Literacy in a digital world

Literacy in a digital world, otherwise known as Digital Literacy is the notion or the ideology that seeks to describe and define the ability of individuals in our contemporary world to fully comprehend without a single doubt, the current trend in information and communication technology and eventually achieve a ‘unique but unified' aim and skill by having abreast him or herself with the Twenty-First Century digital innovation and renovation.

Unique but unified because, when one knows, the entire society benefits.

Literacy is simply the ability to read and write, or be knowledgeable about something, while digitization is a theoretical and practical transition from the analog epoch where things were done manually, to our current age where technologically improved and advanced machineries like the personal computer, laptops and tablets, iPads and mobile phones, digital camera, internet and world wide web, all aid, either uniquely or in a unified connection of oneness, help accomplish multiple task in no time, effortlessly.

Thus, in a simple sense, digital literacy attained its current height of attention mainly due to the transition from the Industrial Age where all other things including communication, was done manually till this our Information Age or Digital Age where these same activities are being executed effortlessly, kind courtesy of digitization, information technology and digital literacy.

Irrespective of the gargantuan achievement digitization with information and technology has chalked insofar, there also arose the question of how to adequately educate the entire populace, individually and globally to become digital literates and furthermore, curb the menace of the catastrophes coupled with it.

Ghana, a sub region in Sub-Saharan West Africa, has on board the train of digital literacy, education and awareness of its menace through the unquestionable effort of the government, non governmental organizations (NGO's), non-profit bodies, stakeholders and corporate individuals.

The government sometimes join hands with some of these aforementioned bodies in bringing this mission to fruition through diverse “Projects” and “Initiatives”. I shall herein, elaborate on activities of few of these initiatives.

The AKAA Project in collaboration with World Reader, has embarked on an innovative initiative in one of the major ten divisions of Ghana called Eastern Region in promoting digital literacy from the grassroots through its introduction of e-readers in basic schools.

The teachers undergo intense workshops and are trained in using e-readers effectively so as to impart such same knowledge into the children. The children are consequently taught how to use these always-available e-readers in reading and writing.

This then gives them fundamental understanding of use and importance of softcopy reading and writing, touchpads use, familiarity with digital processes and consequently becoming conversant with devices like the computer. They tend to be creators of their own world even from infancy as they scroll and stroll their little fingers on the e-readers.

The love of these lightning and beautiful e-readers also reinforces their learning behavior thereby improving their overall academic performance. They eventually will, end up becoming future tech leaders accustomed with the operations of digital devices and services which has now become the most profound medium of global communication. For a building to stand firm and strong, priorities must be given to its foundation and that is exactly the initiative AkAA Project is embarking on.

The Kuyu Camp Project is also a non governmental organization embarking on an unbelievable digital literacy initiative in another one of the major division of Ghana called Volta Region,in a remote town called “Keta”.Originally sprouting from Kenya in East Africa with its prime objective in creating digital literacy in all of Africa, it has now extended its helping hand to West Africa where Ghana is benefiting from its charity projects. Unlike the AKAA Project which targets basic schools, the Kuyu Camp Project targets mainly teens and youths in Senior High Schools.

This then led them to Keta Senior High School where they are busily polishing the minds of teens in the sphere of digital education. The initiative trains students to be conversant with subjects which include but not limited to online tools, system software, application software, creating soft copies, merging PDF documents, typing and using social media platforms like video calls on Skype.

We can all attest to the fact that as we climb the academic ladder to the Universities, a student will have to be knowledgeable about all these tools and digital literacy in order to be able to draft Project Works, write treatises and dissertations, even at the Masters and Doctorate dimensions. So, Kuyu Camp Project which is about to spread out to all four corners of Ghana is seen by most Information Analysts as a savior who had come at the right time in aid of digital salvation of Ghanaians.

Unlike the previous two Projects which I elaborated on in the previous paragraphs, which all talked about importance of digital literacy, this paragraph will rather put the spotlight on the menace coupled with several anomalies and the wrongs of modern day information technology being the brightest flower of digital innovation.

J-Initiative is a foundation established by a Ghanaian woman with its prime objective to sensitize and create awareness in netizens particularly women and children to the dangers associated with using the contemporary social media. This is a form of digital literacy to correct the wrongs, which the Ghanaian, African and global society may not be fully aware of.

The Executive Director of this initiative explicitly hinted on this issue during a forum planned by the Media Foundation for West Africa. She advocated on the need for the government of Ghana to join hands with non governmental organizations to spearhead the aim of online security on our social media like Facebook and Twitter.

Women and children are always left vulnerable to the adverse effect of online insecurity as scammers and spammers use the internet and World Wide Web as an avenue to hack people’s credit cards, bank accounts, mobile money accounts and personal details.

These individuals also hack and expose people’s secret pictures and videos and charges them for a ransom before released, or else, exposed. Women and children burden the most under the weight of these digital adversities. J-initiative advocates for public education by incorporating the subject Digital Literacy into the curriculum of Ghanaian and world education so as people will be educated on digital media and social networks irregularities.

Finally, as Mahatma Gandhi once said; “We must be the change we wish to see in the world” ,I think I have a dream to change the world in the hemisphere of digital literacy. I want to be the embodiment of this change by pushing the boat into the river and lightening the chandelier of hope in the digital world. Yes, I have a dream too.

As a Student offering ‘Information Studies' in University of Ghana, I have a little knowledge about the importance of digital literacy in addressing issues like information overload, easy retrieval and classification of online information, information security, as well as the adverse effects that entails it.

I am hoping to establish a Foundation after my academic career to reach out to remote areas, the countryside and typical villages in Ghana, Africa and other parts of the world if possible, to embark on free digital literacy programs.

Upon laying the footings of this Foundation, my greatest objective will be advocating for the invention of devices and applications that can translate every single phrase, word and conversation from local dialects to English, French and other dominant languages through audible messages and vice versa, to the comprehension of everybody even the uneducated, so as nobody will wrongfully blame illiteracy for their Digital Illiteracy!