easy to take stuff back once it’s out there.

Think about 2026, what does the digital footprint of the stuff that you are leaving now? Is it
saying the right things? Is that the history of you? Because we will all have a history of us
recorded in lots of different places. What does that say about you? Is that what you want it to?
When you post something next time, think about it. Having a personality is 90% of what social
media is about; being fun and lively is fine. You’re creating something beautiful and complex,
but think about what you’re creating. Be a brilliant presentation of you – think about the long-
term view of it. How do you make your digital footprint to say the right thing about you?

Decide on some SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound),

and identify how you want the virtual “you” to look to the various people who might see you
online: friends, family (including your grandmother!), teachers and professors, coaches,
neighbors, potential employers, potential dates, or complete strangers.

THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK!

Build a global community of responsible digital citizens. Digital citizens are persons who
confidently use technology to understand information online and interact positively with others.
SILA AY MAINGAT, MAPANURI, AT MAGALANG.

REMEMBER:
 Behind every screen is a human being.

 Practice empathy – putting your feet in the shoes of others

 Respect values, feelings, and beliefs of others and accept differences

 Practice positive online engagement

- Know your audience
- Everyone is important
- Be sensitive to the environment
o Everyone is doing his/her best
o When upset: pause, inhale, exhale
- Avoid negative conversations, dangerous personalities
o Cyberbully – using or harassing using electronic means
o Troll – person who starts flame wars or intentionally upsets people on the internet
o Predator – one who Gives illicit media: photography, audio, or video to children
below the age of consent; engages a minor in sexually-explicit chat; arranginges
to meet with a minor with the intent of performing an illegal, unlawful, and
unethical sexual act
o Scammer – one whose purpose is to get hold of your money by getting you to
reveal your personal details, stealing your information, or even getting you to
willingly hand over the cash; they don’t give their exact information; they are too
good to be true

 Manage screen time – set family hour online (if you don’t leave together)

 Have a better work/life balance