Accelerating Digital Literacy in Nigeria’s Digital Economy, by Fom Gyem

We live in a technologically dependent world, thus digital literacy is crucial. You may now purchase movie tickets using a smartphone, read the news on a portable tablet, or carry books around with you. Digital literacy is the capacity to use, comprehend, evaluate, and communicate across a range of digital platforms.

Digital literacy is demonstrated when you read a book on a Kindle, evaluate the reliability of a news article that is linked in your social media newsfeed, or make and post a YouTube video. Even the technology you’re using to access this article falls under the umbrella of digital literacy.

Finding the appropriate tools for information consumption, sharing, and producing content for others are some indications of someone who is digitally literate.

The capacity to search, analyze, and convey information online or in a digital format is known as digital literacy. You may typically divide the idea of “digital literacy” into three key abilities, while the precise definition may differ between businesses, academic institutions, or other organizations:

Your method of information intake: This is the capacity to carry out digital duties like reading an online news item, seeing your online banking statements, or utilizing an e-reader in a classroom.

Information you produce: Everything from developing and editing videos to writing articles to producing and editing PDFs falls under this skill set.

Your method of information transfer: Knowing how to communicate knowledge is necessary after you have it. Writing a tweet, sending an email, exchanging documents online with your team, and other forms of communication are all examples of communication.

Digital literacy is essential in many aspects of life, from education to the workforce. It is, however, simply a requirement for anyone who utilizes the internet.

You may need to access and use forms and applications online because they are occasionally the only ones available. Knowing how to distribute documents can keep workflow going, and the ability to determine whether a website is legitimate can save you from headaches. The ability to navigate in our contemporary, digital environment requires a basic understanding of digital literacy.

According to UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE 2011), digital literacy has beneficial effects on learning skills and competencies because it broadens the scope of potential knowledge.

The importance of digital literacy to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s digital economy was underscored by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, at the one-day virtual workshop, organized by NGSTQB, themed: “Role of Software Testing in Nigeria’s Digital Economy”.

Pantami noted that, for Nigeria to achieve its ambitious target of 95 percent digital literacy level by 2030, “we will need to build the literacy of citizens, in order, for them to understand and consume digital services.”

Thus, the awareness of what digital literacy is and the reality of its influence on our daily lives will significantly improve its promotion in Nigeria. We can dominate our environment in many ways with digital literacy. We develop into creators of ideas that can arouse wants, lead to the creation of tools that can lessen stress, and effect a shift from consumers to producers.

Regardless of each employee’s function, information and communication technologies (ICT) competencies are becoming more and more crucial for many organizations. The variety of technology tools and resources used to communicate, create, distribute, store, retrieve, and manage information demonstrates the significance of digital literacy.

Each technology has a different potential depending on how it is used. Knowing how to evaluate internet sources for accuracy and reliability of information would be considered to be good digital literacy.

For instance, utilizing a computer requires procedural skills (file management), cognitive skills, and emotional-social abilities. Digital literacy is a mix of these talents (intuitively reading the visual messages in graphic user interfaces). As such, Nigerian educators must constantly adapt the curriculum to integrate the most recent technological developments because the components of computer literacy are changing as a result of technological advancements.

Of course, one cannot overstate the value of fostering a culture of digital literacy in Nigeria. When we can use digital technology safely and responsibly to learn, communicate, and collaborate, every citizen of this nation can become a decent digital literate person.

To support effective and integrated quality learning for all and to make sure that everyone has the necessary digital skills to productively engage in the digital economy, organizations in the public and commercial sectors must collaborate.

As a result, citizens with strong digital literacy will be aware of the legal ramifications of using technology negatively as well as the rights and obligations that come with being online.

Fom Gyem, Wuye District, Abuja