We live in a digital world that is continually changing and advancing. The future success of students depends on digital literacy. Technology is all around us and interweaves into our everyday lives. We are constantly communicating, creating, and sharing through digital platforms. The advancement of technology has and will alter how students learn. Teaching digital literacy provides students with a solid foundation for students to take and expand in their everyday lives to become good digital citizens. A good digital citizen understands how to utilize and engage with technology and use It responsibly. Digital literacy is the ability to harness and utilize diverse digital platforms to evaluate, share, create, engage, and communicate. To be digitally literate means to develop technological skills, understand social responsibility on social platforms, learn authorship rules, and gain the ability to navigate and find resources.

Digital literacy moves beyond k-12 and will guide students into their future and everyday lives. Students can learn through multiple platforms across the internet. Digital literacy has many benefits. Digital literacy provides students autonomy in their learning. It allows students to learn from anywhere, which aids in independent learning and intrinsic motivation. It helps students connect and interact with their peers teaching social responsibility and competency. It provides teachers with a constant connection to their students to better evaluate and assess, alter, and tailor to a student’s needs. Allows students to work at their own pace without the pressure of being compared to their peers. Digital literacy helps students think critically, evaluate their behaviour, and personalize their education.

Technological advances are inevitable, so educators must teach students adequate skills and abilities within digital literacy. Our students are already using technology in their everyday lives, playing video games, talking to their peers, and sharing content. Educators can help guide students to gain a better understanding of technological responsibility across multiple digital platforms. Technology is the present and will be the future, so educators must incorporate multiple forms of digital literacy cross-curricular through k-12.

The importance of digital literacy in K-12. The Importance of Digital Literacy in K-12 – EducationCorner.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.educationcorner.com/importance-digital-literacy-k-12.html 

Powerschool.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.powerschool.com/blog/the-classroom-guide-to-digital-literacy-in-k-12-education/ 

Renaissance. (2022, April 28). What is Digital Literacy and why does it matter? Renaissance. Retrieved October 16, 2022, from https://www.renaissance.com/2019/02/08/blog-digital-literacy-why-does-it-matter/