The topic on digital literacies, was a very interesting one, but before reading the literature, and before starting our group discussions, I think I had this “tunnel vision”. I had a very narrow definition of what it meant to have digital literacy skills. To me, it was probably enough, to be able to use technology to meet our needs. And indeed, I had a very narrow opinion in my head. This was only one of the seven elements of digital literacies, as shown in the following figure, so this topic truly helped me look at things from a different perspective.

Moreover, we conducted a small survey with some of our colleagues, but decided not to include it in the final presentation, because the questions were not well researched. However, I would like to share some insights that I found really interesting. One of the questions in the survey was as follows:

Do you think the digital literacies efficacy and confidence levels, have increased during the pandemic?

There were 22 responses in total, where 16 respondents voted “Yes”, 3 respondents voted “No”, and 3 respondents voted “Maybe”. The interesting part, was when the respondents who voted “Yes” and “Maybe”, were asked to argument why and how. A common keyword among all their responses was NECESSITY.

For some, it was because the rules of social distancing kept them away from their family and loved ones, and they needed to find new ways to communicate online. For others, it was because they needed to have continuous access to many different tools, in order to proceed with work and studies. Others needed to shop online, because of the fear of being infected. The motives are endless, but my point is that it was a MUST for people to build digital literacy skills. I think human beings are terrified of the idea that they might be bad at something, that they decide to give up on the first attempt that goes wrong, or whenever they face the slightest difficulty. However, during Covid-19 they had to be persistent, because there was no other way out, or better yet way forward And that is a great lesson. You can build the skills you need by being persistent, by pushing through the frustration of not being immediately good at something. You can build these digital literacy skills, by exploring on your own, by watching videos and tutorials online, by asking for help from friends and colleagues. It all pays back, as long as you are persistent and willing to go the extra mile.

References

[1] Sinay, Erhan & Ryan, Thomas & Nahornick, Ashley. (2016). Unpacking TDSB’s Vision for Learning: Research Brief on Digital Fluency.