An Exploratory Study on Digital Literacy and Critical Thinking in Students

Technology has spanned the globe, connected people in a whole new way. Gilster (1997) defined digital literacy as the “ability to understand and use information in multiple formats from a wide range of sources when it is presented via computers” (p. 1). At this time, the Internet was in its infant stages. More than a decade later with Internet usage in full swing, Fieldhouse and Nicholas (2008) asserted that terms like literacy and fluency can be used to describe how users find and evaluate information within digital environments. Digital literacy involves any number of digital reading and writing techniques across multiple media forms, including: words, texts, visual displays, motion graphics, audio, video, and multimodal forms. The digital context is challenging for all readers due to the fluid nature of the Web and the demand for critical judgments (Spires & Estes, 2002) as the reader makes decisions about how to locate information as well how to discern the reliability and credibility of that same information. To gain a better understanding of the skills that are considered important for the future, a literature study was carried out to establish a conceptual framework with explicit attention for Digital Literacy (Thijs, Fisser & van der Hoeven, 2014; Fisser & Thijs, 2015). Digital literacy is increasingly important for digital inclusion and digital citizenship. Many people take for granted the knowledge of how to use computers and the Internet and perform basic tasks using them. However, individuals who are still digitally illiterate or have a lack of digital literacy have been excluded from the digital world (Orrick, 2011; Seale, 2009; van Dijk, 2006). The digital literacy gap is considered one of the important social fairness issues confronting digital society (Seale, 2009). Those living in marginalized circumstances continue to show low levels of digital literacy, a contributing factor to the digital literacy gap (Hadjerrouit, 2010; Junge & Hadjivassiliou, 2010). The reason the digital literacy gap matters is that those with a lack of digital literacy can be further marginalized, given that information, communication, business, and prevailing social functions are increasingly structured on the Internet. The use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) at work, school, and home is pervasive and becoming an essential part of people’s daily lives. ICTs have transformed everyday activities. People need to know how to use ICTs, such as computers and the Internet, and they need to develop their digital literacy in this digital age. Digital literacy represents a person’s knowledge of and skills in using ICTs and the ability to perform a variety of complex tasks using them effectively and efficiently in digital environments (Jones-Kavalier & Flannigan, 2008). This conceptualization reflects that digital literacy has become the skill required for people to gain information, personally develop and achieve, communicate and interact with others, acquire jobs, attain economic success, and actively participate in citizenship and collaborative networks online (EC, 2011). The term digital literacy has been used as the most synonymous term for digital competence and also could be exchangeable to terms such as digital skills, digital and media literacy (DML), ICT skills, eSkills, ICT literacy, media literacy and information literacy (e.g., Crawford & Irving 2010; Hobbs 2010; Potter 2010). The penetration of ICTs in everyday life and the 007; EC, 2011; Eshet-Alkalai, 2004; ETS, 2007; Ezziane, 2007; Hargittai, 2005 the use of digital technology by a variety of population from different age groups have provoked discussion about changes in digital literacy (Nawaz & Kundi,2010). Digital literacy builds a groundwork for participation in community activities and social action in an online environment (Hobbs, 2010). In this sense digital literacy is a social, political, economic and cultural phenomena which has multifaceted impacts especially on contemporary education, culture, society and community development in the information age (Bruce, 2003; Nawaz &Kundi, 2010). The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 defines 'digital literacy' as the capacity to appropriately and meaningfully use digital technology to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, design and communicate information in order to function in relation to other people which is necessary for full participation in modern social economic cultural and political life so that all children become active participants of the 21st century"; the policy places significant reliance on this particular 21st-century skill for all learners through universalization targeting integration of technology in school which will help enrich learning experiences and ensure equal opportunity for quality education irrespective of one's geographical location.