Digital Literacy & Information Fluency

 

So what is digital literacy? There are many definitions that have been identified, and although the wording differs, the key elements remain constant. In this section we are going to look at the concept of digital literacy and then elaborate further on aspects around this concept. Digital Literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills (Digital Literacy defined, ALA. n.d.). 
So what skills would a digitally literate person have? According to Visser (2012), a member of the ALA Digital Literacy Task Force, the person would:  
1. Possess a variety of skills that are both technical in nature, as well as intellectual skills. These skills are then used to “find, understand, evaluate, create, and communicate digital information in a wide variety of formats”; 2. Would be able to use a wide variety of technology in an appropriate and effective manner to find information, interpret it and judge the quality of that information; 3. The person would understand the relationship between the technology used, life-long learning, privacy and the responsible use of information; 4. Make use of their skills along with the appropriate technology to communicate and collaborate with others; 5. Use their skills to engage and contribute to civic society, creating an informed and engaged community. 
Therefore it is important that we learn these skills, so that we are able to participate fully in our education and careers. In order to do this we need to have a basic understanding of how computers and search engines work, as this forms our understanding of the skill required

Animal Planet

In 2013 Animal Planet showcased a documentary about the findings of mermaid in the ocean. It tells a story of a scientific team's investigative efforts to uncover the source behind mysterious underwater recordings of an unidentified marine body. The show presents the generally discredited aquatic ape hypothesis as evidence that mermaids exist, along with a digitally manufactured video (Animal Planet.com/mermaids). Well it is believed that the story was a haox just to get a higher number of viewers for the channel, of which they achieved after so much hype about the programme and presenting it as a rear opportunity to learn about these findings. Animal Planet even had a dedicated section of these findings under their website, there was so much inticipation and the response they got was massive, but people ended up getting disappointed since it was just a haox. I tihnk it was a strategy to get people to watch the channel since it's ratings were not good, they did a good job in getting the audience but disappointed when had to deliver the goods.