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Articles
Making the Case for Digital Literacy
Written by Jane Tallim, Co-Executive Director, Media Awareness Network
On July 7th 2010 Media Awareness Network (MNet) 0submitted its discussion paper, Digital Literacy in Canada: From Inclusion to Transformation, to the federal government’s Digital Economy Consultation process. This paper situates digital literacy skills development for all Canadians as the cornerstone of any national plan for the digital economy and calls on the federal government to take a leadership role in supporting solutions that will create citizens who know how to use digital technologies to their fullest and who can think critically about digital content.
The government’s consultation process has been ongoing since May, but this paper has been in the works for over a year. Why? Because although there’s been increasing high-level government-led discussion on what Canada should do to remain competitive in a digital world, little has been said up to now about the skills needed by ordinary Canadians – of all ages – to prepare them for working, learning and living in this promising and challenging digital world. Media Awareness Network, along with stakeholders from government, academia, councils on learning, ministries of education, industry organizations, library associations, and institutes for information technology and digital media, believes that a much broader approach is needed if we are to cultivate a digitally literate and economically competitive country.
Luckily for Canada, we have the advantage of being able to build on the considerable research and precedent that has already been established in government initiatives for the digital economy in countries like the United Kingdom (Digital Britain), New Zealand (Digital Strategy 2.0), Australia (Future Directions) and the United States (National Broadband Plan: Connecting America). Each has positioned digital literacy as a crucial component for participation, inclusion and innovation in a knowledge economy; each recognizes the acquisition of digital literacy as an “essential life skill” which represents a process of life-long learning that incorporates K-12 and post-secondary education, vocational training, and public awareness.
In its discussion paper, MNet connects Canada’s declining performance in the digital economy with a failure to develop a national strategy that balances investments in technology and infrastructure with investments in skills and knowledge. Canadians need to use information and communications technologies (ICT) to improve the quality of their lives, increase productivity throughout the private and public sectors, develop innovative products and services and create new media and digital content, but they cannot do this alone.
MNet believes that digital literacy is that next step which will give Canadians the adaptive abilities they need to participate fully in a global digital society by making sure they are able to derive new opportunities for employment, innovation, creative expression, and social inclusion.
Maximizing the potential of a digital Canada demands a comprehensive national plan to ensure citizens have the resources to learn how to access, use, understand and create with digital technology. In its submission, MNet argues that a national digital literacy strategy should not only include job training and skills development, but also support throughout the K-12 and post-secondary educational systems.
A large part of any national strategy for digital literacy is to clearly define the core skills and competencies that fall under the digital literacy umbrella.
As can be seen here1, it’s clear that being literate in a digital world entails much more than technological proficiency. No single document can encapsulate the many different aspects of information, ICT, media, and critical literacies that being digitally literate entails – not to mention the wide variety of ethical, social, and reflective practices that are embedded in work, learning, leisure, and daily life. But such a document can certainly establish guidelines and foundational standards that can then be built upon and move users beyond participation in the digital economy towards the more transformative areas of innovation, constructive social action, and critical and creative thinking.
Established and internationally accepted2 definitions of digital literacy are generally built on three principles:
- the skills and knowledge to access and use a variety of digital media software applications and hardware devices, such as a computer, a mobile phone, and Internet technology
- the ability to critically understand digital media content and applications
- the knowledge and capacity to create with digital technology.
The discussion paper expands on these principles as a starting point for discussions on how digital literacy might be defined in Canada.
There are many personal benefits provided by digital literacy for learning, employment and enjoyment. Given the focus of the government’s consultation process, the significant economic and social benefits this provides to all Canadians are also highlighted.
These include:
- Increased consumer confidence and trust in the online marketplace
- Supporting Canada’s capacity to innovate with digital technologies in the general workplace, healthcare, and educational sectors
- Supporting the growth of Canada’s information and communications technology industries
- Supporting the development of Canadian digital media content
The paper also reiterates the importance of including in any digital literacy strategy multiple components that address barriers such as attitude, age, socio-economic status, language and regional availability of resources.
Evidence and best practice indicate that effective implementation of digital literacy programs should take place in four interlocking spheres of influence: Education, Job Training, Government, and Public Awareness and Community Programs. With this in mind, the implementation section focuses on these spheres in conceptualizing an integrated and comprehensive approach for Canada.
The ultimate goal of this submission is to act as a catalyst for the creation of a national strategy for digital literacy that builds on the knowledge, expertise and perspectives of key stakeholders and accurately reflects and meets the needs of Canadians. To this end, the discussion paper makes the following recommendations:
- Immediately create a digital literacy taskforce comprising key stakeholders at all levels of government (both federal and provincial), as well as those representing business and communities across Canada, to develop a cross-jurisdictional blueprint for a National Digital Literacy Strategy.
- Support the implementation of a national study of students and teachers, to determine, from each of their perspectives, the digital skills that are needed by Canadian children and youth.
- Within one year host a Digital Literacy Stakeholder Conference that brings together a broader group of stakeholders from all four spheres of implementation to develop and launch a coordinated national strategy focused on strengthening digital literacy in Canada as a fundamental cornerstone of the digital economy strategy and to highlight government digital literacy initiatives.
In preparation for this conference, MNet’s submission recommends that the Digital Literacy Taskforce should:
- Prepare an inventory of digital literacy programs in Canada, including those provided by the federal government, provinces and territories.
- Compile an inventory of digital literacy initiatives currently being implemented in other jurisdictions such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the US, including rationale, targets, and results to date.
- Review the results of and the lessons learned from previous Canadian targeted digital literacy initiatives.
- Review the current and potential roles of federal departments and agencies in leading and supporting a whole-of-government approach to the development of digital literacy.
- Develop a national balance sheet comparing investments in technology development and infrastructure access with investments in digital literacy.
MNet also recommends that the Digital Literacy Taskforce study a number of policy options and prepare recommendations for consideration by the conference. Such options should include:
- Launching a comprehensive federal/provincial/territorial digital literacy initiative aimed at fostering digital literacy in:
- K-12 and post-secondary learning institutions,
- the marketplace, particularly among small- and medium-sized enterprises, and
- among the general public.
- Creating a national facilitator for digital media cooperative education programs and placements.
- Establishing community technology centers in rural Canada as well as a national program to implement training amongst citizens – especially those who may be regionally, economically or socially disadvantaged.
- Increasing collaborative research funding and commercialization support for digital media at the federal and provincial levels, using the program innovations launched by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council as a model for action.
- Developing an online digital portal that incorporates easy-to-understand explanations of digital media, tutorials on how to use digital technology, links to relevant government resources, an easy-to-use forum where users can post questions about digital media, and a community resource section where users can find more information about digital resources in their communities.
- Creating an online data portal where public information created across all forms of government and by any public institution is regularly published in a machine-readable format.
- Establishing and maintaining a digital media knowledge transfer network for educators and companies to share information on digital media education and job training initiatives.
Canada has clearly recognized the importance of ICTs, as is evident by the significant investments in broadband and wireless network infrastructure that has been made over the past decade. But building networks is not enough. In order to adapt to the challenge of balancing our old economic and educational systems with the new networked, mediated ways of doing business and educating our citizens, the issue for Canadians is no longer if we use digital technology but how well we use it.
We hope that by making the case for digital literacy as part of the government’s consultation process, we can work together to ensure that all Canadians can thrive in a digital Canada and a digital world.
To download the full version of Digital Literacy in Canada: From Inclusion to Transformation, click here.
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