This Units addition to my website called for various options, I choose to do a Terms and Definitions sheet.
Digital Literacy
1. Identity and Wellbeing: Being digitally literate involves creating your online identity to personal and professional values and goals. Do you manage your personal data, privacy, and security in a digital environment? Do you know how?
Example: Using professional usernames and privacy settings on social media, and maintaining separate academic vs personal accounts.
2. Discovery: Can you adapt search strategies and evaluate the results? Do you locate and explore ideas from multiple viewpoints and perspectives? Can you identify information needs and gaps in your knowledge?
Example: Using advanced search techniques in Google or library databases to locate peer-reviewed articles instead of blindly trusting the first website result or what AI has generated for you.
3. Evaluation: Evaluating information is crucial. Can you critically analyze information/media/data to determine its relevance, accuracy, and purpose? Can you recognize how algorithms and personalization influence online information exposure (digital bubbles)?
Example: Checking publication date, author credentials, and site reliability before citing information in an assignment.
4. Ethics: We will cover more on digital ethics in a future module. Still, for now, you should consider the differences in technology and information access, rights, and vulnerabilities of individuals and groups. Is there a difference between ethics, laws, and morals? What are your rights and responsibilities when using, creating, and sharing digital data/information/media?
Example: Correctly citing images, code, and articles, or knowing how to behave in discussion forums.
5. Creativity and Scholarship: The ability to create original work and repurpose or remix existing works is part of digital literacy! Do you engage in troubleshooting while using tools? How do format, genre, discipline, and audience affect creative choices?
Example: Designing a multimedia presentation, creating a personal website (you will do that in this class!!), or building a data visualization that clearly communicates research findings.
6. Communication and Collaboration: We mentioned netiquette in a previous module, which would fall under the communication and collaboration competency. Can you apply communication conventions and norms in online communities? Can you effectively use relevant tools and strategies for digitally mediated collaboration?
Example: Using Google Docs or Office to co-edit a project.
7. Curation: Curation could be defined as the selection, organization, and presentation of content and information. Can you apply organizational principles to data/information/media? Can you select the correct tools and formats for media? Do you have a plan to preserve and maintain your data/information/media?
Example: Creating well-structured folders, using cloud storage for backups, and tagging or bookmarking resources for easy retrieval.
I know this is boring, slog through it with me.
Hardware:
1. Motherboard: The main circuit board that connects everything and lets the parts communicate.
2. CPU (Central Processing Unit): The “brain” that runs instructions and handles most of the actual processing.
3. RAM (Random Access Memory): Short-term memory your computer uses to keep active tasks fast and accessible.
4. Storage (Hard Drive or SSD): Long-term memory where your files, programs, and operating system are saved.
5. Power Supply: Converts electricity from the wall into usable power for the computer.
Sorces:
Virginia Tech University Libraries. (n.d.). Digital literacy. Virginia Tech University Libraries. Retrieved December 9, 2025, from
https://lib.vt.edu/research-teaching/digital-literacy.html