What is Digital Literacy?

In the past, literacy strictly referred to a person’s ability to read and write; it defined the progress and stability of nations young and old. In today’s world where instant communication is a given and technology supercedes most processes of earlier times, a modern aspect of literacy has arisen. This is the technological factor commonly regarded as “digital literacy.” However, this poses questions such as: what is digital literacy? What qualifications make a person digitally literate?

Generally defined, digital literacy is the comprehension of technological discourse and the ability to use it. Barbara R. Jones-Kavalier and Suzanne L. Flannigan – authors of the piece Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century – define it as a person’s ability to perform tasks effectively in a digital environment. The Global Digital Literacy Council (GDLC) has set actual qualifications. Their latest standard was signed into effect on August 1, 2008. More than 400 technological experts from over 30 countries collaborated over a 9-month period to create the digital literacy standard known as, Global Standard 3. This standard contains all the qualifications and knowledge needed to be certified as digitally literate. Digital Literacy in everyday life involves several high-tech mediums, be it the Internet, cell phones, PDAs, television, and many more.