A post mortem-DST

       Yesterday's presentations made me realise the little amount of time we have spent to get to know one another. Everyone in the class has a unique story to tell; stories that have to do with their personal lives and their concerns about particular issues in general. That's the power of Digital story telling! It gives us the platform to tell the audience stories in our own perspectives in our own ways using various semiotic modes. Some of the beautiful things I have discovered include love for own children and the amount of time we have spent to treasure their childhood period with us, feelings we have towards our grandparents, leaders, our hometown and culture, aware of the dichotomies of perspectives we have for different issues or concepts, and  aware of the latitudes that we have to do through in order to achieve a particular goal. The whole process of authoring the DST  produce a sort of gestalt sense  to its owner. Memory plays as one of the semiotic modes to make sense of whatever that is going on in the DST.

    I'm going to miss this module! The approach taken by our two professors is certainly different from those that I have attended before.
    

My theme

In response to Eulalia's comment,



Tks for the two cents, Eulalia. Dr T's words really struck me.. just like in any text types, we have to have a targetted audience... who we would like to impact most. I have been thinking to write something from a child's perspective. You know.. as mothers, we always have the challenge of getting our children what to eat on their plate.. but children nowadays are very choosy.. most of the time, mothers like me tend to give in. So from here, it inspired me to write something about  what a child at age as young as 5 years old would like to have/be when they grow up, knowing the challenges ahead .As such, I came up with this theme in mind.. "What's on my plate?" The target audience will be mothers and mum's to be. THe others may learn something from it.. hopefully.

Design for meaning.. still thinking!

  We have learnt some basic elements of a good digital story and we have been flourished with a number of great examples of DST that hopefully will inspire us to produce one of similar or at last near-similar quality. Well, it's easier said than done. Definitely, not an easy one for me. I love telling stories to children and I have learnt some story-telling techniques.. oops , but not  DIGITAL...had a hard time thinking of one.

When I started planning for my DST, the first question that struck my mind is;

What is the story that I wish to share?
Two choices I have are: About my learning journey or About two different generations. To play safe, I gather that maybe I should choose one of these and have the other as a backup plan. I spent several weeks, trying to visualise how my story will be like.

The second question that struck my mind is;
Do I have enough resources to carry out one of my choices. I don't have that many photographs. Most that I have are those of my family. OK, fine. I managed to select a few, go to some places and have some good shots... I went through those in the computer and realised that  I need more to make a good story. I browsed through the internet to look for some to supplement the few that I collected and I started to story-board mentally. 

While I was sharing my idea with one of our classmates, Dr Towndrow threw  me one question:  Who is my audience going to be? That question stalled me. The choice that I have made is very personal to me and not many will share the same thoughts that I wish to bring across through my DST. So.. I put aside both my choices and thought of a new one.. a view coming from a third person's perspective.... The process go through another new cycle : ( 

After reading the article by Hull and Nelson (2005), and browsing through the pages of Ohler (2008), I am glad to know that I don't have to know much about digital imaging/editing or embed  original /great video clips in my DST or fear of any copyright issues.I can either use whatever photos/ free copyright pictures/ videos in the internet/ get some 'professional' assistance for any technical glitches. The initial challenge now is to have a story line that will impact the targetted audience... then other elements come in.

Other questions that follow are:

What colours do I want to feature in my DST so that audience can feel the emotional impact/ mood and not just its beauty or its creativity?

What font should I use for some of the texts that I wish to include in my DST? I am aware that  some fonts may convey a particular message to the reader.

Whose voice should I use? My voice or someone else's?Will the voice that I use have any impact on my targetted listener? How will the tone be like? Angry? Happy? Sad? Disappointment?

Do I need to use any kinds of transition/ animation in my presentation? How will these transition add effect to the message/ meaning that I wish to bring across to my viewers? Well, Randy's "Lfe N Ryme" does not have much animation/ transition effect, yet it managed to bring meaning to its design. The use of 79 still images, lyrics or spoken-word poem and a background music are enough to create a DST that one can admire. THat guy is CrEAtIve! HE managed to braid and orchestrate all into one meaningful DST(Hull and Nelson, 2005).

What sort of music background do I want to use? Religious, contenporary, jazz, children's song, rock or ..? I am still contemplating. Got one in my pocket.. but that is meant for my first planned DST. Have to look for another suitable one now.

What software should I use ? Mac i-movie/ Windows movie-maker or maybe a video-editing software? I know some basic function of all these stuffs....but it doesn't help much.. really! I need time to 'study' these!

Whatever it is, so far these questions are still haunting my mind. I am still collecting resources and I can only frame a story-map/ story-line  once I get all the resources that I feel necessary = ^

Are video games worth playing?

           My own children love playing video games; they have computer games (on CDs), internet games, X-box, Nitendo, Game Boy and their parents' handphone games. At one time, I was damn worried when they got hooked to these games and were not able to balance their time between studies and games. I have heard  a counsellor saying that when one plays games online, their brain works differently and they 'll need time to adjust their brain cells and prepare for studies. And since then, I control their access to these games and it  works! After some time, they got tired of some of the games like pokemon, Digimon, Harry Potter, Naruto and what  not. Most of the games work the same way, I suppose. As a player taking up the role in the game, he/she just needs to fight and choose the right weapon to get his/her way through the game until he/she succeeds. I guess, the choice of game is very important. If not, you'll just be wasting time sitting in front of the console when you have other better things to do. WELL.. those thoughts struck me before I started playing the video games myself (not the handphone games of course)!!!
        I  played an X-Box "Warrior" game with my boys. I just pressed the buttons that are available on the game console and 'beat up" my opponent as bad as I could (at the same time, reminding my sons not to behave likewise, and that, this is just a game..lol). Well.. I lose of course. The boys are smarter.. they learnt the movement strategies fast enough and  able to manipulate the character and defeat their 'mummy'. They have 'mastered' the semiotic domains (at least some) of the game or rather..  its internal design ( Gee, J., 2003). They have learnt to situate meanings of elements (images, actions, symbols...) through the experience of playing the game. Another amazing example is the X-Box Fifa 2010 game. My son knows how to kick a ball but not playing ball with a group of players, like soccer. Ever since I introduced him this game, he was quick to learn the strategies involved in the game by taking the role as 'a manager' of one of the soccer teams esp; Manchester. He knows the names of the players now and able to identify the strength of some of the players (through this game). He was also able to apply the skills learnt 'on the screen'  when he plays with his friends in soccer games at school. Well... this shows that he is thinking and learning at the same time as he plays the game. He has become one of the critical learners as mentioned by Gee. 
         Well the choice of game played is really very crucial .... but what about the recent news regarding a couple who played video game and left their baby unattended and not survived? The choice of game is good, I must say..it's about good childcare!

Sharing an analysis of three adverstisements on Singapore Navy recruitment in year 1983.

Source:  30^th Anniversary, Navy News Special Edition, Onwards and Upwards With the Compliments of the Republic of Singapore Navy   (printed in black and white)

The three advertisements shown, had been used during the Singapore Navy recruitment exercise in 1983. An analysis of these advertisements will done based on theories put forth by Cheong (2004) to identify the ideologies embedded in these advertisements and strategies used to entice school leavers into joining the working force as a Naval officer.

In advertisements 1 and 2, the primary announcement is displayed in Arial Font and capital letters on a darker background, contained in a rectangular box. This is to foreground an important message to viewers before they proceed to other parts of the advertisement. Its importance is further stressed with the presence of a thick line below the box. This similar line can also be seen below the emblem ‘ Navy. Be a part of a vital force’. This particular feature is also present in Advertisement 3.

The fact that the announcement is  located at the upper left corner of the advertisement is meant to be directive and it provides a sort of reading path for viewers. The message embedded co-contextualises with the biggest picture placed at the  centre of the advertisements.

For   A1, the message

//At sixteen, we think you’re ready to handle more than a pen.//

  Theme          Rheme

co-contextualises with a massive picture of a ‘warpoon missile’ which holds the shape of a pen.

For A2, the message

 //If you’re an average school leaver//, //do not attempt any of this.//

   Theme                                                                  Rheme

 co-contextualises with a picture of a naval driver just emerging from the water, holding a weapon.

Both messages and pictures ideationally cohere one another and carry some challenging connotations. The messages, for instance, have  themes directed to school leavers aged 16 and rhemes which construe ideas that challenge the viewers to measure their capability in terms of age and the real world experienced by a naval officer. In other words, if they are sixteen and if they dare to handle more dangerous items, they could then consider applying for the job. And, if they are just average school leavers who do not fit the physical and mental requirement of a naval officer as pictured, they should back off.

Unlike in A1 and A2, A3  has a primary announcement which covers more than half the size of the  advertisement. It does not explicitly co-contextualise with the pictures below it. However the size of the print itself foregrounds the message that tells about the depth of the sea that a navy has to undertake. The primary announcement also presented in Arial Font and capital letters, carries two messages;

//Forget what you learnt in Physics.// and

//The pressure is always greatest at sea level.//

 The first message is made of an imperative clause and it is telling the viewers that learning physics is theoretically nothing compared to the practical nature of a navy’s life. ‘Real’ physics can only be learnt in Navy. The word ‘pressure’ can assume different meaning. It may refer to the stress and high expectation of a naval officer, other than the intensity of the deep sea. This announcement is given a linear presentation from top to bottom, which is unlike the ones in  A1 and A2.

The main motif foregrounded in the themes embedded in the messages found in the three advertisements is interpersonal, rather than ideational as the texts engage ‘you’ the viewers to consider the challenges put forth in the life of a naval officer. 

Week 7 e-learning-An analysis of a multimodal text

Take a look at the digital story created by Adam Chester who works in the Arts industry as /songwriter/arranger/conductor in Los Angeles. His digital story is based on real communication experience he has  with his mother.

This presentation   http://www.vidlit.com/sushi/         runs for 3.51 min and I will only focus on some aspects of the presentation accompanied with related screenshots. Some the aspects refered here are: 

(1) use of visuals  to explain the text or vice versa

(2) the font 

(3) transition from one frame to another

(4) voice charaterisation, to name a few.

I will also analyse briefly the impact of each aspect to viewers and readers.

The title sounds metaphorical. As we know, sushi is half-cooked food. So a mother's worry is natural as she fears that eating such food may harm her son. But that's not the point here... She's trying to imply the idea that her son is inexperience and may not be prepared to go to a new state, away from her.

I like the way the author introduces his topic. See below;

Frame 1          Frame 2      Frame 3        Frame 4

Frame 1 can be refered to as 'index' (refer to Hull and Nelson's article, 'Locating the semiotic power of multimodality) 'followed by a short text in Frame 2. Both frames carry similar message - not to eat sushi, presented in different modes. Frame 1 is presented as a symbol at first but it becomes indexical when the next frame is shown; the red colour used in the first resembles the colour of the text 'love mum' in the second frame. The author's voice comes in the third frame to introduce the focus of the presentation followed by an image of him and his mother. After few frames, however, the author creates a social distance between both of them, with Frame 9  directly adressing viewers with the 'author's gaze  and 'want something from the viewer' and Frame 10 positioning the viewer as an observer only and 'offer the represented particpants as 'information' to be taken in by the viewer.' (Kress and Leeuwen, 2006, p.250) The text in both frames are also intentionally presented in such manner (frame 9- in the form of certificate and frame 10- a set of rules/ instructions) (See below)

Frame 9                         Frame 10

Another interesting aspect is the use of font/orthography  in most of the frames. Although there are some inconsistencies in the use  text font on some of the visuals presented (could be intentional) especially when the content of the letters are recalled, the author ensures that 'mum's signature remains cursive and 'authentic  (just like most signature appears to be). However, I notice that the 'mom' signature is not cursive in Frame 2. I think the author is trying to present the authorative figure of mom in the latter. Interesting!

There is also wonderful juxtaposition of images in some of his presentation with the use of different modes: moving visuals, drawn pictures, photos and many more. Some have text on black/white background to foreground the message given.

  

 Some of the visuals presented (esp the letters) are accompanied with audio recorded sound of his mother's voice that gave a strong impact on the readers/ viewers. The text read by the 'mother'  represents the voice of an authoritative figure, but the images that illustrate the text serves a sort of mockery to all that are said. Examples:

The third frame is really trying to tell the viewer that he is still his mother's baby. And the fourth one probably trying to tell that all his mother's words are like music to him ( notice the music audio that accompanies this digital story!)

I love this masterpiece. The author has successfully use humour to present his mother's love for him. If I am given a chance to analyse this futher, I would like to use the framework below (taken from Terry D. Royce in his article, 'Synergy on the page: Exploring intersemiotic complementarity in page-based multimodal text.' )

Multiliteracies.. a window to critical learning

     The term 'literacy' is no longer restricted to reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. With influx of various kind of  media, both print and non-print, literacy now covers viewing and representing. Well, that's the least effort that our education authority tries to do... and I suppose the maximum effort that 'they' could try is to finance whatever is necessary to make 'their' 'dream' come true. Mmm ... Those six language areas mentioned are depicted rather too generally. But are they enough to prepare our learners to become multiliterate- digitally literate, visually literate and what not? 
    Let's recall the term 'multiliteracies' coined by the London Group as shared in our class. Based on what I have understood, it refers to an approach or 'pedagogy' (the Art/ Science of teaching) to  literacy. Correct me if I am wrong. Students need to be multiliterate in order to prepare for the changing lives ahead. We are no longer situated within a single community.. we belong to different communities. Let's look at the chat column in the net, for instance, people from different communities (diverse cultural background) communicate with one another anonymously. They share a common space but I believe, with a particular selfish interest. Those who are not critical enough may easily fall prey. They become powerless. 
    Dr Towndrow shared.. in the past,  the power to put meaning to something belonged to selected few. Those who have access to print control information and assign meaning to it. It's kind of linear. People are merely receptive. Now this power has dissipated to the lot. More people have access to print and with multimedia, especially, they get more powerful. They use the media to impose meaning onto others. So, it's necessary to be multiliterate now... to be able the understand the linguistic, audio, visual, spatial, gestural and multimodal meaning of a particular 'information' presented. Very challenging indeed! Are we ready?

Wiki for e- learning! Why?

Why use wiki for e-learning week? Why not use other e-learning platforms like blogs, discussion forum, podcast or...?  I suppose the choice of tool that one uses depends on one's content and purpose. Unlike blogs and those mentioned, wiki allows collaboration within the targetted comunity of learners. This idea is certainly great if it's used for a particular project/discussion that is to be done within a limited period of time (like the e-learning week) and learners just need to focus on one particular page and build on one another's idea. However the organisation of the content  and instruction that follows, is very important. Users need to know first the features of  a wiki to be able to utilise it confidently. Once they are confident, they will be able to understand the instructions given on the frontpage of the wiki used and intended objectives of the author of the wiki may be achieved.

Nowadays, quite a number of educators use wiki for e-learning purposes; for content enrichment in blended learning or for compiling learners' work saved in pages created in wiki itself. Authors/ administrators can lock these pages and ensure that only the assigned individual or group members can access it and make changes. For a group task, the members in the group can work on the page assigned to them wherever they are as long as they can access the internet. This feature would be very useful for formative assessment too.

I am one those going-to-be avid users of wiki because I'm working on on-line blended learning with wiki and i find that it's the best tool for my content and purpose. However, there are few areas that I am not comfortable with wiki-the layout. It is very rigid and lacks aesthetic. It's too functional and structured (yes.. I agree that's what wiki is intended to be)and ... linear. One has to scroll down the page to see the last word of the page..urgh!

Netizens of singapore

The idea of getting the red dot wired up does work for a purpose..  to really create one nation, one Singapore and this includes both locals and the new-comers. The latter has to embrace the local culture, where most is digitalised. With little  natural resources to depend on, we have to depend on ourselves and the machines.. oops.. technology! Reasons being: Efficiency! And to ensure efficiency, we need technology. The affordances that technology provide, helps Singapore to boost its economy generally. However, opportunity cost comes in... values and social behaviour  are negatively affected. (.. to be continued)

AVATAR-visual reality?

Before I start blogging this, I keep telling myself that this is not going to sound like a movie review... I can count with my five fingers the number of times I went to a cinema to watch movies within a fifth less than half a century of my life... Today I watch Avatar for a purpose.. I want to know what so great about it that it ranks second after Titanic  (forgive me if I'm wrong).. Well, that movie is FANTASTIC! For someone who had once struggled to create animation, I really and truly salute the creator of this fantasy. With the 3-D specs on, I watched the movie in awe... I know I am a technophile.. or maybe a cautious technophile now (after attending Digital Literacy..haha!)

For the digital natives, this show is nothing spectacular.. they are like the characters in the movie who flourished themselves with high technology like a cup of tea (I wonder if transferring image from one screen to another with the touch of a finger will happen in future... mmm) Creating an avatar of oneself is nothing new as they are used to all of these in video games, wii, x box, playstation and what not. They are always the hero in their own stories.( I have tried creating an avatar of myself and 'flew' into the SEcond Life... it's awesome! .. but it takes too much of my time. ) And they can identify themselves with the soldiers in robots especially the wii players. For these digital natives, the only message that they may feel strongly is 'saving the mother earth mission'.

For the digital immigrants, I was truly amazed by the animation and the visual reality that the movie creators have designed... and the message that they are trying to portray is not only about saving the earth.. but it's more than that. In the movie, the 'people' who are close to nature and refuse change are labeled as 'savages'. The latter's home is destroyed and 'the civilised people of the machines' enforce authority over them by driving them out of their homes with force and brutality.. (My tears nearly dropped when I saw this)...  This reminds me of how the internet creators have been successful in controlling the people's mentality... they do it subtly (not like that in the movie.. but it does seem similar) I also recalled some news lately about effort put in by the authority in America to extend ICt convenience to 25% of the American population and the Malaysian 's authority's effort to provide free wifi service to   the people living in the rural areas. To them, with ICT facilities, people can easily email forms (they don't have to take the hassle to travel far to submit a hardcopy) and distance learning can take place with ease.....REALLY????? Remember what our classmate said..'thing done remains undone'.

This movie is a fantasy.. no doubt... but there must be a reason why the 'hero' character' is disable and wheel bound, isn't it? Think of those who are stuck in front of the computer and immersed themselves in the virtual games on their chairs. Can they be represented  by this character 'Jake', a dreamwalker? There are many 'avatars' out there.. they need to wake up!

Use of ICT in schools-strategies and skills

I am one of those who look into teaching language pedagogies and there are many strategies that teachers can employ to make their leassons more engaging and effective ..like in the cooperative learning strategies, we have heads- together, round robin, round table and what not. And these strategies can be incorporated via different approaches like problem-based, inquiry based and so on.. The use of ICT is  one of the strategies that can be adopted in one of these approaches. The use of blogs, discusion forums, independent learning via webquest or even facebook  are very relevant in today's era. Students are very much into them.. so why not take advantage of their interest areas to deliver lessons? Most of them are 'multi-taskers', they can listen to music online, chat on messenger and do online searching/ learning  all at the same time. I remembered a professor sharing his worry about his daughter not 'studying' the 'right'way. She was doing all the 'ICT' stuff at the same time reading her book. To him or maybe to some us, she might not be able to digest everything that is in the book.  When she was asked to follow  the 'right' way, she complained about not being able to move on and remember what's in the book. Well, it can be difficult to understand how these digital natives study...

I agree with Dr T that schools need to draw a line between strategies and skills related to ICT lessons. Teachers generally are not clear about these two. When I ran ICt programmes in my school in the past, I myself was not aware of the differences. All I know ; I need to cover most if not, all programmes suggested by MOE in their ICT plan within 6 years of primary school. THe first four years are focussed on skills like touch typing, paint brush, inetrnet search/ security,Microsoft office and video editing and how students apply these skills in their ICT presentation.  There were of course some strategies employed to ensure that the skills are learnt effectively  with relevant worksheets  to assses and monitor students' usage. And IT ENDS there! Teachers left the 'duties' of teaching these skills to the IT trainers and there is no follow up in class. Teachers on the other hand , knowing that the students have been equipped with these skills , should follow up and plan lesson strategies that require students to apply the skills they have learnt.. BUT I believe.. teachers themselves, are not confident ICT users... their reason is- time constraint... OR they do not know  how to incorporate ICT in their lessons other than using Powerpt.  Teachers need to be trained .. not just the skills but the approach as well. ANd there's a need to monitor and follow-up on their practice so the class does not appear merely like a performing stage!
 

Internet creators are moderate users?? (pt2)

Clifford Stoll in his book, Silicon Snake Oil, admitted that he used to be an internet addict.. he enjoyed keeping in touch with people around the world. THe WOrld is No Longer RounD..It is Flat! Internet  knows no boundaries. It  hooks everyone incuding him ( and Me!) People get connected in the virtual world..everyone seems so near , yet so far! It 'has cheapen the meaning of actual experince'. People need to wake up!  In the sixty- minutes time spent surfing the net for something that is not real, why not spend the time with real people outdoors.. it makes life more meaningful.  People are clamoring..'Safe the environment..safe the trees!!' and then comes along online post-cards, emails and.... People just need to have a computer ... and click. Out pop a colorful 'card' accompanied with music/ voice/ animation/garphics appear before them on the screen. It stays on the screen.. that's all! If you try to print it out, all the animation and sound are all gone. If you happen to have good quality paper... then at least you can get to decorate your locker or tack it up on the wall in front of your office table. But.. how many people out there in the world have access to computer and have good quality paper?? And worst of all, where's the human touch? Stoll contended that email is often 'undependable.. impersonal and boring... A handwritten letter is arguably cheaper, more reliable and far more expressive'(p.17) E-mail takes time to be read and this includes junk mails (p.30).

Well, what Stoll says brings in some sense there... No doubt,  in this rapid and busy time, who has time to decorate a letter and post it? For any work to run efficiently and punctually, email is the best mode... but work is work.. no need human touch... all people are concerned is $$$. People even work from home. You can't run away from emails. You'll be questioned if your emails are not replied as soon as possible. Even when one is sick or on leave..one can't live without checking the mails.. to ensure that work 'runs' as efficient as can be. (UrGGGhh!)

 I agree with Stoll to a larger extent. As for human touch,  I remembered the time when I received Teachers' Day card from my students.. Some created their own cards with their little creative hands while others used  the computer to produce a beautiful card with the keyboard.  I tend to appreciate the former than the latter.. I suppose its natural.. human likes human touch and not computer touch!

Mmm.. I have only started reading this book.. and I am beginning to reflect on my own internet 'obsession'. With I-phone in hand, internet is just one click away.. something has to be done. YEs, internet provides the channel to all sorts of information but what about the time taken to make the right choice = ^

Internet creators are moderate users?? (pt1)

The Internet creators are the know-how people. They create the internet, the search engines... , so they own the virtual world and know where the loopholes are... and that justifies their cautious moves. Also, being creators, they know the weaknesses and the strengths of their creations. They only  use the internet to serve their personal interest and economic purposes. 


On another perspective, they may not be considered as moderate users In fact they are more fervent as internet users as well. They will find every way to protect their rice bowl. Just look at what happen recently; (refer Straits Times Jan 21) both the Google (American) and Baidu( China) search engines are tussling with one another over issues like hacking, attracting online users, copyright and many more. All these, I believe, is because they want to protect their interest. BAidu, easier to say as compared to Google which is pronounced as 'Gu Ge" for instance claims to be  the 'more  Chinese search engine' and caters 'better to the China's legions of youthful online users.' It accused Google as an 'alien interloper'.  : ) 

 The internet users on the other hand, are so tempted to explore the virtual world..they are the pragmatics and they take risks.  As such they are more exposed to the idiosyncracies of internet...

I  am one of the internet avid users. I love to explore the net for information, entertainment and what not. Considering the amount of time that passed as  I surf the net...it seems as though the internet controls my life.. it affects my time management.. I got addicted to technology! When I went to Sim Lim Square, I felt myself at home. It was so nice to be with the 'technology'! So much money was spent on IT gadgets. Not only that, when I was given the role to look into IT matters at work, it grew worse! At that time, I felt so special cos' I had the first hand on IT gadget that my other colleagues might not know.. and guess what.. I still can't get over it! Online shopping is there to trap people like me : ^ 

INterneT ScAm

Have you come across internet scam like this? I have received quite a number of scams in my various emails; especially trying to anchor human sympathy.. Only someone who is digitally literate will be able to deliver this and only one who is digitally literate will be able to recognise its authenticity. As according to Gilster (1997),  digital literacy involves acquiring the skills to find 'things' in the net and the ablity to use these 'things' in your life. So, a person who is able to dive into the network and identify the sources of information displayed in the net and also, use this ability to manipulate others HAS acquired digital literacy... whether for good or bad, these skills certainly help to fulfill a range of interests!

What is digital literacy?

Exactly... what is digital literacy? I know.. we have digital camera, digital video, digital watch.. and now digital literacy?? Does DL have to do with technology and  digital revolution? Must a digitally literate person be IT literate as well? How IT literate can a person be in order to be digitally literate??  Confused.

I suppose digital literacy refers to the ability to read, understand, interpret, infer and produce something that has to do with technology... or may be there's more to it? Being a digital imigrant, I shouldn't  be comfortable with the skills that I have at present. The younger ones or rather.. the digital natives are keeping up with the advancing technology. They are born in the age of technology and immersed in a period which exposes them to a spectrum of media. The fear of just being receptive to whatever that is shown before them is lurking in the air. They need to learn to be more critical and be cautious of messages that are hidden in the heads of the media authors.. that's where our role as educators should enter. We, ourselves, have to be IT literate or digitally literate in order to play an effective role!