asked what digital literacy was, I felt that my mind was
correctly read because I was wondering myself if I fitted into the concept. Was I a digital illiterate person?
According to the Danish Technological Institute, digital literacy “involves the confident and critical use of Information Society Technology (IST) for work, leisure and communication. It is underpinned by basic skills in ICT: the use of computers to retrieve, assess, store, produce, present and exchange information, and to communicate and participate in collaborative networks via the Internet”.
As we can see, the concept encompasses a wide variety of dimensions. This particular type of literacy requires “ordinary” basic literacy skills, which are a necessary precondition for digital literacy, that is to say, cognitive skills. These are the fundamental skills because they consist of reading comprehension, writing, and critical thinking. But it is also important to have the technical skills, which are skills revolving around hardware and software applications, networks and other elements of digital technology such as the Internet, cell phones, personal digital assistants, and other digital devices (Wikipedia, 2009).
The combination of both cognitive and technical skills constitutes digital literacy.
What is digital competence?
It is the combination of not only skills but also knowledge “along with values and attitudes” (Peña-López, 2009) to achieve goals by being efficient in digital contexts with digital tools.
As all we know, technology is nowadays part of our lives and has become an everyday tool, not only for small children but also all-aged adults. It is now mandatory to be proficient in its use and education has incorporated tech tools to better enhance the teaching/learning process.
As all we know, technology is nowadays part of our lives and has become an everyday tool, not only for small children but also all-aged adults. It is now mandatory to be proficient in its use and education has incorporated tech tools to better enhance the teaching/learning process.
In the field of language teaching, technology is becoming more and more important because people worldwide communicate and interact more than ever before. This is the reason why we teachers must learn about ICT tools and incorporate them in our classrooms in order to update and innovate in our huge responsibility: the teaching of a second language.
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