School of Information Studies

SIS Research Seminar Series 2016

The multiple faces of digital literacy

Dr Barbara Combes

Lecturer, School of Information Studies CSU

Secretary, Reading and Literacy Section, IFLA

President, Western Australian School Library Association

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A reminder

The digital information landscape in the 21st

century

School of Information Studies

Information in the 21st century

Public Domain

Web (8-10%)

The Deep Web

90+%

The Web

= icebergThe

Internet

A dynamic information landscape characterised by:

• Technological change (new & old formats,

delivery modes)

• Differentiation (layered landscape)

• Overload

• Complexity

• Density

• Decontextualisation

• Access 24/7

• AI enhanced & user friendly

• Faster, smaller, convergent

• > Storage, cloud computing

• Easy manipulation

• Mulimodal

• Multimedia

• Interactive(Clevenger, 1999)

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Information in the 21st century

Internet 2?

Internet2 is a testing-ground networking environment where

universities, companies, and government laboratories work

together and develop advanced Internet technologies such as

telemedicine, digital libraries and virtual laboratories.

Using state-of-the-art infrastructure, Internet2 members are

connected to the Abilene network backbone, which uses regional

network aggregation points called gigaPoPs. The Abilene Network

operates at 10 gigabits per second and supports transfer rates 100

to 1000 times faster than typical broadband connections.

Today, with more than 300 member organizations, the Internet2

community currently includes more than 4 million individuals.Webopedia

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Information in the 21st century

Evolving technologies:• Multipurpose/functional mobile phones: iPhones, smartphones, ultra-

mobile PCs (UMPCs), mobile internet devices (MIDs), PDAs, smart

watches

• Kindles, iPads, eBook readers

• Digital cameras, video cameras

• Flash drives, mobile memory, USB sticks, “the cloud”

• Laptops, tablets, netbooks, notepads

• Thin client technology

• Wireless, bluetooth

• Multi-user Web conferencing, Adobe Connect, online/flipped

classrooms

• LMS, BlackBoard/WebCT, Moodle, LAMs …

• LMS (Library Management Systems)

• 3D, stereophonic, haptic sensory devices, …

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Information in the 21st century

Web 2.0 Utilities – Interactive – Social - Public domain - One-to-many

RSS Feeds

Twitter

Nings

Jing

Wikis

Blogs

Voicethread

Diigo

Flickr

Pinterest

Weebly

Instagram

Yik Yak

Facebook

LinkedIn

Google Plus

Meetup

Tumbler.

TeachMeetWA

…. Batac, A.J.

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Information in the 21st century

Web 2.0 Utilities to ensure your complete happiness!

Ludwig Gatzke

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Information in the 21st century

Apps, apps and more apps

GreenBook

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Information in the 21st century Apps, apps and more apps

Statista 2015

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Information in the 21st century

Simon Kemp

Large numbers of

people do not have

access to the Web.

Access =

• Physical access =

• infrastructure;

• technology.

• Cognitive access =

• finding

information;

• being able to

read and interpret

it;

• being able to use

and re-purpose it.

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Literacy in the 21st century

• Traditional literacy

• Computer literacy

• Critical literacy

• ICT literacy

• Internet/network literacy

• Screen literacy

• Multimedia literacy

• Digital literacies?

• Visual literacy/discrimination

• Information management

• Information inquiry literacy?

• Transformational literacies? Transliteracy?

• Metaliteracy

• Higher order thinking - analytic and synthesis (making meaning)

School of Information Studies

Literacy in the 21st century

• Academic literacy

• Business literacy

• Cultural literacy

• Workplace literacy

• Music literacy

• Science literacy

• Critical literacy

• Media & information literacy (UNESCO)

• Technology literacy

• Adult literacy, aliteracy

• Lifelong learning

• Lifewide learning

• Just-in-time learning

• Formal learning

• Informal learning ….

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Literacy in the 21st century

Has the term literacy been hijacked?

What does it mean when added onto another word, eg. financial literacy?

In this context does the word literacy mean good at something?

Competent and skills based?

When used as a descriptor, is the term literacy interpreted to mean competency?

What does the word literacy mean?

Some definitions …

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Literacy definition

(Traditional) Literacy is:

"... the integration of listening, speaking, reading, writing and critical thinking. It includes a cultural knowledge which enables a speaker, writer or reader to recognise and use language appropriate to different social situations. For an advanced technological society such as Australia, the goal is an active literacy which allows people to use language to enhance their capacity to think, create and question, in order to participate effectively in society."

The National Secretariat for the International Year of Literacy,

1990.

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Literacy definition

(Traditional) Literacy is:

... the making of meaning and its clear

communication to others. Truly literate people not only

read and write, but regularly do so in order to sort out

their ideas and put them in words, to fit them together

and test hypotheses - ie. to make sense and meaning

out of our world. Truly literate people acknowledge that

they need to write things down, to talk them out, to

read widely, to listen critically and to respond

articulately. Truly literate people are thinkers and

learners."

Brown & Mathie, 1990

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Literacy definition

(Traditional) Literacy is:

"... the foundation of effective citizenship,

human communication and social integration in

a literate society. Therefore it is important to

foster the lifetime habit of purposeful and

critical reading for information, education and

recreation. Literacy is the foundation of

learning in all areas of the curriculum."Holdaway, 1979

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Literacy in the 21st century

(Traditional) Literacy is multi-faceted:

Competencies – being able to:

• Listen and observe - we do this first. Children listen, mimic and observe with all their senses (touch, taste, hear, see)

• Speak - we do this second, seems we are ‘hard-wired’ for sound. Oral language is a foundational skill for reading and writing. (Moats & Tolman, 2009).

• Read - Phase 1, learning to read, mechanics (deconstructing code)

• Write - closely connected to reading and deconstructing code

• View – this is more than just observation. It is the sophisticated deconstruction and interpretation of images, sound and motion. Making meaning from images and multimedia is highly subjective and interpretive.

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Literacy in the 21st century

Viewing – a title?

The leader is an extremely powerful member of the Body Corporate team.

(Note: The team may have to be told this.)

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Literacy in the 21st century

(Traditional) Literacy is multi-faceted:

• Understanding (comprehension/making meaning)

• Critical (constructing/making meaning)

• reading

• thinking

• learning

• Re-purposing and using to meet a need

Literacy is more than the mechanics or competencies of reading.

It is understanding, using, re-purposing and communicating what you have read, seen, written and heard.

Literacy is a foundational skill.

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Literacy in the 21st century

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Digital Literacy

Digital literacy also includes a range of competencies

or skills:

• computer literacy

• ICT literacy

• Web 2.0 literacy

• network/Internet literacy

• media/multimedia literacy

• information management

These terms describe a set of skills required to be able

to use/navigate and understand information in the

digital environment.

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Digital Literacy

Digital literacy also includes knowledge, understanding and

being able to apply concepts, standards and values, cultural

mores and legal requirements, including:

• ethical and appropriate use;

• legal obligations/rules eg. intellectual property (IP);

copyright, plagiarism;

• cultural awareness/sensitivity when using technology;

• access for the disabled;

• privacy and safety in this environment; and

• being able to use the digital information you have found and

apply it for a new purpose.

Remember the digital landscape is characterised by:

School of Information Studies

Information in the 21st century

Public Domain

Web (8-10%)

The Deep Web

90+%

The Web

= icebergThe

Internet

A dynamic information landscape characterised by:

• Technological change (new & old formats,

delivery modes)

• Differentiation (layered landscape)

• Overload

• Complexity

• Density

• Decontextualisation

• Access 24/7

• AI enhanced & user friendly

• Faster, smaller, convergent

• > Storage, cloud computing

• Easy manipulation

• Mulimodal

• Multimedia

• Interactive(Clevenger, 1999)

School of Information Studies

Digital Literacy

On a deeper level still digital literacy is about being and

recognising what it means to be a global citizen.

At this level digital literacy moves beyond national boundaries

and cultural and religious differences.

Is this a reality?

Perhaps not yet, but we should be teaching our students about

this face of digital literacy.

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Digital Literacy

The information landscape of the twenty-first century

is:

• a very complex and evolving concept; and

• currently populated by new and old information

artefacts and people.

Both of these characteristics ultimately change the

structure of the landscape itself and how society views

it.

Therefore, developments in technology affect the

landscape and the humans who inhabit it and vice

versa.

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Digital Literacy

Therefore, the term digital literacy, just like the term

literacy, goes beyond the skills/competencies required to

work in this environment.

There are layers of meaning to the term digital literacy,

but it is used to mean many things, rarely defined and

rarely taught to our children.

To be able to work in the digital environment a person

also needs to have a high degree of literacy. ie. they

have to be able to read well.

School of Information Studies

Digital Literacy

Research since 2003 has been telling us that different skills

are required to make meaning from information presented

on the screen (Coiro, 2003; Birkets, 2004; Coiro et al 2007, Coiro et al, 2008;

Coiro, 2009; Ricardson, 2008; Wolf, 2008, 2009; Ackerman & Goldsmith, 2009;

Federman, 2010; Hanho Jeong, 2012; Jabr, 2013; Mangen et al, 2013).

A fundamental skill when working with digital tools and

information is the ability to read, interpret and understand.

Research tells us that even good readers have difficulty

reading and making meaning from information presented on

the screen. Why we all print when reading for meaning?

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Digital Literacy

We need to remember:

• Technology for learning is NOT compensatory, it is

complementary.

• It is a tool, not a solution.

• Teaching and learning in an online environment is a

different paradigm to f-t-f.

We require foundational skills to be able to learn in the digital

environment of the 21st century.

• The first of these skills is the ability to read (mechanics of

reading), interpret multimedia.

• The second is to be able to understand what we have read

(cognitive engagement), seen.

School of Information Studies

Digital Literacy

Once we have foundational skills we need to teach students

how to:

• use a range of media types including print, visual,

multimedia;

• use a rage of media tools including books, journals,

internet, Web 2.0 utilities, browsers, ….

• read, engage with and make meaning from a range of

formats including text, images, infographics, multimedia;

• manage vast quantities of information;

• extract, collate and evaluate information and re-purpose

it; and

• present new information in multiple formats.

School of Information Studies

Digital Literacy

The term digital literacy:

• is actually a concept;

• is evolving as the digital landscape changes;

• includes navigation skills and information management to

ensure up-to-date, relevant sources are located in an

accessible format and sources are well organised and

documented to enable efficient retrieval;

• Includes ethical and legal use of information, maintaining

security and privacy (your information and others);

• is about understanding how to be a global citizen; and

• is about those capabilities which fit an individual for living,

learning and working in a digital society.

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Digital Literacy

The term digital literacy:

• is often understood differently depending on disciplines,

however, it should focus more on literacies than media.

Educators make assumptions about digital literacy:

1. the kids already know how to use technology – efficiently,

effectively and appropriately;

2. if they can read print they can make meaning from text on

screen; and

3. we don’t need to teach them.

Many teachers do not understand the term, nor do they use

technology efficiently, effectively or appropriately.

School of Information Studies

Digital Literacy

Back to our original question.

When used as a descriptor, is the term literacy interpreted to mean competency?

Probably, because most people do not engage with the deeper meaning behind a term such as digital literacy. We often only consider the word digital and at a very superficial level.

We use the term literacy as a descriptor in other contexts, because being literate is fundamental to how we communicate knowledge and meaning, and this includes the digital environment.

School of Information Studies

Digital Literacy

Definitions

Owen, S. (2013). Digital literacy, Deakin University. Retrieved

April 2016.

JISC. (2013). Developing digital literacies. Retrieved April

2016.

University of Illinois. (2015). Digital literacy definition and

resources. Retrieved April 2016.

US Digital Literacy. (2015). Digital and media literacy for

today’s learners. Retrieved April 2016.