Improving Literacy in West Java

Inaya Sakina Jakamartana, Nesha Rizqika Dwinity, Amalina Mukhsis, Amira Kamila
Arvina
{nayajkmtna@gmail.com, nesharizqika@gmail.com,
mukhsisamalina@gmail.com, amirakamila06@gmail.com}

Telkom University, info@telkomuniversity.ac.id, International Class Telkom University,

io.telkomuniversity.ac.id

Abstract. Literacy means much more than simply just reading and writing. While reading
and writing are both very important parts of literacy, due to today’s increasing usage of
technology, today’s definition of literacy also includes media and digital comprehension.
Accoring to Pancasila’s second and fifth principles, which are just and civilized humanity,
and social justice for all of the people of Indonesia, it is important to improve literacy rates
in West Java. Improving West Java’s literacy rates will not only improve people’s quality
of life, but it will also prevent incidents such as online hoaxes, scams, and other online
incidents. Our group aims to participate in improving West Java’s literacy rates by creating
a website.

Keywords: literacy, digital literacy, media and digital comprehension

1 Introduction

“Indonesia has a celebrated literacy rate of 98.2 percent, claimed by many as a great success of
litreacy efforts. And yet...70 percent of Indonesian students are reported to have low literacy
skills“ [1]. Although Indonesia’s literacy rates tend to be on the higher side, its citizens possess
little literacy skills. This is because most people consider literacy simply as the ability to read
and write, rather than the ability to comprehend literary pieces and the ability to successfully
use literary devices to communicate with others. Literacy and literacy skills today include the
ability to comprehend digital content and media. Digital literacy includes the ability to evaluate,
create, and communicate information through resources online. Media literacy includes the
understanding of the role of media in society. Digital and media literacy plays an important role
in consuming and understanding safe and credible online sources as well as creating online
content. It is important for the citizens of West Java to have digital and media literacy skills in
order to properly practice online safety.

Due to a lack of literary comprehension, many Indonesians have fallen for online scams and
hoaxes. Whether it’s falling for the hoax of lending money to an individual, or haphazardly
giving personal information online, many Indonesian citizens have fallen victim for online
scams and hoaxes. Due to citizens’ poor literacy skills, many have faced detrimental
consequences due to online scams and hoaxes. These consequences include losing high amounts
of money, getting personal accounts hacked into, and even identity theft. By improving literacy
in West Java, it is believed that less people will fall for these online scams and hoaxes.
Alongside the prevention of online scams, improving people’s literacy skills will also improve
their quality of life. “Literacy is a continuum of learning and proficiency in reading, writing,
and using numbers throughout life and is part of a larger set of skills, which include digital
skills, media literacy, education for sustainable development and global citizenship, as well as
job-specific skills” [2]. Improving a person’s literacy skills will aid a person in life; improving
and gaining literacy skills can help a person to potentially obtain a job [3]. It is imperative that
citizens of Indonesia gain and improve their literacy skills to not only improve their quality of
life, but also help prevent any future online incidents to occur.

2 Content and Discussion

Our group sought for ideas to potentially increase West Java’s literacy rates. In an effort to help
in increasing Indonesia’s literacy rates, our group came to the decision to create a website. Our
idea was to create a website containing information pertaining literacy--including digital and
media literacy, a discussion forum for users to discuss and ask questions regarding literacy, as
well as an area for us to provide the users of our website with e-books that they have access to
in order to further improve and practice their literacy skills. Although this plan was only
hypothetical, we made an effort to create the webiste, westjavaliteracy.weebly.com. We have
successfully included the information regarding literacy on to the website as well as the
discussion forum. Thus far, we have not been able to implement the feature of providing our
users with free e-books, as that will require further licenses. Our goal with this website is to
make it accessible to everyone, with no purchases necessary. We aim to bring awareness
regarding literacy throughout West Java, and hopefully more. We hope to improve the literacy
skills of the users of our website as well as provide them with any resources they may need to
learn about literacy or to further improve their literacy skills. Through our webiste, we aim to
increase the literacy skills of the citizens of West Java. By increasing their literacy rates, we
hope to increase their quality of life, as well as help prevent any online incidents.

2.1 Conclusion

Literacy is a very important skill to have in life, expecially now with the rise in technology
usage. Haivng proper literacy skills will help a person improve their quality of life: having
literacy skills will increase a person’s chances in acquiring a job, as well as decrease their
chances of falling victim of online scams and hoaxes. By using our webiste,
https://westjavaliteracy.weebly.com, users can learn more about literacy and further practice
and improve their literacy skills using the tools and resources provided on our website.

2.2 acknowledgements

I would like to thank the members of my group: Nesha Rizqika Dwinity, Amira Kamila
Arvina, and Amalina Mukhsis for their teamwork and dedication to this project. I would also
like to express my gratitude towards Miss Ida Rohayain for directing us and helping us
creating in creating a successful project.
References
[1] Sakhiyya, Z: TheJakartaPost, “The Literacy Myth“, Semarang (14 September 2022) -
https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2022/09/14/the-literacy-myth.html
[2]unesco: unesco.og, “What you need to know about literacy“, (29 June 2023) -
https://www.unesco.org/en/literacy/need-know
[3] Plan International: plan-uk.org, The importance of education, how literacy improves lives, (31
March 2017) - https://plan-uk.org/blogs/the-importance-of-education-how-literacy-improves-lives