Digital Literacy Audit – Final Paper

DIGITAL LITERACY AUDIT 1

Digital Literacy Audit

GEN 102 Digital Literacy for Life and the Workplace

DIGITAL LITERACY AUDIT 2

Digital Literacy Audit

Digital technology has impacted my personal, academic and professional life through using various technical devices to interact. Gone are the days when mobile phones were used only for telephone conversations (Sole & Jackson, 2016). For example my smartphone is always within my reach and it serves as a reminder to take my medicine; my alarm; appointment calendar; pay my bills; banking; keep in touch with family and friends; access my email and social media pages; and my all time favorite playing interface games with my grandson. New forms of technological communication have allowed for more interactive learning (Sole & Jackson, 2016). My busy work schedule doesn’t allow me to attend classes locally. Using my laptop to taking online classes through Ashford is and added convenience for me because of being in the comfort of my home and I don’t have to fight traffic or leave work early for class.

Today technology is so complex and changing so quickly that no one can master all there is to know about it (Sole & Jackson, 2016). I made the decision to return back to school because I sometimes would apply for jobs that required a degree or certain number years of experience and I would go to the interview knowing I only had the experience. Taking the online classes and applying the knowledge and skills along with my experience will help me achieve my goal to obtain my degree.

DIGITAL LITERACY AUDIT 3

Digital citizenship is a responsible person who uses information and technology to engage with others in a safe and respectful manner. The three ways I plan to practice good digital citizenship in my personal, academic and professional life are to use proper online etiquette and be polite and respectful towards others; be respectful of copyright laws and make sure I don’t violate them by using others’ materials inappropriately or without written permission; and avoid using plagiarism which is using another’s work as your own or closely copying the language or arrangement of a document that is not yours (Sole & Jackson, 2016). I will always cite and give the person their credit when I am completing an assignment.

The Ashford writing center can help me in my academic life by offering a variety of resources to help guide me with writing topics for my research papers, paper review, and using grammarly. There are times I’m unsure as start writing my papers. The writing center provide steps to understanding my assignments, how to brainstorm, research information, how to outline my paper, writing a rough draft, revising my paper and editing and proofreading. I can use paper review to submit my discussion posts and assignments and receive feedback and links to other helpful resources to use. Using grammarly helps to edit and proofread my assignments to make sure they are writing with clarity, free of mistakes, and hopefully a decent grade.

DIGITAL LITERACY AUDIT 4

Using the Ashford library can be very helpful in my academic life by helping me find scholarly materials such as articles, newspaper, e-books, and journals to write my assignments and discussion posts. Most importantly to me is there is someone available 24/7 via live chat to assist me with any challenges or questions about any assignments. My digital textbook can also help me with my academic studies by showing me how to highlight and downloading for future use. As I’m reading my text instead of writing notes, I’m able to highlight important sections to use on my discussion posts, assignments, and responses to my peers. I’m also able to download the textbook as audio, portable document format (pdf), for my kindle or text on my notepad without connecting online with Ashford. I can also print the textbook and have on hand to read later.

There are several benefits and risks of increase usage of social media in our society. One benefit of using social media is connecting with others. Regardless of location social media helps with reviving and preserving relationships with other people. A second benefit of social media is education. It can be very beneficial to learn from experts and professionals and enhance your knowledge about any field. One risk of increase usage of social media is cyber bullying. Unfortunately fake accounts are created and threats, intimidation messages and rumors are sent out to some young children, preteens, teenagers and adults and this creates discomfort and chaos. A second risk of increase usage of social media is glamorizing drugs and alcohol. There are people who will follow celebrities or drug addicted and share their views and videos (Ahmad, 2016).

DIGITAL LITERACY AUDIT 5

I use several social media platforms to communicate with my family and friends on a daily basis.

There are several things I can change to maintain safety and security of my personal and professional online presence. One precaution is to change my passwords more frequently and be respectful of my postings because potential employers are researching social media for employees and I wouldn’t want to lose the chance of receiving my dream position.

The three financial pieces of information that I will use to help me make smart decisions about my future and eventual my retirement are create a good budget that will allow you to live within your means; if I need to apply for a loan only borrow exactly what is needed and pay off the loan as quickly as possible; and start an emergency saving fund to help family and friends during unexpected situations (Sole & Jackson, 2016)

DIGITAL LITERACY AUDIT 1

References

Ahmad, B. (2016). 10 Advantages and disadvantages of social media for society. Retrieved from https://techmaish.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-social-media-for-society

Sole, K., & Jackson, K.L. (2016). Fundamentals of digital literacy [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu