Digital Literacy: Evolution, Evaluation and Enhancement

Digital literacy has increasingly assumed paramount importance in the digital age, emerging as a vital essential skillset. This study begins by retrospecting on the three evolutionary stages of digital literacy, delineating the characteristics unique to each phase. It observes that the connotation of digital literacy has been continually expanded and refined with the progression of time. Subsequently, by analyzing current international standards and frameworks for digital literacy, and integrating the developmental context and specific traits of Chinese students and teachers, this research constructs a digital literacy conceptual framework for students and a digital literacy conceptual framework for teachers. Thereafter, using the student population as an example, the study developed a digital literacy evaluation tool based on the conceptual framework and presented the results of evaluating students’ digital literacy in a large-scale study conducted in six Chinese provinces. Finally, the study provides concrete and feasible recommendations for improving digital literacy of teachers and students.