Why is Digital Literacy important?

Digital literacy skills empower individuals to learn, change and adapt to the digital global environment. Promoting the development of creative and analytical uses of technology, these skills take the user from passive consumers, to active and confident ones capable of full and professional engagement in the online world.

Students

Students are no longer passive consumers of educational content, they have the ability to contribute to local and global knowledge by producing and using media, applications and objects (Alexander, B., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., & Hall Giesinger, C., 2017). Access to information is not necessarily access to knowledge, and students need to be equipped with the ability to make well informed decisions based on online information Santos, A. I., & Serpa, S. (2017).
Students benefit by feeling connected to a digital community of their peers and developing the confidence to effectively use technology in their assessment items and learning activities.

Employers

Employers seek graduates who have a professional presence online and are able to adapt to new and evolving technologies. The pace of technological change in Australia has resulted in organisations, business and industry that previously had low levels of digital engagement, adopting a web, mobile and social media presence (Deloitte Access Economics [DAE], 2017).

Graduates

Graduates stand out from the crowd by marketing themselves effectively online. An understanding of digital footprints and responsible and ethical actions online, is essential in competitive global markets (Murray, M. C., & Pérez, J., 2014)..
Graduates are equipped to take advantage of lifelong learning opportunities, extending their learning from the educational environment into the workplace.

References

Alexander, B., Adams Becker, S., Cummins, M., & Hall Giesinger, C. (2017). Digital literacy in higher education, Part II: An NMC Horizon project strategic brief. Volume 3.4. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved from https://www.nmc.org/publication/digital-literacy-part-ii-an-nmc-horizon-project-strategic-brief/

Deloitte Access Economics [DAE] (2017). Australia’s digital pulse: Policy priorities to fuel Australia’s digital workforce boom. Available at: https://www.acs.org.au/content/dam/acs/acs-publications/Australia’s%20Digital%20Pulse%202017.pdf

Murray, M. C., & Pérez, J. (2014). Unraveling the digital literacy paradox: How higher education fails at the fourth literacy. Issues in Informing Science & Information Technology, 11, 85-100.

Santos, A. I., & Serpa, S. (2017). The importance of promoting digital literacy in higher education. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 5(6), 90-93. doi: 10.11114/ijsss.v5i6.2330