Why+is+there+a+need+for+digital+literacy?

media type="youtube" key="uXOgOJilARE" height="344" width="425"  Why is there a need for digital literacy? “//The world around us is changing, and becoming smaller. Communication and media are changing, and becoming more global//”  [|(The Report of the 21st Century Literacy Summit. A Global Imperative. 2005. p.2.).] We have spoken for many years about a global village, as we use more and more technology this has become more of a reality, our world is shrinking. Where it was once a novelty to speak to someone of the other side of the world, now it is common place. Often we communicate with people who we have never nor are likely to ever meet. How is this done?... through technology. This has implications for all members of the community.

//"A profound shift is taking place in the way people communicate and express themselves. Fueled by media that increasingly are crafted for a global audience, pervasive access to goods and services from ever more distant locales, access to networks and communication services that span the planet, and generational ties between youth that transcend borders, a new concept of language — and what it means to be literate — is evolving//." [|(The Report of the 21st Century Literacy Summit. A Global Imperative. 2005.p.1.)] 

This “profound shift” will mean that to become a digital citizen you will have to learn how to communicate digitally, be able to up analyse and synthesize the visual stimulus which flood the computer screen, research and then create. In fact that to be a fully participant in society everyone needs to develop quite a high degrees of digital literacy. Whether we are using a computer or not the impact on our communication is influenced by the digital world. News from around the world is beamed into our home as they happen. Influence from many cultural, ethical and moral enter our world unfiltered. This is seen not only in computer interactions but through media exposure. This is also something that is not stagnant. As the Report of the 21st Century Literacy Summit suggest this is evolving. This therefore has serious implications in education. Educators will need to continue to develop their understanding of all aspects digital literacy. As it does digital literacy evolves it will continue to impact of everyone’s life.  //”Without such digital literacy, people cannot engage in productive activities nor fully develop their civic relations and meet their social responsibilities. Nor can communities develop fully, and countries run the risk of becoming economically stagnant. This new need arises for various reasons: 1. Much economic activity and many aspects of social relationships are passing from their traditional state to cyberspace, created by the new technologies. 2. Communication and information technologies accelerate the processes they are involved in. They also tend to change the former nature of these processes to a large extent. For example, they introduce a globalising tendency and crucial changes to the way we use time, as well as opening up the possibility for new forms of cooperation. 3. ////This process of technological mediation has become a basic element in the competitiveness of information societies for two reasons: firstly, because the communication and technology sector is constantly growing and, secondly, because communication and information technologies are a principal source of value in production processes, as they speed them up and can bring the greatest amount of know-how possible to activities”//[|(Pérez Tornero, 2004).]

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-bidi-language: JI;">To be left behind will be detrimental to participating actively in the Twenty-first century. This presents a strong case for promoting digital literacy. Education needs to occur at many levels to ensure that not only individuals but the community is able to adapt to these revolutionizing aspects of our lives. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: JI;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">The Report of the 21st Century Literacy Summit. A Global Imperative. (2005) NMC: The New Media Consortium. Accessed 8/06/09 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">[] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">References **
 * Pérez Tornero **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">, J. (2004). Digital Literacy and Media Education: an Emerging Need. //elearning.europa info directory// accessed 5/06/09 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">[] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">