Skip to main content

Tech-Savvy or Digital Literacy: Which applies to you?

Tech Savvy and Digital Literacy are not the same thing. Many people think that having the most sophisticated or expensive cellular phone and computer, or having your security system, car and washing machine connected by Bluetooth are all signs of being technology savvy.  But in truth being tech savvy really means that you have the ability to use any accessible technology to be more productive and efficient.  If you can use your computer or mobile devices to manage client calls, projects, meetings, social networking, research, blogging, bill payments, banking, shopping AND handle domestic chores - then you are tech savvy.

Digital literacy on the other hand is not just about technical know-how, it is about more about knowing how to use technology in a responsible way.  One researcher at Deakin University describes Digital literacy as "the ability to identify and use technology confidently, creatively and critically to meet the demands and challenges of life, learning and work in a digital society."

There is a whole generation of young people who enter high school and college with a polished set of digital skills, mostly self-taught around the use of certain apps and tools such as social media, gaming or online shopping.  We live in a digital world where people of all ages and social backgrounds have had exposure to some form of technology. A lot of the information we use and disseminate is through digital technologies such as the internet, social media, and mobile apps.  But just because you are confident using a computer or mobile phone, you may be an avid gamer, or you may be proficient in texting, streaming, tik toking, instagramming and posting photos and stories on social media - this does not mean that you command the set of competences and skills for life, work and learning that define true digital literacy.

Digital literacy skills go beyond mere technical savvy.  You have to be able to apply critical thinking skills to evaluate information you find online, use it to create new knowledge, to communicate information effectively and ethically in a digital environment, and to apply what you have learned to make decisions and solve problems.  So, developing worthwhile digital literacy skills can help you to choose the right education or career option, find affordable housing, or take advantage of an excellent investment opportunity.

It is important not to confuse technological confidence and competence with digital literacy. Ideally, if you want to perform masterfully in this 21st-century reality, you need to be agile with all the most widely used technologies today, and build digital literacy skills that would have the best advantage for your daily life.  The infograph below gives some ideas as to how you should measure up in terms of being tech-savvy and cultivating digital literacy. 



References

Coldwell-Neilson, J. (2020). What is Digital Literacy? 
https://www.decodingdigitalliteracy.org/ 

Eshet-Alkalai, Y.  (2004). Digital Literacy: A Conceptual Framework for Survival Skills in the Digital Era.  Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 13(1), 93-106.

Hague, C. & Payton, S. (2010). Digital literacy across the curriculum. National Foundation for Educational Research: Berkshire. 



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Which Works for 2020 & Beyond: Micro Certifications, Vocational Qualifications, or a University Degree?

We all know that the effects of the Covid crisis are profound and that all forms of learning have been affected, especially amongst the most vulnerable social groups.  Ironically, during the lockdown, half of the top ten in-demand occupations in five English-speaking countries required no more than a high school diploma (OECD, 2020).   Research from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicates that when the large scale lockdowns were implemented globally, the occupations that saw an increase in job postings tended  to  include–but  were  not  limited  to – health  care,  food production  and  distribution,  law  enforcement,  critical  infrastructure,  public  safety  and  manufacturing  of personal protective equipment.  Whereas a degree was preferable for some positions, a two‑year associate’s degree was sufficient. In many cases, a high-sch...
Post a Comment
Read more

My Roadmap for Converting a Classroom Course to eLearning

Admittedly, my decision to undertake a project in creating an online learning course has been overshadowed with doubts about my own technical capacity to do the 'techie' stuff to make it work.  I have therefore been doing a lot of reading in preparation for this exercise, and I am presently doing the Online Course Creation Diploma Course with the UK based Centre of Excellence. In my preparatory reading I was heartened by the proclamation from Ko and Rossen ( Teaching Online: A Practical Guide,  2004) that  “Techies don’t necessarily make the best online instructors. An interest in pedagogy should come first, technology second” (p. 16).    With this affirmation, I proceeded to sort through all my resources to see if I can identify definitive steps for starting the conversion process. I soon realized that developing an online course requires more time and effort than a face-to-face course because even if you have the content in your head, or saved as a text ...
Post a Comment
Read more