digital Literacy

Celebrities have gained considerable influence in the last one hundred years or so, but the advent of so-called Web 2.0 technologies has given celebrity culture a new momentum. We are living in a world in which celebrities are striving to curve their place in every niche and hence we have to become more media literate in order to avoid being exploited by celebrity media and culture. We have to be aware that celebrities promote commodities that they will never use, that they are carefully working on their image to become pleasant to us, and that if they do humanitarian work, they are mainly doing it for their reputation, and not for a real and authentic cause.

   COPYRIGHTS ©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publisher. This study set out to explore the efficacy of EFL teachers' digital literacy in improving language learners' speaking fluency and accuracy through the development of virtual languaculture tasks. To this end, 52 male and 68 female EFL teachers from different areas of Kurdistan province participated in the study by completing a digital literacy scale developed by Ng (2012). Moreover, three groups of teachers, 12 high and 12 low-digitally literate teachers who used virtual languaculture tasks and 10 teachers who used traditional teaching methods participated in semi-structured interviews, and their teachings were observed for 8 sessions. Besides, by conducting an IELTS speaking test, 121 male and 122 female EFL learners of the three groups of teachers were selected to participate in this study. After conducting 16-session treatments, a speaking test was used as the posttest.  The qualitative and quantitative data were analyzed via MAXQDA and SPSS. The results of one-way between-groups multivariate analysis of variance indicated the efficacy of the implementation of languaculture tasks in developing students' speaking fluency and accuracy. On the other hand, the qualitative phase of the study showed that being digitally literate influenced the development, implementation, variety, and complexity of languaculture tasks. Moreover, the attained results supported the superiority of the languaculture task as a mediator between instructors' digital literacy and learners' verbal ability. Accordingly, enhancing teachers' digital literacy and learners' critical languaculture awareness are suggested as useful strategies to improve language learners' speaking fluency and accuracy. 

Purpose- Nowadays, providing education in information technology and communication to the rural workforce is crucial for improving social capital and promoting sustainable development. However, inadequate policies have created a digital divide between rural and urban areas. Upgrading digital literacy is now a key goal for policymakers and planners. This research aims to analyze the digital literacy policy system in rural areas in Iran. Design/methodology/approach- The research involves an analytical method, where existing documents are reviewed. Essential information was gathered by analyzing various digital documents, including the Cyberspace Strategic Document, Digital Transformation Strategic Document, Communications and Information Technology Strategic Document in the Sixth Development Plan, Digital Transformation Roadmap of Iran, and the Performance Report of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Findings- After examining the five strategic digital literacy programs of the country, it was found that the Cyberspace Strategic Document (2018-2025) did not sufficiently address rural digital skills, particularly in the agriculture sector, despite considering actions in the field of industry, business, services, human resources, culture, and lifestyle. However, other documents, such as the Digital Transformation Strategic Document, the Communications and Information Technology Strategic Document in the Sixth Development Plan, and the Performance Report of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (2019), emphasized various digital literacy components, including raising awareness of innovative methods for crop production, dealing with natural disasters affecting crops, employment based on capabilities, better access to electronic markets, facilitating the transfer of scientific findings to farmers, access to new electronic services (postal, educational, agricultural, banking, health), and empowering the rural workforce. However, some digital literacy components, such as facilitating crop cultivation planning for the next year, establishing major product purchase centers, and predicting weather changes, have yet to be fully considered in the country's digital programs. Practical solutions- In order to fill the existing digital divide between rural and urban areas, experts have proposed various practical solutions, including providing various digital infrastructures and tools in rural areas, increasing the population coverage of broadband internet services in rural areas, equipping agricultural service centers with digital technology facilities to transfer information to rural farmers, upgrading the literacy level of rural workers, especially rural farmers. Originality and value- Most of the studies on rural digital literacy have focused on evaluating resilience through digital literacy, and the analysis of the country's policy on rural digital literacy has received less attention from researchers. This research is innovative in this regard.

The aim of this research was the effect of providing a technological integrated package with curriculum subjects in improving digital literacy and social-emotional competence of fifth grade elementary students. The research method with a quantitative approach of semi-experimental type (quasi-experimental) with the experimental and control group design, the statistical population includes 457 students from the evaluated schools of the district and approved by Alborz province, who were selected by random sampling of 58 people. The research tool included two questionnaires, the Dundee University Digital Literacy Inventory (2016) based on the Open University Digital Skills Framework and the Boyatzis Social-Emotional Competence Inventory (2007). that the validity of both questionnaires was confirmed by experts and reliability was estimated based on Cronbach's alpha coefficient for digital literacy (0.942) and for social-emotional competence (0.90); Then it was distributed. The obtained data have been used with descriptive statistics (frequency table, graph, mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Kolmogov Smirnov test, boxplot, ANOVA test, Lone test and path analysis method). The data were analyzed using Amos software version 24 and SPSS version 22. The results showed: 1) There is no significant relationship between social-emotional competence and digital literacy. 2) Among the dimensions of social-emotional competence, self-awareness (R=0.566), self-management (R=0.290) has a positive and significant relationship with digital literacy, and relationship management (R=0.348) has an inverse relationship with digital literacy. And it has meaning. 3) Among the dimensions of social-emotional competence, only the dimension of social awareness (R=0.133) has no significant relationship with digital literacy. 4) Among the dimensions of social-emotional competence, the highest impact is related to the dimension of self-awareness and the lowest is related to the dimension of self-management.

This paper presents the results of a survey aimed at students aged between 10 and 18 from three schools in the South of Portugal. The purpose of the survey was to gather information about their perspectives regarding online hate speech (OHS). The study, whose central objective is to understand the intricate dynamics of online video games and social gaming platforms, is part of a project entitled "PROPS: Interactive Narratives Propose a Pluralistic Speech". From the data collected, the project envisages the creation of a set of interactive media designed to counteract main OHS discourses. By developing a thoughtful approach to the emergent issue of OHS, the aim is to promote media literacy in young players, thus cultivating a gaming environment that is both inclusive and safe.

Self-directed learning and digital literacy are the most effective issues in the process of foreign language learning. Due to the importance of digital literacy and self-directed learning in the process of foreign language learning, the present study aimed at investigating the relationship between Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ digital literacy and their self-directed learning. For the purpose of the study, 210 male and female Iranian EFL learners from Mashhad English language institutes took part in the study through using convenience sampling method. The digital literacy and self-directed learning questionnaires were distributed among intermediate EFL learners to measure their attitudes towards digital literacy and the self-directed learning process. To conduct the study, a correlational design was used. The results of Pearson Correlation analyses revealed that there was a positive relationship between the Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ digital literacy and their self-directed learning. The results of the multiple regression analyses also showed that information communication technology literacy and information literacy as the two components of the digital literacy questionnaire significantly predicted the Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ self-directed learning. It can be concluded that high levels of digital literacy and self-directed learning tend to result in better academic performance and learning motivation. It is important that educational contexts, as well as lan guage institutes administrators provide opportunities for en hancing learners’ self-directed learning and media literacy and consequently improving EFL learners’ achievement and motivation.