Digital Literacy
Digital literacy is the ability to access, manage, understand, integrate, communicate, evaluate, and create information safely and appropriately through digital technologies for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship. At the core of my Digital Literacy work is Framework development, Policy Development and curriculum Development.
1. Media Literacy: For those of you who haven’t heard of this term before, it may seem a little confusing. Perhaps you know what ‘media’ and ‘literacy’ mean but haven’t heard them used together before. Media literacy is the ability to understand information that is presented to us and respond appropriately. We need to make a conscious effort to understand how all forms of media are created and consumed. The Media Literacy curriculum is built on the following pillars: Deconstruction, Construction, and Participation. The curriculum also possesses the following Elements of curriculum Media construction, Authorship, Format, Audience, Content, Purpose, and Representation, Audience engagement.
2. Visual Literacy: The basic definition of visual literacy is the ability to read, write, and create visual images. It is a concept that relates to art and design but it also has much wider applications. Visual literacy is about language, communication, and interaction. Visual media is a linguistic tool with which we communicate, exchange ideas, and navigate our complex world.
3. Data Literacy: The ability to read, understand, create, and communicate data as information. Much like literacy as a general concept, data literacy focuses on the competencies involved in working with data.
4. Information literacy: Information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.”
My goal is to equip learners from communities with competencies (Knowledge, skills, and attitudes) in the safe and ethical use of technology. I use different digital literacy toolkits from organizations like Mondo, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and GSMA.