Theoretically speaking, digital literacy is a concept that is in constant flux. It is perpetually shifting and expanding to include new practices and skills afforded by new emerging technologies. In their excellent book "Understanding Digital Literacies: A Practical Introduction", authors Jones and Hafner provide a detailed analysis of what it means to be a digitally literate in the light of the social media revolution and the widespread of web 2.0 technologies. As I was perusing it today, I came across this section in chapter one where the authors talk about the different digital literacy practices that are required to thrive in this digitally-focused era.
Here is a quick overview of these practices:
- The ability to quickly search though and evaluate great masses of information.
- The ability to create coherent reading pathways through complex collections of linked texts.
- The ability to quickly make connections between widely disparate ideas and domains of experience.
- The ability to shoot and edit digital photos and video.
- The ability to create multimodal documents that combine words, graphics, video and audio.
- The ability to create and maintain dynamic online profiles and manage large and complex online social networks.
- The ability to explore and navigate online worlds and to interact in virtual environments.
- The ability to protect one’s personal data from being misused by others. (Kindle Loc. 262)
