Librarian Bobbi Newman shared this recently released "official" definition of digital literacy, agreed upon by the OITP Digital Literacy Task Force. OITP is an ALA advisory committee, the Office for Information Technology Policy. Since there are many versions of digital literacy running around it is nice that the library world has at least agreed upon one we may all use as we talk about our role in educating students.

• Digital literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information requiring both cognitive and technical skills.

Sign up now for Digital Learning Day 2.1.2012


Join them as they create a national awareness campaign to celebrate innovative teachers and instructional strategies. Technology has changed the way we do everything from grocery shopping, to listening to music, and reading books. It’s time to take action to leverage this potential with more innovative uses of technology in our nation's schools to ensure every student experiences personalized learning with great teaching.  Be sure to check out the map on this page to see what states and communities are already signed up to participate!

YALSA is joining with the Alliance for Excellent Education to celebrate Digital Learning Day on February 1, 2012. Check out their website, where you can sign up to receive information as the initiative develops as well as access a toolkit.  This is directed toward providing secondary students the skills they need to be successful upon graduation.  Libraries play a huge role in this area!!

Seriously, this post from Tech & Learning by way of the Committed Sardine folks at the 21st Century Fluency Project has some great ideas for ways to use digital cameras.

This is the title of a study published in 2006 by the MacArthur Foundation. I thought one paragraph would be of interest to library staff and of use for advocacy purposes. They say,
"Beyond core literacy, students need research skills. Among other things, they need to know how to access books and articles through a library; to take notes on and integrate secondary sources; to grasp what kinds of information are being conveyed by various systems of representation; to distinguish between fact and fiction, fact and opinion; to construct arguments and marshal evidence. If anything,these traditional skills assume even greater importance as students venture beyond collections that have been screened by librarians and into the more open space of the web.  Some of these skills have traditionally been taught by librarians who in the modern era, are reconceptualizing their role less as curators of bounded collection and more as information facilitators who can help users find what they need, online or off, and can cultivate good strategies for searching material."
The entire 'occasional' paper can be found at the MacArthur Foundation website under Digital Media and Learning.  I recommend you look it over.                          Katie