The Role of Digital Literacy in Shaping Students' Critical Thinking Skills in the Era of Educational Transformation

Abstract

Digital transformation in the world of education has brought major changes to the way students acquire, process, and utilize information. The development of information technology provides easy access to various learning resources, but at the same time also presents challenges in the form of increasing the spread of invalid information, misinformation, and students' low ability to evaluate digital information. This condition shows that digital literacy is an important competency that students must possess in order to be able to use technology effectively, critically, and responsibly. This study aims to analyze the role of digital literacy in shaping students' critical thinking skills in the era of educational transformation. This research uses a qualitative approach with a literature study method through the analysis of various relevant national and international journal articles on digital literacy and critical thinking skills. The results of the study show that digital literacy has a significant contribution to the development of students' critical thinking skills, especially in the aspects of the ability to access information, evaluate the credibility of sources, analyze digital data, solve problems, and make decisions based on valid information. Digital literacy is not only related to the ability to use technological devices, but also includes cognitive and ethical abilities in understanding and utilizing digital information. Therefore, the integration of digital literacy in the learning process is an important strategy to form students who are able to think critically, adaptively, and competently in facing the challenges of 21st century education.