Earlier this month, we explored two tools that help DeafBlind people navigate the physical world: the guide dog and the white cane.
Both can help a person gather information about their surroundings, make decisions and move through the world. But getting somewhere is only part of the story. We navigate so that we can do things, meet people and participate in life.
Today, for Digital Literacy Day, we’re exploring another way to navigate: using digital technology to find information, communicate and connect with the world around us.
Finding Our Way in the Digital World
Think about how often we use digital technology to make things happen. We search for information, check transport schedules, communicate with friends and discover opportunities.
Digital literacy helps us do these things. It involves knowing how to use digital tools, find information, decide whether it is reliable and use it to make informed choices.
For a DeafBlind person, these skills can open up opportunities to participate in everyday life.
Imagine wanting to attend a community meeting. You find the announcement online, check the details and complete the registration form. You can then contact the organisers to discuss your access requirements and prepare to participate.
Digital literacy helps you navigate the process, from finding out about the meeting to taking the steps needed to attend.
But what happens when the registration form does not work with your screen reader?
You may have the device and the skills, but you cannot complete the process. The barrier is not your ability to use technology. The system has not been made accessible.
Digital literacy helps us use technology. Digital accessibility helps ensure that we can use it to participate.
From Navigation to Belonging
The value of a navigation tool lies not simply in reaching a destination, but in what becomes possible when we get there.
Digital literacy can help DeafBlind people discover opportunities, communicate with others, join conversations and contribute to their communities. Accessible technology helps make those opportunities usable.
And belonging? It means more than being present at a meeting or included in a digital group. It means having the opportunity to interact, contribute and be part of what happens.
This Digital Literacy Day, let’s look beyond whether someone owns a smartphone or knows how to use a computer.
Can they access the information they need? Can they act on it? Can they participate in the activities and relationships that matter to them?
Earlier this month, we explored how a guide dog and a white cane can support navigation through the physical world. Today, we recognise digital literacy as another way to navigate situations and opportunities.
Different tools help us find our way. Accessible information helps us make choices. And inclusive environments help turn those choices into meaningful participation and belonging.