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New ways of communicating

The web is changing the very forms of culture and the way in which it is interpreted, created, transmitted. Several psychologists are studying how technology changes our behavior, thinking and sociability. On the web we acquire knowledge and information in a scattered and non-sequential way. For this you need to have good fast and effective search tactics on the net. In the following paragraphs we will focus on four skills for surfing the net: digital literacy ( new media literacy ), critical thinking, storytelling and web writing .

New media literacy

New media literacy is the ability to access media , to understand and critically evaluate different aspects of media starting with their contents, to create communication in a variety of contexts.

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It includes:

• skills such as the ability to select information, use services, be aware of one's own and others' privacy.

•   knowledge of new languages and forms of expression to be able to independently create and remodel content.

• skills necessary to confront on the web with a potentially unlimited number of people and with cultures and ideas different from ours,

• compare knowledge and opinions with others in view of a common goal.

Critical thinking

Critical thinking can be identified as rational thinking and reflective reasoning through which we decide what to think or how to behave and question our knowledge to arrive at providing a sufficiently valid justification for our argument.

Critical thinking represents a strategy to be adopted in the search for information, in the creation of opinions and finally in the decision of which statements to make or behaviors to keep and constitutes a valid tool in the educational and training field.

Storytelling

Those who surf have the opportunity to present a story about themselves, their experiences or their imagination. Storytelling is the act of narrating , a discipline that uses the principles of rhetoric and narratology. The term storytelling refers to the various types of works of fiction, both audiovisual and literary works.

This type of storytelling allows those who are telling to increase the chances of involvement of the reader.

Web writing

It is that online activity that allows the owners of blogs, portals, e-commerce and websites to welcome users with useful and informative content.

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There are two fundamental parameters to define the goodness of a site:

1. The ease of navigation within a site, defined as usability.

2. the organization according to the user's needs thanks to the identification of its characteristics.  a structurally prefect and graphically appealing site that does not allow the required information to be found quickly will lead the surfer to a negative user experience;

for this reason it is essential to know how to write online.

  Tips for writing online

• The title of an article is essential because, if deemed "catchy", people will be tempted to click to read the article.

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• After an initial introductory part which must contain all the necessary information, the following paragraphs will deepen the topic, referring the interested reader to some topics mentioned in other web pages.

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• It is usually not necessary to enter conclusions or final formulas.

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• In the letter on the net, the eye " jumps " from one point to another in the text, concentrating more on the single words than on the period. For this it is necessary to favor short and concluded sentences, the expression of a concept for each single paragraph, perhaps highlighting the fundamental terms in bold and inserting a line break between the paragraphs.

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• Elements not recommended in online writing are the use of continuous lowercase or abundant exclamation points since on the net writing in uppercase is equivalent to shouting and is not appreciated.

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• Good hashtags allow you to make an article circulate more on the net. The hashtag represents a label used on different social networks as a thematic aggregator.