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A Study of Digital Media Literacy of the 5th and 6th Grade Primary Students in Bei**g

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Abstract

With the aim of examining the digital media literacy of primary school students, a perceived digital media literacy of primary student scale was developed. A cluster sampling was conducted, and 796 primary students in Bei**g took part in this study. Results indicated that the instrument demonstrated good reliability and validity. The participants (the 5th and 6th grade primary students) reported rather a high level of critical understanding and technical skills. Regarding digital media literacy, although significant differences appeared within different grades and age groups, there was no significant difference between female and male students. Moreover, primary students’ digital media literacy was significantly influenced by students’ digital media experience and parental mediation. The implications regarding the findings of the digital media literacy of primary students were discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Prof. dr. Frederik Quester and Dr. Jo Tondeur for their extensive and valuable suggestions for this manuscript. And special thanks to Dr. Guoyuan Sang for his engagement and support in the data collection in Bei**g.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Hui Zhang & Chang Zhu

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  1. Hui Zhang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chang Zhu.

Appendix

Appendix

Digital Media Literacy

Technical skills

 Item 1

I am able to send or receive e-mails

 Item 2

I am able to shop online

 Item 3

I am able to watch or download TV, movies or films

 Item 4

I am able to listen to, or download music

 Item 5

I am able to read or download online news/newspapers/news magazines

 Item 6

I am able to search for information or materials related to my homework

Critical understanding

 Item 7

I am able to detect differences in the information I receive from different search engines

 Item 8

I am able to judge the reliability of the information and news on television and radio

 Item 9

I am able to judge the reliability of the information and news on the Internet

 Item 11

I am able to protect my computer from being infecting by viruses (such as, installing a virus scan program)

 Item 12

I know how to prevent receiving obscene or otherwise unwanted e-mails (such as installing filters or blocking senders)

 Item 13

I am able to protect my personal information online (such as by not telling strangers my phone number)

 Item 14

I know what advertisements are about

 Item 15

I know when and where advertisements can be placed

 Item 16

I know how to identify the type of content that can be shown (such as, violent content or sexually explicit content)

Creation and communication

 Item 17

I am able to create a simple flash file

 Item 18

I am able to upload text, photos, flash file or music

 Item 19

I am able to write a blog or manage a QQ space

 Item 20

I am able to communicate with my family, friends, or classmates

Citizenship participation

 Item 21

I am able to post my opinions or texts about social news to websites

 Item 22

I am able to participate in discussion about civic or political issued online

 Item 23

I am able to pay attention to the social focus on television or on any other kinds of media

Students’ Digital Media Experience

Item 1

I watch television

Item 2

I go to the cinema

Item 3

I listen to radio broadcasts

Item 4

I play computer games

Item 5

I use a mobile phone

Item 6

I use a computer

Item 7

I use my mobile phone to access the Internet

Item 8

I use other devices (such as an iPad) to access the Internet

Parental Mediation

Item 1

My parents set rules about the time spent online or on other digital media

Item 2

My parents discuss with me when I encounter difficulty online or with other digital media

Item 3

My parents help when I use the Internet or other digital media

Item 4

My parents talk to me about what we watch on the Internet, television or other digital media

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Zhang, H., Zhu, C. A Study of Digital Media Literacy of the 5th and 6th Grade Primary Students in Bei**g. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 25, 579–592 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-016-0285-2

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