Synopses & Reviews
Digital Skills systematically discusses the skills or literacies needed in the use of digital media, primarily computers and the Internet. Following the work of van Dijk's The Deepening Divide: Inequality in the Information Society, it uses conceptual analysis and empirical observations to show what digital skills are, how they are distributed, how skill inequalities develop, and how these inequalities can be remedied by designers, educators, policymakers, and different types of Internet users.
Synopsis
The first book to systematically discuss the skills and literacies needed to use digital media, particularly the Internet, van Dijk and van Deursen's clear and accessible work distinguishes digital skills, analyzes their roles and prevalence, and offers solutions from individual, educational, sociological, and policy perspectives.
About the Author
Jan A. G .M. van Dijk is Professor of Communication Science at the University of Twente, The Netherlands.
Alexander J. A. M. van Deursen is Assistant Professor of Communication at the University of Twente, The Netherlands.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Defining Internet Skills
3. Impact: Why Digital Skills are the Key to the Information Society
4. Current Levels of Internet Skills
5. Solutions: Better Design
6. Solutions: Learning Digital Skills
7. Conclusions and Policy Perspectives