The meaning of literacy has changed.  It used to be enough to teach children how to read and write, speak and listen.  Today, they also communicate through a variety of media, each of which presents unique advantages and challenges.  

To be literate in a digital world, children have to pay attention to the information being conveyed, the media through which it is transmitted, and the technology that makes it possible.  How a child composes an email, YouTube video, web page or social networking profile is impacted by the choices she makes about the information, media and technology she’ll use.  In turn, those choices greatly influence how other individuals will perceive her message and the meaning they will make from it.

Digital literacy, sometimes called ICT (information and communications technology) literacy brings together several related fields—media literacy, information literacy, technology literacy—each of which has its own body of research and resources.