Webmaker/WebLiteracyMap/v2/research

Research from academic journals, blog posts, and elsewhere to inform v2.0 of Mozilla's Web Literacy Map v2.0.

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2014

There seems to be a pressing need to develop a “web literacy” approach especially with the emergence of technologies like social software, wikis, blogs, open source systems and what is known as the Web 2.0 movement. Web literacy, a term first coined by Sorapure, Inglesby and Yatchisin (1998), has been defined as “an ability to recognize and assess a wide range of rhetorical situations and an attentiveness conveyed in a source’s non-textual features. Teaching such a literacy means supplementing the evaluative criteria traditionally applied to print sources with new strategies for making sense of diverse kinds of texts presented in hyper textual and multimedia formats” (Sorapure, Inglesby and Yatchisin, 1998).

Keshavarz, H. (2014). How Credible is Information on the Web:
Reflections on Misinformation and Disinformation. Infopreneurship Journal, 1(2), 1-17.

2013

Web literacy refers to the skills needed for successful web navigation

Texas Journal of Literacy Education (November, 2008). Online reading requires specific skills, and these skills are often referred to by educators in K- 12 settings as web literacy skills. Classroom practices often involve research and “the rules of research have changed with society’s move from paper to digital information” (November, 2008, p. 6). Web literacy may fit under the umbrella of New Literacies in that it relates directly to skills needed to locate information accurately and effectively. Web literacy is also reflective of digital literacies, as it is a term used to explain knowledge an individual needs to find information, to examine content, to find out who published a Web site, and to see who is linked to a site (November, 2008)."

Pilgrim, J. & Martinez, E.E. (2013). Defining Literacy in the 21st Century:
A Guide to Terminology and Skills. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 1(1), 60-69.

The two terms that seem most practitioner-friendly are web literacy and digital literacy. Web literacy, as the term implies, describes a user’s Internet navigation skills as well as critical thinking skills required to evaluate online information. This term is not as broad as digital literacy, but the skills provide teachers with concrete ways to help students search for accurate and reliable information in a safe Internet environment (November, 2008). This type of information and support for teachers has enabled educators to develop curriculum for teaching literacy skills.

Pilgrim, J. & Martinez, E.E. (2013). Defining Literacy in the 21st Century:
A Guide to Terminology and Skills. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 1(1), 60-69.

2012