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What is digital literacy?
The Wikipedia definition of digital literacy states:
" Digital literacy is the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, and analyze information using digital technology ... learning how to effectively find, use, summarize, evaluate, create, and communicate information while using digital technologies, not just being literate at using a computer."
In the context of language arts standards, digital literacy speaks about reading and writing digitally.
In the definition above, which verbs refer to reading skills? to writing skills?
Digital Literacy: Reading
How does reading digital text differ from reading print text?
The prevalence of digital text in our lives and our students' lives requires us to expand our definition of reading. Reading is not just about text, whether on a screen or not. Reading means learning to decode and interpret not only letters but also images, music, transitions in movies, etc.
Here is an example of the evolution of reading to the digital world.
- We can read Billy Collins' poem Forgetfulness from a book.
- We can read Billy Collins' poem Forgetfulness online.
- We can listen to the podcast of the Forgetfulness.
- We can "read" the movie of Forgetfulness, paying attention to how the mood and meaning of the poem are conveyed through multimodal elements (words, images, transitions, voice, etc).
Every element of a multimodal piece has a purpose and a reason. To accurately understand a digital piece, the reader must ask:
Why did the author make that choice?
What impact does each element have on my understanding?
What choices am I making in creating my understanding?
What are the Minnesota Language Arts Standards expectations relative to digital reading?
One of the goals of the Core Standards, which make up 85% of the Minnesota Language Arts Standards, is that students will "habitually perform the critical reading necessary to pick carefully through the staggering amount of information available today in print and digitally."
Specifically, the reading anchor standard #7 requires all students, K-12, to "Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words." What this standard means at each grade level is explained in the benchmarks (see below).
Find your grade level benchmarks and answer:
Where do these benchmarks fit your curriculum?
How will you incorporate digital reading in your instruction?
Grades K-2, literature & informational texts:
0.1.7.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
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1.1.7.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
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2.1.7.7 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters,setting, or plot. |
0.2.7.7 With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear (e.g., what person, place, thing, or idea in the text an illustration depicts).
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1.2.7.7 Use the illustrations and details in a text to describe its key ideas.
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2.2.7.7 Explain how specific images (e.g., a diagram showing how a machine works) contribute to and clarify a text.
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Grades 3-5, literature & informational texts:
3.1.7.7 Explain how specific aspects of a text’s illustrations contribute to what is conveyed by the words in a story (e.g., create mood, emphasize aspects of a character or setting).
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4.1.7.7 Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.
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5.1.7.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem). |
3.2.7.7 Use information gained from illustrations (e.g., maps, photographs) and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (e.g., where, when, why, and how key events occur).
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4.2.7.7 Interpret information presented visually, orally, or quantitatively (e.g., in charts, graphs, diagrams, time lines, animations, or interactive elements on Web pages) and explain how the information contributes to an understanding of the text in which it appears.
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5.2.7.7 Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
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Grades 6-8, literature & informational texts:
6.4.7.7 Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.
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7.4.7.7 Compare and contrast a written story, drama, or poem to its audio, filmed, staged, or multimedia version, analyzing the effects of techniques unique to each medium (e.g., lighting, sound, color, or camera focus and angles in a film).
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8.4.7.7 Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live production of a story or drama stays faithful to or departs from the text or script, evaluating the choices made by the director or actors. |
6.5.7.7 Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
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7.5.7.7 Compare and contrast a text to an audio, video, or multimedia version of the text, analyzing each medium’s portrayal of the subject (e.g., how the delivery of a speech affects the impact of the words).
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8.5.7.7 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of using different mediums (e.g., print or digital text, video, multimedia) to present a particular topic or idea.
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Grades 9-12, literature & informational texts:
9.4.7.7 Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’sLandscape with the Fall of Icarus).
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11.4.7.7 Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.) |
9.5.7.7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (e.g., a person’s life story in both print and multimedia), determining which details are emphasized in each account.
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11.5.7.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.
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In addition, the Speaking, Viewing, Listening and Multimedia Literacy anchor standard #2 expects students to: "Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally." Again, what this standard means at each grade level is explained in the grade-specific benchmarks, which are listed in the Minnesota Language Arts Standards document.
Digital Literacy: Writing
How does writing digital text differ from writing print text?
What are the Minnesota Language Arts Standards expectations relative to digital writing?
The writing anchor standards, which are K-12 standards, expect students to:
# 6: Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
# 8: Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
In addition, the anchor standards for Speaking, Viewing, Listening and Multimedia Literacy, add that students should:
# 5: Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
# 7: Critically analyze information found in electronic, print, and mass media and use a variety of these sources.
# 8: Communicate using traditional or digital multimedia formats and digital writing and publishing for a specific purpose.
What each of these standards means is explained in the grade-level benchmarks, which are listed in this Minnesota Language Arts Standards document.
Find your grade level benchmarks and answer:
Where do these benchmarks fit your curriculum?
How will you incorporate digital writing in your instruction?
Writing 2.0 by Isabelle Punchard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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