Why is Web Literacy important to me?

Web literacy I will say is important to me because everyone needs to know how to interact on the web in an inclusive and engaging way despite the profession you are in.

“Our world changed in April 1993 when the Mosaic 1.0 browser was released to the general public. We need new forms of education. We need to reform our learning institutions, concepts, and modes of assessment for our age. Now, anyone with access to the World Wide Web can go far beyond the passive consumer model to contribute content on the Web. That Do-It-Yourself potential for connected, participatory, improvisational learning requires new skills, what many are calling new literacies.” – Davidson, 2012 

Almost everyone is using the web now and in the next million years to come. If people are shown how to use the web in an inclusive and engaging way, then people will use the web to unlock social and other opportunities for instance a teacher can reach out to her students remotely, a business owner can reach out to her customers easily and faster but without people being web literate they won't be able to understand what the web can do and therefore disadvantaged.

The thing is that when we know how to wield it, indisputably makes our lives better. Just as Maths, Science, and History is important so does Web literacy too.
Web literacy I have come to understand is all about how to read, write and participate on the web in an inclusive and engaging way.

READ: This is how we tour the web, how to use the Internet especially when using the browsers, the credibility and reliability of a website and how to easily search for contents on the web.


WRITE: How to use the web to build, basically like blogs, websites to express yourself, for instance build websites or blog to market a product or let people know what skills you have. Also how to write codes, and upload media on emails etc.

PARTICIPATE: This is all about how to connect and share what you have created with others to get people celebrate it and also help you out when needed. Get more people involved in your works.


How Clubs will contribute to the change I want to see in my community

First of all as we have a Mozilla club that teaches girls web literacy known as Mozilla Club of HackathonGirls, which is located in one part of my community. I believe having many more clubs in the Gambia will allow us to reach out to everyone in different areas in the country and also ease the access to having a club at your doorstep no matter where you are. So with these clubs and web literacy taught, this will make people to be aware of what they can use the web or do on the web, thereby creating an awareness and sensitizing my community regardless of age. 

Why people should join me? 

This is important because, its all about giving back to the community. Joining me is like putting heads together to build our community and making the world a better place to live in. Also I believe knowledge is to be shared and not kept.