Can We Get By Without Being Digital Literate?

Certainly students today could graduate from high school without being digital literate so how can we make digital literacy a priority for students and for school districts. In a 2002 study by Gupta and Ndahi they state, “About 22% of adults currently entering the labor market possess the technology skills that are required for 60% of new jobs.” (1) The focus of this article was on training the trainer to bring skill base up-to-date.

Reflection:
This was not a lengthy article but I was looking for statistics on jobs and technology. The statistic caught my eye. I highly suspect since 2002 there are many more advances in technology and the numbers might look really different again today if they were to do their study again. Also I would think we would begin to see some “Digital Natives” arriving to the workforce. The “natives” coming into the workforce may change how companies use technology.

I remember once hearing that we are preparing students in school today for jobs that don’t even exist yet! In any case employers are looking for employees that not only can use software but that they are digital literate—they know how to find information, they know what to do with it and how to creative, market, respond, analyze and evaluate it.

So I suppose you could get by without being digital literate but expect that you will be beat out of jobs that have qualified digital literate applicants.

Reference:
Gupta, A. & Ndahi, H. (2002). Meeting the digital literacy needs of a growing workforce. The Reading Matrix, 2(1). Retrieved from http://readingmatix.com/articles