Digital Media

This weekend I have watched three very interesting videos that talked about digital media. At first, I thought that digital media to do with technologies to make something to show to others and the world to spread a message. Well after watching those videos I realised that I’m not that far from what digital media is, but there’s more to it.

From the first video, Digital Media are Networked| Digital Literacy, I have learned that there are two types of media, traditional media, and digital media. Traditional media is something like newspapers, magazines, billboards, radio, and broadcasting TV and direct mail. Digital media are things like online advertisements, search engines, social media, streaming services, and websites. Traditional forms of media are also one way, you can listen, watch, or read it. Digital forms of media are interconnected and interactive. Online your part of an infinite network and can connect to others as easily as they can connect to you.

You can find communities of people with similar interests, values, and beliefs. You have instant access to people, information, and knowledge from around the world. Anyone can post anything online and make it look real that’s you must double check if information that you find online.

The second video spoke about Digital Literacy and why it matters. Increasingly communicate and access information from variety of digital environments. Work, social, and educational settings require some form of competence in digital literacy. Digital literacy isn’t only knowing how to use technology but also navigation communication, and digital environment. There are different skills required for different ways of using digital literacy. For example, you need different skills to turn on a computer than to find and fill out an application for a job online. In some areas appropriate skills are extremely important to succeed in the modern world.

Nowadays 90% of new graduate jobs require high levels of ICT skills. Having the right set of skills are important to get employed. When it comes to education video, audio, and images can be used for student assignments and work can be both given and assessed online. You need to evaluate the information that your given online to see if it’s authentic and valid. We must understand our online identity for the sake of our safety online. Digital literacy is more necessary for technology to improve.

The third video that I have watched is a TED talk done by Doug Belshaw about The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies. He said that “Digital Literacy is a condition, not a threshold.” He said that people who came up with Digital Literacy framework make things a little bit too simplistic as if life was this simple. He mentioned that it needs to be developed more progressive than sequential. To develop Digital Literacies, we need to focus on people’s interest and to try to get them to get this motivation to want to develop those digital skills for themselves.

Belshaw said that Digital Literacies comes between Individual Interests and Important Issues. The eight essential elements of Digital Literacies are:

• ·        Creative (Cr)
• ·        Confident (Cf)
• ·        Cultural (Cu)
• ·        Cognitive (Cg)
• ·        Constructive (Cn)
• ·        Communicative (Co)
• ·        Civic (Ci)
• ·        Critical (Ct)

They all together form what’s known as the Remix.

Memes amplify ideas which makes them stick to your imagination and they can be used as propaganda. We need to try and encourage people to Remix things especially young people.

From those three fascinating videos I have learned a lot about Digital Literacy and how it’s used and needed in today’s fast advancing world.