Identifying Digital Literacies to Build Academic Literacies

Many students matriculate into college feeling confident in their abilities to make meaning when using digital devices, though recent research suggests these students are not necessarily digitally literate. Still, 20% of incoming freshmen are required to enroll in Developmental Literacy Education, suggesting some of these students are not necessarily academically literate. Little evidence suggests Developmental Literacy Education students have digital literacies or adapt these digital literacies to academic literacies. To inform Developmental Literacy educators, four ethnically diverse Developmental Literacy Education students completed a Digital Literacies Autobiography on their past, present, and future uses as well as their values of digital literacies. Next, they were interviewed to member-check their uses and values of digital literacies and its role in academic literacies. Our conclusions confirmed these Developmental Literacy Education students use and value digital literacies for personal literacy practices, perceived a means to help others in their social communities, but struggled with connections of digital literacies to academic literacies. Implications for additional research and using these digital literacies to build academic literacies are proposed.