Digital Literacy for the 21st Century

Locating and Consuming Digital Content

It is essential to develop the skills to locate, comprehend and consume digital content on the Web. Central to being effective with the Web is strategically searching for information and evaluating its accuracy and relevancy (Leu et al., 2008). There is consensus that effective Web search skills must be developed for educational success in a digital society, and instruments such as The Teaching Internet Comprehension to Adolescents (TICA) checklist can ensure that students have the necessary prerequisite Web search skills (Leu et al., 2008). However, more challenging is how to incorporate the effective teaching and development of Web search skills in the classroom (Moraveji et al., 2011). Nevertheless, some important skills are considered necessary for locating and using digital content: domain knowledge, a working knowledge of how to use search engines, basic literacy skills, and a general knowledge of resources available on the Web (Moraveji et al., 2011). In addition to building on the ability to craft productive Web search terms, search lessons should involve direct modeling of the use of search techniques, differentiating between domain names, and querying sites for accuracy and transparency.