Digital literacy is the title of this course, as well as an important skill in other contexts. The BC Post-Secondary Digital Literacy Framework offers a breakdown of what it would be reasonable to expect from someone who wishes to be a good digital citizen. The main points are that it is important to know the best ways to use technology for your own purposes.
This post will mostly be an assessment of myself against those particular standards, but brief descriptions will be included, if you desire to follow along.
Ethical and Legal Considerations
Behaving ethically and legally is described as understanding the principles of behaving in a way which is not harmful to others online, from both a moral and legal perspective.
I believe that I adhere reasonably well to the former, since I am aware of many of the ways which things such as the lack of access and inclusivity in online spaces can affect people. Since I do my best to avoid interacting with online spaces outside of work, or as a viewer, I do not have any issues with actively harming others.
I will not be commenting on my adherence to any laws.
Technology Supports
Technology supports is described as the ways a digital citizen attempts to use technology for their own benefit.
I largely fulfill the qualifications listed in this document, but I occasionally don’t bother with Strong Unique Passwords, when I’m signing up for something which I don’t care about.
Additionally, while I am capable of learning new technologies, I try not to trust anything created by large tech corporations, such as Meta and Microsoft, where possible.
Information Literacy
Information literacy is the ability to recognize that some information is better than others, and to keep biases in information in check.
I could probably stand to improve this one. While I vet the sources that I use for academic purposes pretty rigorously, I don’t generally take it as seriously on my own time. I am knowledgeable on the topic of subtle biases and misinformation, and try to consider both sides to most arguments. That does not mean that I am immune from the inexorable sway of algorithms which are designed to increase engagement at all costs.
Digital Scholarship
Digital scholarship is the principle of intentionally using digital technologies for scholarly behavior.
I have spent a great deal of time performing research on computers, and am pretty excellent with it. Admittedly, I do not generally interact with open access platforms, as I view most of my work as simply a means to the end of completing an assignment, meaning that I do not bother with publishing.
Communication and Collaboration
Communication and collaboration are measured by the proficiency with which a digital citizen uses technology to make contributions in online spaces.
I do my best to avoid making any type on contributions to any spaces, so if there was a metric for calculating this, I’d probably be pulling a divide by 0 error. That said, when interaction is a requirement, I do so with a positive attitude.
Creation and Curation
Creation and curation are expressed by the ways which people creatively express themselves online, as well as curate digital media for audiences or platforms.
The extent to which I interact with internet curation is this blog, I prefer not to make any creative projects I undertake available to the wider world. That said, I believe that while this blog may be a bit dry, it adheres to most of the standards listed.
Digital Wellbeing
Digital wellbeing is the ways which people set healthy boundaries with technology usage.
I could probably stand to improve this. The only social media I interact with is Youtube, and I have not made any attempts to harm others online.
Community-Based Learning
Community-based learning measures the usage of technology to facilitate digital collaboration.
Apart from the learning pods from this course, as well as the group chats I have for other group projects, I do not engage with this element of the online experience. I have in the past, but frankly, I’ve found that, in my opinion, it’s generally not worth the effort.