What Does Digital Literacy Mean To You What digital literacy means to me is when you’re able to use computers effectively. For example, use the internet, use Microsoft word, and use PowerPoint and Excel. What digital literacy means to my everyday life is that I am able to use computers and the programs on them for many different situations. Such as, for homework, to research information, to type essays, to type other documents and to make presentations such as power points and many other things. Knowing how to use technology and knowing the terms associated with technology can help you, your friends, classmates and family become active and responsible digital citizens for a few reasons. For example knowing how to use technology can help you be able to be update with the news and different things going on around us. Also knowing how to use the technology around us can help you to communicate with your long distant friends or far away family members using Social Networks. Some social networks are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and many more. Knowing what terms associated with technology may make it easier to use the different technologies and operations. One important piece of information I have learned about digital literacy that has made an impact learning that 61 percent of teens use social media including Instagram. Some important vocabulary terms about digital literacy are digital access, digital citizenship and digital divide. Digital access is when you participate in technology in society. The definition of digital citizenship is describes how a person should act while using digital technology. Digital divide means those who have access to computers and those who don’t. Digital citizenship has nine different themes including digital access, digital commerce, digital communication, digital etiquette, digital law, digital rights and responsibilities, digital health and digital security.

Are You a Part of Digital Divide? The meaning of the term, digital divide, is evolving, which means continually growing each day. As of right now the definition of digital divide is the difference between those who have access to computers and those who don’t have access to internet or computers. Digital divide is also an economic inequality, meaning many families with lower incomes may not be able to purchase computers and all the equipment and materials needed to have internet access in their homes. Digital Divide can be categorized by different countries, but is then called global digital divide this means how much people use computers in their households and in businesses they work in. The digital divide doesn’t affect my life a lot because I have access to a computer and the internet at home. Although digital divide may have some effect on my friends because I know some of them don’t have computers at home which therefore means they don’t have internet access. My friends not having internet access may affect them in many ways; for example, this affects their education because not being very experienced with computers can lead to bad grades because most of the work at school is done on computers or using computers. Digital divide also can affect my classmates because during school we also use computers quite often, typing papers and doing research. Lastly, digital divide affects the society greatly; a great example is “as of 2003, only seven percent of the world’s 6.4 billion people have had access to the World Wide Web.” Digital divide affects many different types of people around the world including friends, families, classmates and society. The digital divide in education is comparing the education of students who have computer access and those who don’t. In many undeveloped countries such as Africa, Haiti and Nigeria technology is hard to understand and make available to all. For example, “only one-fourth of the homes in Navajo Reservations have phone service. According to some estimates, extending phone lines to existing homes in the area would cost more than $10,000 a mile.” Many education testing rates are dropping because of this concerning problem of people not having access to computers and the internet; also known as digital divide. The digital divide doesn’t have an effect on me, but has a big affect on the people around me without internet access. The affect on Bacon Academy is the students within it who don’t have computers or internet access and may not be very well with technology maybe bring our test scores down and our school reputation down too. This may affect the moods of students too making them feel embarrassed because everyone else knows how to use a computer and they’re not “fitting in”. The affects digital divide and access have on students and their academic growth is some students may be unsuccessful. For example, if you don’t know how to use computers you probly won’t do well in school because computers are mostly what we use for our work in school. We are also using technology even more; our homework is now being posted online. Many jobs also use computer quite a bit, for example office jobs, restaurants and shopping stores. And if you don’t have a good paying job you won’t be able to buy a house and pay your bills. And not having a house, job and good education you won’t be successful in life. Some solutions that the education system can do is teach a mandatory computer/ internet course at schools. Also have computers available to use before and after school and someone there to help the students. Digital Divide by sabrinamcfarlane on GoAnimate