how critical thinking important to both media and digital literacy

• Interactive Videos
• Overview & Comparison
• THINKING PRO - Curriculum Unit
• Benefits for School Admin
• Benefits for Teachers
• Social Studies
• English Language Learners
• Foundation Giving
• Corporate Giving
• Individual Giving
• Partnerships

The Importance of Critical Thinking for News Media Literacy

With news available at the tap of a finger, keyboard, or remote, we are often exposed to a barrage of news media. Some of it is high quality, informational news, while other pieces may be riddled with biases, inaccuracies, and misinformation. That’s why it’s so important for students to learn to properly evaluate the news they’re consuming. Read on for an exploration of news media literacy and the importance of critical thinking in supporting it.

News Media Literacy

News media literacy is the ability to critically analyze, evaluate, and interpret the information presented in news media. It involves understanding how news is produced, identifying bias and misinformation, and being able to distinguish between fact and opinion. In our modern world, where information is instantly available and constantly changing, news media literacy has become an essential skill for individuals of all ages to navigate the media landscape and make informed decisions.

Students being taught news media literacy develop a variety of interrelated and crucial skills and knowledge. They learn to identify when news sources are presenting biased or misleading information and to seek out additional sources to confirm or refute claims. News literacy also helps students understand how news is produced and distributed, including the role of journalists, media organizations, and the impact of social media on the news cycle.

A study in the Journal of Media Literacy Education found that highly news literate teens were:

• More intrinsically motivated to consume news
• More skeptical
• More knowledgeable about current events

This is important because it can help prevent the spread of misinformation and disinformation, both of which can have serious consequences, such as spreading false information about health, elections, or social issues. News media literacy skills can help students recognize harmful reporting or sharing, and take steps to stop their spread.

The difference news media literacy makes is not limited to the student alone, but can also impact their wider community. Authors Hobbs et al. explore this concept in their article “Learning to Engage: How Positive Attitudes about the News, Media Literacy, and Video Production Contribute to Adolescent Civic Engagement.” They found that “the best predictors of the intent to participate in civic engagement are having positive attitudes about news, current events, reporting, and journalism.”

Given its importance and wide-ranging impact, news media literacy is an essential part of education today. Here’s how teachers can use critical thinking to build up news literacy—and vice versa—in their students.

Critical Thinking Skills for News Literacy

Critical thinking is a key component of news media literacy, as it allows individuals to assess the accuracy and credibility of news sources, identify biases and misinformation, and make informed decisions. Critical thinking involves questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, and considering multiple perspectives, which are all crucial skills for navigating our complex and constantly evolving media landscape. Let’s explore these critical thinking skills and their impact on news literacy in more depth.

Evaluating Sources and Evidence

One essential critical thinking skill that supports news literacy is the ability to evaluate sources. In today's world, where anyone can publish information online, it is important to be able to distinguish between credible sources and those that lack credibility. This means understanding the differences between primary and secondary sources, recognizing when a source is biased or unreliable, and evaluating the credentials of the author or publisher.

Being able to evaluate sources and evidence for credibility and accuracy allows students to identify fake news and other harmful media. Research on fake news and critical thinking highlights critical thinking as “an essential skill for identifying fake news.”

Analyzing Information

Another critical thinking skill that supports news literacy is the ability to analyze information. This involves breaking down complex information into its component parts, evaluating the evidence presented, and considering the implications of the information. For example, if a news article presents statistics about a particular issue, it is important to evaluate the methodology used to collect the data, the sample size, and the relevance of the statistics to the issue at hand.

Identifying and Evaluating Biases

Critical thinking also allows students to identify and evaluate biases. News sources may have biases based on political or social values, financial interests, or personal opinions. It is important to be able to recognize these biases and to evaluate how they may affect the presentation of information. By developing these critical thinking skills, students can become more discerning consumers of news media, and better equipped to make informed decisions based on the information presented.

How Practicing News Literacy Develops Critical Thinking

Becoming more news literate can also help develop critical thinking skills in turn. By engaging with news media and seeking out diverse perspectives on issues, individuals can develop their ability to question assumptions, evaluate evidence, and consider multiple perspectives. This can lead to a more nuanced understanding of complex issues and a greater appreciation for the diverse perspectives that exist in society.

This creates a powerful education win-win. News literacy and critical thinking effectively support each other and allow students to become informed and discerning consumers of media.

How THINKING PRO Helps Students Build News Literacy

Our THINKING PRO system is built around local news media and teaches students media literacy and critical thinking in a meaningful and impactful way. It walks students through a simple but effective process for analyzing news media, involving:

• Differentiating simple statements (answers to who, what, when, and where questions) and complex claims (answers to why and how questions)
• Evaluating evidence supporting each
• Differentiating evidence and opinion in complex claims

Our interactive learning videos allow students to hone these media literacy and critical thinking skills. With THINKING PRO, students will learn to:

• Identify various categories of claims that can be made within an informational text (e.g.: cause and effect, problem and solution, value judgments)
• Evaluate internal logic of informational text by:
• analyzing the consistency of information within the text and with one’s own background knowledge, and
• identifying conflicting information within the text.
• Synthesize information, as well as claims and their supporting evidence, across multiple passages of texts, and integrate it with one’s own understanding

Here at Thinking Habitats, we use thinking tools to empower young people to lead successful lives and contribute to the wellbeing of their communities. Our online platform has helped students improve their critical thinking, reading comprehension, and news media literacy, and has had significant individual and community impacts. Try THINKING PRO today , and join our students who feel more empowered in decision-making, more mindful with their news engagement, and more connected to their local community!

Hobbs, R., Donnelly, K., Friesem, J., & Moen, M. (2013). Learning to engage: How positive attitudes about the news, media literacy, and video production contribute to Adolescent Civic engagement. Educational Media International , 50 (4), 231–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2013.862364  

Machete, P., & Turpin, M. (2020). The use of critical thinking to identify fake news: A systematic literature review. Lecture Notes in Computer Science , 235–246. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45002-1_20  

Maksl, A., Ashley, S., & Craft, S. (2015). Measuring News Media Literacy. Journal of Media Literacy Education , 6 (3), 29–45. https://doi.org/10.23860/jmle-6-3-3  

Research guides: Identifying bias: What is bias? . University of Wisconsin Green Bay. (n.d.). https://libguides.uwgb.edu/bias  

Media and Information Literacy, a critical approach to literacy in the digital world

What does it mean to be literate in the 21 st century? On the celebration of the International Literacy Day (8 September), people’s attention is drawn to the kind of literacy skills we need to navigate the increasingly digitally mediated societies.

Stakeholders around the world are gradually embracing an expanded definition for literacy, going beyond the ability to write, read and understand words. Media and Information Literacy (MIL) emphasizes a critical approach to literacy. MIL recognizes that people are learning in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom through information, media and technological platforms. It enables people to question critically what they have read, heard and learned.

As a composite concept proposed by UNESCO in 2007, MIL covers all competencies related to information literacy and media literacy that also include digital or technological literacy. Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO has reiterated significance of MIL in this media and information landscape: “Media and information literacy has never been so vital, to build trust in information and knowledge at a time when notions of ‘truth’ have been challenged.”

MIL focuses on different and intersecting competencies to transform people’s interaction with information and learning environments online and offline. MIL includes competencies to search, critically evaluate, use and contribute information and media content wisely; knowledge of how to manage one’s rights online; understanding how to combat online hate speech and cyberbullying; understanding of the ethical issues surrounding the access and use of information; and engagement with media and ICTs to promote equality, free expression and tolerance, intercultural/interreligious dialogue, peace, etc. MIL is a nexus of human rights of which literacy is a primary right.

Learning through social media

In today’s 21 st century societies, it is necessary that all peoples acquire MIL competencies (knowledge, skills and attitude). Media and Information Literacy is for all, it is an integral part of education for all. Yet we cannot neglect to recognize that children and youth are at the heart of this need. Data shows that 70% of young people around the world are online. This means that the Internet, and social media in particular, should be seen as an opportunity for learning and can be used as a tool for the new forms of literacy.

The Policy Brief by UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, “Social Media for Learning by Means of ICT” underlines this potential of social media to “engage students on immediate and contextual concerns, such as current events, social activities and prospective employment.

UNESCO MIL CLICKS - To think critically and click wisely

For this reason, UNESCO initiated a social media innovation on Media and Information Literacy, MIL CLICKS (Media and Information Literacy: Critical-thinking, Creativity, Literacy, Intercultural, Citizenship, Knowledge and Sustainability).

MIL CLICKS is a way for people to acquire MIL competencies in their normal, day-to-day use of the Internet and social media. To think critically and click wisely. This is an unstructured approach, non-formal way of learning, using organic methods in an online environment of play, connecting and socializing.  

MIL as a tool for sustainable development

In the global, sustainable context, MIL competencies are indispensable to the critical understanding and engagement in development of democratic participation, sustainable societies, building trust in media, good governance and peacebuilding. A recent UNESCO publication described the high relevance of MIL for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“Citizen's engagement in open development in connection with the SDGs are mediated by media and information providers including those on the Internet, as well as by their level of media and information literacy. It is on this basis that UNESCO, as part of its comprehensive MIL programme, has set up a MOOC on MIL,” says Alton Grizzle, UNESCO Programme Specialist. 

UNESCO’s comprehensive MIL programme

UNESCO has been continuously developing MIL programme that has many aspects. MIL policies and strategies are needed and should be dovetailed with existing education, media, ICT, information, youth and culture policies.

The first step on this road from policy to action is to increase the number of MIL teachers and educators in formal and non-formal educational setting. This is why UNESCO has prepared a model Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teachers , which has been designed in an international context, through an all-inclusive, non-prescriptive approach and with adaptation in mind.

The mass media and information intermediaries can all assist in ensuring the permanence of MIL issues in the public. They can also highly contribute to all citizens in receiving information and media competencies. Guideline for Broadcasters on Promoting User-generated Content and Media and Information Literacy , prepared by UNESCO and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association offers some insight in this direction.

UNESCO will be highlighting the need to build bridges between learning in the classroom and learning outside of the classroom through MIL at the Global MIL Week 2017 . Global MIL Week will be celebrated globally from 25 October to 5 November 2017 under the theme: “Media and Information Literacy in Critical Times: Re-imagining Ways of Learning and Information Environments”. The Global MIL Feature Conference will be held in Jamaica under the same theme from 24 to 27 October 2017, at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston, hosted by The University of the West Indies (UWI).

Alton Grizzle , Programme Specialist – Media Development and Society Section

More on this subject

Event International Conference of the Memory of the World Programme, incorporating the 4th Global Policy Forum 28 October 2024 - 29 October 2024

Other recent news

News Call for Proposals – individual/s or company 17 May 2024

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Media Literacy and Critical Thinking: Perspectives and Pedagogies

The chapter begins by exploring the ways in which media literacy and critical thinking have been conceptualized. It draws parallels between media literacy and critical thinking and proposes that media literacy is not possible without critical thinking. In other words, it suggests that critical thinking is inherently a part of media literacy. The chapter goes on to argue that the critical thinking skills that students acquire through media literacy can protect them from the harmful effects of the media, enable them to appreciate the aesthetics of media, help them understand the notion of literacy as one that includes multimodal elements, and empower them to engage in socio-political critique and participate in social justice movements. Finally, in this age of new media, the chapter discusses the attempts that have been made to integrate critical thinking through media literacy into the formal curriculum and emphasizes the necessity of a more critical approach to the use of technology in the classroom to transform pedagogy and bring about social change.

Related Papers

Joseph Borg , Mary Anne Lauri

Media Education is discussed in relation to critical thinking and the need to promote teaching and learning environments which form independent, empowered persons. The paper discusses the interplay between the Theory of Critical Thinking and Media Education. It demonstrates how the teaching of media education can be used as an effective means to promote a critical attitude and facilitate the process of registering, reflecting and exchanging knowledge thus enhancing the understanding of how the media can be related to broader social and economic changes. It also suggests how the media itself, in this paper through weblogs, can be used in teaching and learning contexts to promote critical thinking.

Jeff Share , Steven S Funk , Douglas Kellner

This chapter provides a theoretical framework of critical media literacy (CML) pedagogy and examples of practical implementation in K-12 and teacher education. It begins with a brief discussion of literature indicating the need for educators to use a critical approach to media. The historical trajectory of CML and key concepts are then reviewed. Following this, the myths of “neutrality” and “normalcy” in education and media are challenged. The chapter takes a critical look at information and communication technologies and popular culture, reviewing how they often reinforce and occasionally challenge dominant ideologies. Next, this critical perspective is used to explore how CML interrogates the ways media tend to position viewers, users, and audiences to read and negotiate meanings about race, class, gender, and the multiple identity markers that privilege dominant groups. The subjective and ubiquitous nature of media is highlighted to underscore the transformative potential of CML to use media tools for promoting critical thinking and social justice in the classroom.

Rabi Raj Baral

This article is an attempt to explore the specific needs of critical media literacy in school education in Nepal. Critical media literacy is most in today's digital culture to enable students develop their skills, perspectives and approaches to understand, critique, question and create media messages. This not only help students to increases the ability to use evolving information communication technologies in their personal and academic life, but also creates an ecosystem for informed, reflective and engaged media users and creators essential for a democratic society.

LEARNing Landscapes, Vol 6, No. 2, Spring 2013 (109-124).

his article provides a framework and examples for critical media literacy pedagogy. More than simply guiding how students read and interpret the texts they encounter, critical media literacy pedagogy pushes to illuminate the underlying power struc- tures that are a part of every media text. Throughout this article, examples from working with high school youth and preservice teachers are provided. In recogniz- ing recent shifts in media production as a result of participatory culture, this article focuses on how youth-created media products are an integral part of a 21st century critical media literacy pedagogy.

bezhan khorava

Actas del XIII Congreso Internacional de la Asociación …

Javier Villatoro

Mesoamerica

Ana Lilian Ramirez Cruzde Bello-Suazo

Siti Dewi Sri Ratna Sari

PENGARUH EVENT MEDIA GATHERING PT. TELKOMSEL TERHADAP KUALITAS PELAYANAN (STUDI KASUS EVENT 19 MARET 2015 DI YOGYAKARTA)

Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa

La evaluación de la escritura en inglés como lengua extranjera (EFL) es un proceso que depende del juicio humano, por lo que es difícil de obtener evaluaciones justas, acertadas y confiables (Pearson, 2004, p. 117; Hamp-Lyons, 2003). Este estudio reporta la variabilidad existente entre las calificaciones analíticas que 11 docentes Mexicanos universitarios de EFL proporcionaron a cinco trabajos escritos. Describe las percepciones de los participantes en torno a la evaluación de la escritura y el uso de las rúbricas de evaluación. Los datos obtenidos de las calificaciones de cada trabajo y de un cuestionario escrito revelaron que existe gran variedad entre las calificaciones proporcionadas y que los evaluadores difieren en sus niveles de exigencia, sugiriendo así que antecedentes homogéneos y el uso de una misma rúbrica no son suficientes para obtener confiabilidad en las evaluaciones. Las percepciones de los participantes fueron similares en relación al uso de las rúbricas.

RELATED PAPERS

Volume 2: Pipeline Safety Management Systems; Project Management, Design, Construction and Environmental Issues; Strain Based Design; Risk and Reliability; Northern Offshore and Production Pipelines

Benjamin Zand

Salma Ishak

Boletín Científico de la Escuela Superior Atotonilco de Tula

Jorge Hernández Mendoza

Elena Frick

REVISTA DA FACULDADE DE DIREITO DA UFMG

mikael R madsen

TUYỂN TẬP BÁO CÁO KHOA HỌC HỘI THẢO “ỨNG DỤNG KHOA HỌC CÔNG NGHỆ TRONG QUẢN LÝ TÀI NGUYÊN NƯỚC”

Animal Behaviour

Nature Communications

Frithjof Moy

O Suicidio do Estudante de Psicologia

Stélio Inácio

La Presse Médicale

Myriam Guedj

Ferroelectrics

Robert L. Byer

noraziah che arshad

Zaroh Irayani 1

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)

Michael Strauch

Agricultural Reviews

Dinesh Joshi

oscar buitrago bermudez

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Digital Pioneers: How a D-Rated District Led the Nation in OER Adoption

• check_box Increase Teacher Adoption
• check_box Increase Parent Involvement
• check_box Increase Student Success

Discover how One District Transformed their Classroom through Personalized Learning & OER Adoption arrow_forward

• Get Started

Critical Thinking: The Key to Digital Literacy

By: fishtree - november 10, 2014.

How should we define digital literacy? Educational leader and PhD student, Lynnea West, explains her research on the principle ways of redefining education through technology, using digital literacy as a key driver: “I would hope that moving forward, we just call them ‘literacies’ and they’re just considered essential components of good literacy practices. We’re living in an online world and digital tools are our reality , so literacy in the broader context is just how we make meaning of what we’re reading or interpreting and how that joins together with our place in the world.”

The concept of digital literacy has been broken down in numerous attempts to define what constitutes a ‘digital native’ and what skills are central to our understanding and interpretation of digital content. Lynnea argues the key to fostering a digital mindset lies in the emphasis of critical thinking. “Critical thinking has always been emphasized in literacy skills but they become much more apparent when it comes to interpreting digital content”, she says. Referencing the work of Dr. Julie Coiro and Donald J. Leu, Lynnea explains, “there’s actually no real correlation between how well a student reads on paper and how well a student can read in a digital environment, so you have to teach those skills and strategies really explicitly about analyzing and evaluating.”

The Evolution of Literacy

Lynnea outlines how digital technology has changed the way we interact with text, taking a more collaborative approach to the way in which we make meaning. “Before, it was like: ‘Here’s your paper, do your worksheet’. Now, we have the opportunity to represent our thinking using visual images in a collage, or by creating a video, so we have a lot of different ways to respond to reading. We also get the opportunity to create meaning together. For example, when responding to a concept, you can create your meaning and demonstrate that through a video. Then, your students can reply to that video and the story gets continued. So it’s not just this singular piece anymore, it’s this dynamic and multimodal process, it’s a back and forth, and it’s collaborative . ”

Lynnea describes technology’s potential to give every single student a voice, showcasing student creativity and critical thinking skills like never before. “If you have a student who is somewhat quiet in a face-to-face conversation, they may just need that time to process, think, listen and then reflect later, and have their voice heard. So you can use technology to increase student voice in a way that they’d never have been able to before.”

The Digital Native

There has been widespread debate on the topic of the digital native, and whether or not the digital generation should inherit the title. Lynnea explains her logic that it’s not simply a question of ‘being’, but rather of ‘becoming’, a digital native. “I’m not in the generation of the digital native but I can certainly navigate my way through technology”, she says. “I don’t think it’s as simple as you are or you aren’t, I think you can be developed in whatever it is that you want to do. Anything, if you have that growth mindset, you can take to the next level .”

While most educators are moving towards this digital mindset, many remain reluctant to embrace the ‘digital native’ status. Lynnea argues that much of this reluctance boils down to the fear of letting go. “I think there are some teachers who have been teaching with pretty impressive results, who feel a sense of mastery, and it’s really uncomfortable to let that go”, she says.

Blurred Lines

Another reason for such reluctance, Lynnea explains, is the blurring of lines between students and teacher, as the traditional school structure begins to change shape. With educators now being urged to join in the learning cycle with their students, the idea of taking a back seat remains frightening to some. “It’s going to continue to change and evolve, and I think the students will be the drivers of that, and that makes the lines a little blurry between teachers and students… Who’s the learner? And who’s the teacher? ”

While many may grimace at the idea of these blurred lines, Lynnea is excited at the prospect of students taking the reigns. “To me, this is awesome. I have two kids, and if they can be put in the role of leader at the age of eleven, then great. That’s a sense of mastery and accomplishment. It’s exciting to me to have those roles a little more blurry”, she says.

As literacies continue to evolve and adapt to our more complex, digital surroundings, the skills at the center are gaining more significance than ever. Could critical thinking be the key driver in our quest for the ‘digital native’? Should educators take a step back to promote the innovative mindset of the 21st century? Are we essentially foreigners in the land of the digital generation? Perhaps it’s time for us to indulge in some critical thinking of our own.

P.S. If you liked this post, you might want to check out fishtree.com . Start teaching with the 21st century learning platform today… the ideal tool for adaptive, blended and mobile learning!

About the author:

Lorna Keane is a teacher of French, English and ESL. She specializes in language teaching and has taught in second and third-level institutions in several countries. She holds a B.A in languages and cultural studies and an M.A in French literature, theory and visual culture. Follow her on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn .

Follow @fishtree_edu

Image credits:  Lucélia Ribeiro  /  CC BY 2.0

Rethinking Digital Literacy

• First Online: 01 October 2023

Cite this chapter

• Danica Radovanović 2  

272 Accesses

It is more than ever relevant to address the present digital transformation challenges in society to understand, regenerate, renew, and strive in the (digital)future. In the current digital landscape, the revolution and revelation are in the online sphere: online work, online socialization, online learning, e-commerce, e-government, and all that on the remote. In this landscape, digital literacy plays a crucial empowering and enabling role. This conceptual essay explores an ongoing dialectic of socio-technological participation in the online world and the gaps that hinder participation, and provides an overview of Digital Literacy and Inclusion: Stories, Platforms, Communities . Digital literacy and digital inclusion are explored through the theoretical and practical implications, digital literacy textures through the filter of education, and convergent practices that showcase the digital literacy initiatives applied through communities of practice around the globe. As we are witnessing the emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation, and augmented reality, their growth raises important questions about our current legal systems, policies, and advocacy strategies and how they can mitigate the human rights risks that may be affected by these technologies. Technology needs to help us make better decisions and improve our livelihoods, especially in the other half of the world that is not connected to the internet. The book addresses important nuances and raises salient issues.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Durable hardcover edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

The Digital Entanglement of Humanities, Literacy, and Storytelling

Digital Literacy in a Global Context

Literacy and Internet Technologies

Carretero S, Vuorikari R, Punie Y (2016) Dig- comp 2.1: the digital competence framework for citizens with eight proficiency levels and examples of use. European Commission, Brussels. Retrieved from https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC106281/web-digcomp2.1pdf_(online).pdf

Google Scholar  

Cowley R, Joss S, Dayot Y (2018) The smart city and its publics: insights from across six UK cities. Urban Res Pract 11(1):53–77

Article   Google Scholar  

Eslami M, Karahalios K, Sandvig C, Vaccaro K, Rickman A, Hamilton K, Kirlik A (2016) First, I “like” it, then I hide it: folk theories of social feeds. In: Proceedings of the 2016 cHI conference on human factors in computing systems, pp 2371–2382

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Haythornthwaite C, Andrews R (2011) E-learning theory and practice. SAGE, London

Book   Google Scholar  

Helsper EJ (2021) The digital disconnect: the social causes and consequences of digital inequalities. SAGE, London

International Telecommunication Union (2022) Measuring digital development: facts and figures 2022. Accessed at https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/facts/default.aspx

International Telecommunication Union (2021) Facts and figures 2021. https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/facts-figures-2021/

Karizat N, Delmonaco D, Eslami M, Andalibi N (2021) Algorithmic folk theories and identity: how TikTok users co-produce knowledge of identity and engage in algorithmic resistance. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 5(CSCW2):1–44

Kleine D (2013) Technologies of Choice? ICTs, development, and the capabilities approach. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA

Kunze J (2020) Data literacy in the Smart City. Geoforum Perspektiv 19(35). https://doi.org/10.5278/ojs.perspektiv.v19i35.6423

Muringani J, Noll J (2021) Societal security and trust in digital societies: a socio-technical perspective. In: 2021 14th CMI international conference-critical ICT infrastructures and platforms (CMI). IEEE, pp 1–7

Radovanović et al (2015) Overcoming digital divides in higher education: digital literacy beyond Facebook. In: New media & society. SAGE. Available at: http://nms.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/06/02/1461444815588323.abstract

Radovanovic et al (2020) Digital literacy key performance indicators for sustainable development. Social Inclusion 8(2):151–167. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v8i2.2587

Article   MathSciNet   Google Scholar  

Ragnedda M (2017) The third digital divide. A Weberian approach to digital inequalities, Routledge. Routledge Advances in Sociology

Thomas J, Barraket J, Wilson CK, Holcombe-James I, Kennedy J, Rennie E, Ewing S, MacDonald T (2020) Measuring Australia’s digital divide: the Australian Digital Inclusion Index 2020. RMIT and Swinburne University, Melbourne for Telstra

van der Velden M (2018) Digitalisation and the UN sustainable development goals: what role for design. ID&A Interaction Design & Architecture(s) 37:160–174

Van Der Velden M (2021) ‘Fixing the world one thing at a time’: community repair and a sustainable circular economy. J Clean Prod ISSN 0959-6526:304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127151

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Technology Systems, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

Danica Radovanović

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Danica Radovanović .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations, rights and permissions.

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Radovanović, D. (2024). Rethinking Digital Literacy. In: Radovanović, D. (eds) Digital Literacy and Inclusion. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30808-6_1

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30808-6_1

Published : 01 October 2023

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-031-30807-9

Online ISBN : 978-3-031-30808-6

eBook Packages : Engineering Engineering (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

Teaching critical digital literacy

Critical digital literacy is a set of skills, competencies, and analytical viewpoints that allows a person to use, understand, and create digital media and tools. Related to information literacy skills such as numeracy, listening, speaking, reading, writing and critical thinking, the goal of critical digital literacy is to develop active and engaged thinkers and creators in digital environments. Digital literacy is more than technological understanding or computer skills and involves a range of reflective, ethical, and social perspectives on digital activities.

See also studies of "Critical Media Literacy."

This article is based on work done by Robin Davis as part of the Folger Institute’s Early Modern Digital Agendas (2013) institute. We welcome the addition of resources and readings, particularly those focused on teaching digital literacy from an early modernist perspective and critically analyzing the digital tools related to early modern studies.

• 1 Multi-literacies of digital environments
• 2 Teaching critical early modern digital literacy
• 3 Pedagogical settings for digital literacy
• 4.2 Exercises
• 4.3 Information about tools and infrastructure
• 5.1 Introductions
• 5.2 Short reads
• 5.3 Long reads

Multi-literacies of digital environments

Juliet Hinrichsen and Antony Coombs at the University of Greenwich propose a "5 Resources Model" for articulating the scope and dimensions of digital literacies. The five resources are:

• Decoding : Learners need to develop familiarity with the structures and conventions of digital media, sensitivity to the different modes at work within digital artifacts and confident use of the operational frameworks within which they exist. These skills focus on understanding the navigational mechanisms and movement of the digital landscape (buttons, scrolling, windows, bars); understanding the norms and practices of digital environments (safety and online behavior, community norms, privacy and sharing); understanding common operations (e.g. saving, upload and download, organizing files); recognizing and evaluating stylistics (e.g. the social codes embedded in color, font, transition, and layout choices); and recognizing that different modes of digital texts (twitter streams, video, immersive games) have different characteristics and conventions.
• Meaning Making : This aspect maps onto other well-recognized literacy concepts in recognizing the agency of the learner as a participant in constructing meaning. This dimension of digital literacy focuses on reading , the fluent assimilation of digital content and the ability to follow a narrative across diverse semantic, visual and structural elements; relating , or recognizing relationships between new and existing knowledge and adapting mental models; and expressing , or the capacity to translate a purpose, intention, feeling or idea into a digital form.
• Using : Learners need to develop the ability to effectively and creatively deploy digital tools. This includes finding the tool and the requisite evaluation of different tool options, effectively apply tools and techniques, employ problem solving, and have the confidence to explore, experiment, and innovate to create solutions with imaginative approaches, techniques, or content.
• Analyzing : Learners need to develop the ability to make informed judgements and choices in the digital domain. This includes deconstructing digital resources to analyze their constituent parts, selecting resources and tools, and interrogating the provenance, purpose, and structures that affect digital content and influence its output.
• Persona : Sensitivity to the issues of reputation, identity and membership within different digital contexts. In identity building, learners develop a sense of their own role in digital environments; reputation management emphasizes the importance of building and maintaining both individual and community reputations as assets; while participation focuses on the nature of the collaborative (both synchronous and asynchronous) contributions that make up many digital projects and their ethical and cultural challenges.

Teaching critical early modern digital literacy

Students encounter early modern texts, images, and objects through an increasing array of digital tools and sources. By reading an edited version of Macbeth via the Folger Digital Texts, critiquing a digital facsimile of a pamphlet on Early English Books Online, or navigating the Agas Map at the Map of Early Modern London , digital texts and tools allow for interactive and expansive exploration of early modern topics. In encouraging students to engage with early modern literature and history through these tools, we also need to provide them with the skills to analyze the tool, its intended audiences, its affordances and limitations. By teaching students how to assess digital editions and tools critically, we can prepare them not only to select the best tools for their purpose, but also provide the skills necessary for further development of digital texts, tools, and resources. Critical digital literacy is the first step towards digital authorship.

Pedagogical settings for digital literacy

Critical digital literacy, writ broadly, is taught in a variety of settings, including humanities and information courses; public, academic, and special collections libraries; and K-12 classrooms and after-school programs. The articles listed below present a variety of perspectives on the benefits of critical digital literacy and point to some of the fields in which discussions of critical digital literacy are taking place.

• Graduate education; Rhetoric and Composition.
• Undergraduate education; English Department.
• High school education and postsecondary education; English, Art, Preservice teacher education.
• High School, Academic standards and student attitudes.
• Undergraduate education; Academic libraries.

Teaching resources and exercises

Many digital literacy exercises are designed to make the affordances of specific tools visible. Many students treat digital humanities tools as "black boxes": opaque systems in which a user provides input and receives a product, but does not have information about what happens in between. The goal of many of these exercises is to make the box a little less opaque and open up digital humanities tools, programs, and databases to criticism. We want students to question the assumptions and choices made in the selection, organization, and presentation of content and understand what their tools are doing for them.

http://dhbox.org/ : streamlines installation processes and provides a digital humanities laboratory in the cloud through simple sign-in via a web browser.

• How to see through the cloud : using traceroute to walk through the physical network of the Internet
• Governing Algorithms: Provocation piece : short essay split into 38 provocations concerning algorithms, policy, and practice. #21 is a great discussion starter, courtesy of Solon Barocas, Sophie Hood, and Malte Ziewitz.
• Teaching with Lingfish : Using the Early Modern Recipe Archive, Luna, the OED, and EEBO to examine how different repositories deal with fish, courtesy of Nancy Simpson-Younger.

Information about tools and infrastructure

• The Basement : what an internet hub for a major American city looks like, courtesy of Cabel Sasser.

Further reading

Introductions.

• Folgerpedia's Glossary of digital humanities terms
• A career-focused and skills-focused list of resources by the Department of Commerce. This page allows practitioners in service-oriented organizations—such as libraries, schools, community centers, community colleges, and workforce training centers—to find digital literacy content.
• This section looks at the various aspects and principles relating to digital literacy and the many skills and competencies that fall under the digital literacy umbrella. The relationship between digital literacy and digital citizenship is also explored and tips are provided for teaching these skills in the classroom.
• Kellner, Douglas and Jeff Share, "Toward Critical Media Literacy: Core concepts, debates, organizations, and policy," Discourse: studies in the cultural politics of education . 26, no. 3 (September 2005): 369-86.

Short reads

• Practicing Freedom in the Digital Library by Barbara Fister in Library Journal (2013)
• Beyond Citation student project at the CUNY Graduate Center (2014)
• Digital Humanities Pedagogy: Practices, Principles, and Politics edited by Brett D. Hirsch (2012)
• "Hacking the Classroom: Eight Perspectives" Eds. Mary Hocks and Jentry Sayers. Computers and Composition Online . (Spring 2014).
• Suggested readings from CRTCLDGTL , a reading group at Northwestern
• Never Neutral: Critical Approaches to Digital Tools & Culture in the Humanities , essay by Josh Honn (2013)
• Folger Institute
• Digital humanities
• Bibliography