Digital Literacy includes learning how to use technology’s tools. The list of digital tools is never ending. New releases make something that was new yesterday old today. Educators as well as students must thoughtfully determine which tools are essential to their digital literacy tool kit.
Based on my experiences of working with students and academics, I would make a case for digital literacy to be much more than the mechanical operation of tools and technology. It should enable us to use the social digital landscape for reflection and conversations. And in our ability to enter into dialogue on the basis of shared values, we become individual agents of change.
Our digital identity, or tattoo, is the permanent collection of data about us that is available online. Each time we post a picture, a blog, a status or a tweet, we are adding to that digital identity.
The idea that there is knowledge to be taken advantage of within networks inspired Canadian educator George Siemens to develop a theory called connectivism that could explain changes in education after the popularization of technology inside and outside classrooms. Using this theory, Siemens partnered with Stephen Downes to develop a new format of online course that is open for anyone interested.
The etiquette guidelines that govern behavior when communicating on the Internet have become known as netiquette. Netiquette covers not only rules of behavior during discussions but also guidelines that reflect the unique electronic nature of the medium. Netiquette usually is enforced by fellow users who are quick to point out infractions of netiquette rules.