Digital Literacy

     Use of technology is increase day by day because of the development of technology. Technology is most essential tool for the modern society. Today’s generation appears to engage with all things that are technology without any effort at all. All the work are done with digitally. Digital technology related with the ICT. So Digital literacy is an emerging concept. The digital literacy refers to the literacy about the use of ICT and ICT tool in narrow sense. But digital literacy is more about it.  

Digital literacy should be understood to mean the basic skill or ability to use a computer confidently, safely and effectively. If there is no digital literacy there will be create the digital divide. In 21 century all citizens have the literate about the digital. It may include the use of computer, internet, and smart phone, and other multimedia.

Digital literacy can be defined as "the ability to use digital technology, communications tools, and/or networks to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge society" (Lemke, 2003).

The following figure more explain about the digital literacy

    

Most of the research found that the digital literacy have Five areas of digital competence were identified and can be summarized as follows:

1)     Information : The digital information  can be identify digital information, analysis and store and retrieve,  judging its relevance and purpose.

2)     Communication : The digital information should be communicate and share as necessary through the online tools.

3)     Content-creation: There should be create the digital information by using the application software. The creation information should have very reliable and useful to the society.

4)     Safety : The digital data have more secure than other physical data . There may use different ways to protect the digital information.

5)     Problem solving : If there will problems occurs in the ICT tools . Problems solving capabilities is necessary.

Digital literacy is important to establishing your presence in the modern world. Lacking the ability to use digital technologies means that there are many things you simply cannot do or access. Possessing digital literacy allows you to improve the efficiency, access to things, fulfillment, and happiness in your life.

In today’s world it is a requirement to be digitally literate in order to be able to function in a capacity that enables one to be more successful whether it is at home, school, at our jobs or even looking for a job. Over the last few decades our environment has evolved into a digital environment. Being or becoming digitally literate is essential in being successful in this digital environment. Almost everything we do today requires some sort of digital knowledge or literacy. From surfing the internet to searching for a job to being able.

Research showed that the digital literacy rates in Nepal are a staggering 31 percent and Nepal is experiencing a recent increase in cybercrime because of the pandemic. 

Together, the students created a wide range of innovative materials to help, including mobile applications, user documentation, instructional videos, and website prototypes that were designed to tackle cyberbullying and harassment among young girls in Nepal. These prototypes focused on empowering the rural population by enhancing digital literacy in post-pandemic Nepal. 

Some of importance of digital literacy are as follows :

1)     Digital literacy makes people to digital citizen.

2)     It helps to more access about the information through internet.

3)     Digital literacy save time and money for communicating and sharing the information.

4)     Collaboration with the present world and experience it.

5)     Help to increase self learning habit.

6)     Digital literacy decrease the use of paper.  

Reference

Gillen, J. and Barton, D. (2010). Digital Literacies: A Research Briefing by the Technology Enhanced Learning phase of the Learning and Teaching Research Programme. London, London Knowledge Lab

Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (Eds.). (2008). Digital literacies: Concepts, origins, and practices. New York.

Hobbs, Renne. (viewed October 1, 2011). Media Literacy as Literacy for the Information Age. Philadelphia, Pa: Temple University. (September 2008)

https://lib.vt.edu/magazine/spring-2021/creativity-innovation/nepal.html