A Portrait of Digital Literacy of Elementary School Students in Coastal Areas

Abstract

Digital literacy theory has entered the school curriculum in various forms, both as standalone subjects and across the curriculum. Digital literacy become an essential learning objective in many school systems worldwide because the Internet is now a necessary part of children's daily lives. The school's geographical location has influenced the development of digital literacy in the learning process. A school environment with digital literacy will significantly impact the learning process. This study describes the level of digital literacy of elementary school students in coastal areas in the Purworejo district, Central Java, Indonesia, at the general level and per sub-indexed. This research used a quantitative descriptive approach. The data was collected using Google Forms. The 27-item questionnaire was adapted from the Kata Data Insight Center (KIC) under the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Information (Kemenkominfo). Data analysis in this study used descriptive statistics. One hundred elementary school students (53 from third and 47 from fourth grades) participated in this study. The results showed that the digital literacy level of elementary school students in coastal areas was in the "medium" category with an index of 3.63 (from a scale of 1 to 5). All digital literacy sub-index shows the medium level with the highest average on technological capabilities (3,81) and the lowest on security (3,50). The sub-index of information and data literacy placed, on average, 3,60, while communication and collaboration on 3,72.