In the technology driven world that we live in today, literacy has evolved into more than just words on a page.

What is Digital Literary?

It is the ability to use and understand technology to evaluate, create, and find information.

This new literacy has developed new forms of communication that have become vital in both education and employment.

Digital literacy has engulfed reading, visual, and audio media into it's domain. While this has streamlined various forms of media and information, it also means that it requires a better grasp of how to understand it.

The understanding of this new literacy means that we must divulge into how to craft it, contextualize it, and analyze it with the same authority we do with written words and audio.

Digital Literacy includes media such as blogs, message boards, and sites like YouTube and Reddit.

Learning how to incorporate these sites and explore them in responsible ways is a vital skill that many students are not taught. Like teaching students to read traditional print, teachers must teach their students the correct techniques of digital literacy.

This includes helping students create through technology also. Blogs and other creative outlets can be used to connect students together, as well as make available new knowledge and insights.

Digital Literacy has pushed classrooms into new and exciting territory. It has opened new avenues of approach for education and knowledge in the classroom. When implemented properly, it will expand the ability for students to learn.

Digital Literacy in History can be advantageous in the classroom. Images can be used to start conversations and have their meanings interpreted.

Contrasts between historical sites at different periods of time can be performed through images and discussed in conversations.

The information in History can be communicated in texts, images, maps, manuscripts, among many other ways.

Navigating technology properly can consolidate a large amount of information into a more manageable fashion for students. These overviews gives students the opportunity to investigate and research into one key area that interests them.

Finally, this digital literacy lets students experience History through audio, giving them the sense of experiencing it as it happened. This requires for them to contextualize the information.

I want to incorporate technology in my classroom. In order to do this, it implies that I must teach my students Digital Literacy. In order for me to educate them to the best of my ability and prepare them, I must ensure that they have the necessary skills required.

The world is changing rapidly and it is my responsibility as an educator to have my students in the best possible position to succeed. Digital Literacy is a necessity in the world today.