Digital Literacy

That moment reminded me that digital literacy has quietly become one of the most essential artistic skills we teach. It is no longer enough for students to know how to create with technology. They also need to understand how digital tools shape creative choices, how algorithms influence what they see, when automation enhances learning, and when it begins to replace critical thinking. Our students should leave our classrooms as artists who know not only how to use digital tools, but why they are choosing them.

But what is digital literacy? That can feel like an overwhelming question. In short, it is the ability to use digital technologies effectively, critically, ethically, and safely to create, communicate, evaluate, and solve problems. For an art classroom, I’ve narrowed it down to the categories I believe are most relevant:

• Digital Creation (making art with digital tools)
• Media Literacy (understanding images, visual culture, and manipulation)
• Information Literacy (researching artists and sourcing visual references)
• Digital Citizenship (copyright, licensing, AI ethics, attribution, and responsible sharing)

Digital citizenship, in particular, is a topic that is receiving significant attention these days. In 2026, many educators also consider AI literacy a component of digital literacy, including an understanding of how AI-generated content works, its biases, ethical use, and when human creativity should take precedence over automation. This aligns especially well with contemporary visual arts education.

I am a mixed-media digital artist and have also been a digital arts educator for almost thirty years. The continual evolution and advancement of technology has always intrigued and excited me. However, I must remain sensitive to those who are still cautious about rapidly advancing technologies and the philosophical, moral, and ethical questions they bring with them. Yet the world in which we live makes it increasingly important for educators to lean into digital literacy. Without it, we risk limiting students’ creativity, reducing access to resources, creating barriers to learning, and making it more difficult for students to participate in contemporary art practices.

Digital skills do not replace traditional art skills; they expand the ways artists can create, communicate, and share their work. Our role as educators is not to choose between the traditional and the digital, but to help students understand how they can coexist. When we teach students to approach technology with curiosity, intention, and critical awareness, we empower them to become not just users of digital tools, but thoughtful creators who can shape the future of art with purpose and responsibility.

Kasmira Mohanty is a digital arts teacher at Huntington High School in Huntington, New York.
kasmiramohanty@gmail.com