Creating, Reusing and communicating

Developing digital literacy is crucial because it supports people to be confident and competent in their use of technology. They build knowledge by supporting their creativity, giving them a critical framing for their emerging understandings, and using digital resources.

The challenge for teaching practices is to adapt to the changing needs in digital media contexts. Practitioners are acknowledging and reflecting peoples' diverse experiences of digital media cultures. Learners are supported and guided to extend their knowledge and become critical and discerning participants in their learning.

Fostering digital literacy means allowing learners to use a wide range of technologies collaboratively, creatively, and critically. Developing functional skills in learners can often allow learners to experiment with different technologies and point them in the direction of where they can go to find help.

Among other things using digital technologies can facilitate the creation of – pictures or illustrations – websites – films – animations – podcasts – photos/photomontages – blogs – wikis – online content on social networking sites – music and song – audio-visual presentations – interactive maps – graphs – models – learning diaries Choosing between these different sorts of creative outputs will require critical thinking skills as students consider what is effective for what purpose

Digital literacy is also a social process of meaning-making with and about others. Suppose digital literacy prepares students to participate in their education and in social, cultural, economic, political, and intellectual life. In that case, the ability to work with others is paramount. Each area is a shared, social space or community. We create and use mutual and collective understandings. Collaboration involves dialogue, discussion, and building on each other's ideas to develop shared insights.

Another dimension of digital literacy relates to students' ability to find and select reliable and relevant information. This includes an awareness of where it is best to search for knowledge and whether the internet, a book search, or another method might give the best results.

Critical thinking involves transforming, analyzing, or processing information, data, or ideas. It means using your reasoning skills to engage with the material, to analyze and evaluate it. It is about being reflective, interpreting the meaning, and determining significance to make purposeful decisions and make informed sense of our world.
Cultural and social understanding influence literacy practices in digital technologies and are always situated in broader contexts. Learners exist in cultures and networks and experience multiple interactions with others. Each act of digital literacy has sociohistorical components, as the students' background influences their approach.

E-safety is an essential component of digital literacy. Supporting learners to become competent, discerning users of technology is about helping them to develop the skills that allow them to critically question technology use. Becoming digitally literate will enable young people to make considered choices that will keep them safe when exploring, communicating, creating, and collaborating with digital technologies.

Peer assessment and self-evaluation can help assess digital literacy. Learners' assessment gives them a voice and allows them to participate in their own inspection. This can be an effective way in which to encourage reflection. 

Digital literacy was defined in many ways, and its compliance changed with the speedy development of new digital resources. Many components were identified. They are contributing to a holistic approach. The space where all these components overlap can be understood as digital literacy. It is a broad and wide-ranging set of resources and practices which allow students to participate in social, cultural, and economic relations in an ever more digital landscape.

Resources:
Digital literacy across the curriculum 2010