Open networked learning course had kicked off, and it has already introduced me to new concepts like native digitals and immigrant digitals as two distinct groups within digital literacy.

But wait! Like any other concept we use in social sciences, digital literacy, which is often defined as “those capabilities which fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society” are not fixed. Rather, they change over time and across contexts.

As this video lecture explains clearly (and as Dave further clarified in his online meeting with the ONL Group recently), digital literacy is better understood in a residence and visitor continuum. We, users of the digital world, are often changing our position in this continuum, switching between different modes as we use digital technologies.

In addition to this continuum, there is the vertical continuum, personal and institutional, that we also move around. So the chart may look something like this:

This week, I have thought about my use/being/existence in the digital world both as an online webinar exercise, and later a bit on my own. So, here is what my chart looks like:

This exercise made me realise my current use and identity in the digital world! I remember seeing a picture of a woman with a kid in the upper right hand side of the chart, which -I think- was a fantastic way to challenge the time we spend online in our personal-resident life. That is absolutely something I will work more on in the future!