Summary of Research A recent study by Zhang et al. (2016) was published after data was collected from 5th and 6th grade students in Beijing. The study was conducted because measuring digital media literacy is a difficult challenge. The study included creating a rating scale where students self reported their skills in the 4 declared areas of digital media literacy: technical skills, critical understanding, creation and communication and citizenship participation. The questionnaire included specific questions such as: “I am able to judge the reliability of the information and news on the internet” and “I am able to detect differences in the information I receive from different search engines.” The results concluded that there was a high level of digital media literacy skills amongst the students but there were limitations to the study due to the fact that students were self reporting and was not always accurate with regard to the students’ actual skill. Julie Coiro (2015) also conducted a study published which sought out to find evidence regarding what types of evidence do seventh grade students use to judge the quality of online information. She also sought out to find which patterns of evidence 7th graders use to justify their reasoning. The study found that students could easily identify the author and the author’s point of view but evaluating the author's expertise and the website's overall reliability posed more of a challenge to students. Hutchison et. al. additionally conducted research in 2016 regarding what digital skills preadolescent students had and the perceptions of their skills. Their study of nearly 1200 fourth and 5th grade students led them to discover that preadolescent students are moderately skilled at online search, evaluation and communication tasks. Students also showed a higher interest in using the internet but students reported that it was more difficult to read than a book or textbook. The study also found that students perceptions of their digital skills did not match their scores on a digital skills based test. References United States, Congress, Office of Education Technology, et al. United Stated Department of Education, Jan. 2017. tech.ed.gov/. United States, Congress, “Empowering Learning A Blueprint for California Education Technology .” Empowering Learning A Blueprint for California Education Technology , Apr. 2014. www.cde.ca.gov/ls/et/dc/. Zhang, H., & Zhu, C. (2016) A study of digital media literacy of the 5th and 6th grade primary students in Beijing. The Asia - Pacific Education Researcher, 25(4), 579-592 Coiro, J., & Coscarelli, C., & Maykey, C., & Forzani, E. (2015) Investigating criteria that seventh graders use to evaluate the quality of online information. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 59(3), 287-297 Hutchison, A., Woodward, L., Colwell, J. (2016) What are preadolescent readers doing online? An examination of upper elementary students’ reading, writing and communication in digital spaces. International Literacy Association, Reading Research Quarterly. 51(1), 435-454
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