Higher Education's Role in Building Digital Literacy
Overcoming Knowledge Gaps
Today’s conversations in higher education and beyond emphasize the necessity of teaching digital literacy to overcome the assumption that students understand and know how to use digital technology upon starting college. Despite having grown up with technology, the knowledge gap still exists among students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds.
Read “The Myth of the Digital Native”, a 2023 report by the Chronicle of Higher Education report for more information.
Career Success
Today’s conversations in higher education and beyond emphasize the necessity of teaching digital literacy to prepare students to complete professional tasks safely and ethically, and to develop the interpersonal, lifelong skills needed to evolve and succeed in the workplace.
Participation in Society
Beyond learning how to interact with digital tools, it is vital to understand how they work, especially regarding user privacy, data management, misinformation, and disinformation. The Center for Strategic and International Studies frames Digital Literacy as indispensable for fostering a more inclusive and secure society.
Read The Digital Literacy Imperative Brief, by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
More than Technical Skills
And while one may think digital literacy consists of technical skills, most scholarship in the area recognizes it must also include the ability to use digital technologies to complete a variety of tasks in both the civic and professional spheres in a safe and ethical way.
Skills impacted by technology include
- Collaboration
- Critical Thinking
- Ethical Reasoning
- Information and Data Literacy
- Oral and Written Communication
- and more...
AI Literacy Requires Digital Literacy
Preparing students for an AI-mediated world entails developing digitally literate populations who can critically engage with the technology, rather than simply adopting it. Grand Valley’s liberal education model plays an important role in providing access to and clarity about digital technology, empowering students and community members to succeed in their civic and professional lives, even if they choose not to pursue a computing-related field.
