Sharing of information through digital technologies

Digital literacy: a definition

In 1997, Paul Gilster provided an early description:

“the ability to understand and use information, in a variety of formats, from a wide range of computer-accessible sources”

In 2013 the American Library Association defined it as

“the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills”

Over the years the definition of digital literacy has been deepened:

“the ability to use the Internet and information technologies to access, manage, integrate and evaluate information from a wide range of sources accessible through a variety of technological devices”

Digital literacy: skills

• familiarity with online places where information can be found;
• knowing how to use the right keywords to carry out one’s research;
• using tools that deal with the collection of material from different sources;
• being able to assess the validity of a source