{"id":224,"date":"2016-07-19T08:00:33","date_gmt":"2016-07-19T14:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/teachersfirst.com\/blog\/?p=224"},"modified":"2022-03-16T14:57:04","modified_gmt":"2022-03-16T18:57:04","slug":"are-you-a-digitally-literate-teacher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teachersfirst.org\/blog\/2016\/07\/are-you-a-digitally-literate-teacher\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you a Digitally Literate Teacher?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TF<\/a>One of my favorite quotes is from futurist guru Alvin Toffler. In Future Shock, incredibly first published in 1970, Toffler is often credited with saying, \u201cThe illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.\u201d It first originated with Herbert Gerjuoy, whom Toffler cited, “The new education must teach the individual how to classify and reclassify information, how to evaluate its veracity, how to change categories when necessary, how to move from the concrete to the abstract and back, how to look at problems from a new direction \u2014 how to teach himself.\u201d (https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Alvin_Toffler)<\/span><\/p>\n

Even before the digital revolution, \u00a0I have been continually aware of the importance of finding and using information in my career as a school librarian\/media specialist. In our world of change at warp speed, it is more critical than ever that people navigate unlimited information, be able to find and use what is appropriate, and create new meaning from it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Education is not just about content, but rather what do kids do with the content, how they understand it, make it their own, and create something new, meaningful and useful. This is what the educational movements of the early part of this century are centered around, including the <\/span>Common Core State Standards <\/span><\/a>and the four Cs<\/a> of the <\/span>Framework for 21st Century Learning<\/a>\u00a0(<\/span>critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity).<\/span><\/p>\n

The particular skills that teachers and students need in today\u2019s technology and media-rich environment are called digital literacy. The American Library Association\u2019s Office for Information Technology Policy has a succinct definition that encompasses all aspects of digital literacy. \u201cDigital Literacy<\/a> is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0In particular, a<\/span>\u00a0Digitally Literate Person<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n