Driving Essential Digital Literacy Education: Embedding IDN Literacy in Future Program Design

19 June 2025 | By Michael D'Rosario

Digital literacy has emerged as an indispensable competency in an increasingly interconnected world. Beyond the ability to use digital tools, it encompasses a broader set of skills necessary to navigate, evaluate, and create content in online environments. However, linguistic barriers often limit the inclusivity of the internet, particularly for communities that use non-Latin scripts. Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) offer a critical solution, enabling domain names in native scripts and fostering a more inclusive digital ecosystem.

Eshet-Alkali and Amichai-Hamburger (2004) argue that digital literacy extends beyond technical skills to include visual, branching, and socio-emotional competencies. Integrating IDNs into digital literacy programs aligns with this understanding, addressing not only technical skills but also the cultural and emotional dimensions of connecting with one's linguistic heritage online.

The effective integration of IDNs also supports broader educational goals. Hague and Payton (2010) stress embedding digital literacy across curricula to encourage critical and creative engagement with technology. By incorporating IDNs into education, programs can help participants embrace the internet as a space for practical use and cultural expression.

The Importance of IDNs in a Multilingual Internet

IDNs enable users to access domain names in scripts reflecting their native languages, supporting linguistic diversity, cultural preservation, and economic participation. This aligns with Sharma et al.'s (2016) argument that digital literacy initiatives are essential for inclusion and sustainable development.

Challenges in IDN Awareness and Use

Despite their potential, IDNs face adoption barriers similar to broader digital literacy challenges. Nelson, Courier, and Joseph (2011) identified gaps in teaching digital literacy that also apply to IDNs, particularly in reaching diverse audiences. Many users remain unaware of IDNs or perceive them as complex and irrelevant. Building socio-emotional skills, as highlighted by Eshet-Alkali and Amichai-Hamburger (2004), can help overcome technophobia and foster confidence in adopting technologies like IDNs.

Integrating IDNs into Digital Literacy Programs

Creating Awareness Through Education - Digital literacy programs must build awareness of IDNs and their value. Following Eshet-Alkali and Amichai-Hamburger’s (2004) emphasis on user-centered education, IDN concepts must be made accessible and relevant through workshops and practical training.

Embedding IDNs into Broader Digital Literacy Goals

Ng (2015) highlights that true digital literacy spans technical, cognitive, and socio-emotional dimensions. Embedding IDNs into this broader literacy vision ensures participants perceive IDNs not as niche tools, but as integral to the digital environment.

Measuring Impact - Effectively measuring the success of integrating Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) into digital literacy programs requires a comprehensive and multifaceted evaluation framework. As Hague and Payton (2010) argue, critical engagement with digital tools should be a core outcome of digital literacy initiatives, not merely technical proficiency. Applying this philosophy, IDN integration success should not only be assessed based on immediate technical skills but also on deeper, sustained engagement with multilingual internet spaces.

First, knowledge acquisition should be systematically evaluated. Pre- and post-program surveys can be used to assess participants' baseline familiarity with IDNs, understanding of their function, and awareness of their cultural significance. Surveys should measure changes in participant perceptions, their confidence in using IDNs, and their ability to recognise the broader social and economic importance of multilingual digital spaces.

Second, adoption metrics provide a tangible indicator of behavioural change resulting from digital literacy education. Program leaders can track the number of IDN domain name registrations initiated by participants, as well as monitor engagement with IDN-enabled websites. Tracking these practical outcomes offers insight into whether users move beyond theoretical understanding to active participation in shaping a multilingual internet landscape.

Third, community impact must be considered. Digital literacy initiatives that integrate IDNs should ultimately foster broader societal outcomes such as increased cultural preservation, local economic empowerment, and greater online visibility for underrepresented linguistic groups. To measure this, qualitative methods such as interviews, focus groups, and case studies can be employed. These methods can capture stories and experiences demonstrating how individuals or organisations have leveraged IDNs to assert cultural identity online, expand business reach, or enhance community engagement.

Additionally, longitudinal assessments are important for understanding the durability of program impacts. Follow-up evaluations conducted six months to a year after program completion can reveal whether participants continue to use IDNs, advocate for their adoption, or integrate them into ongoing projects. Such longitudinal data are crucial for adjusting program design and ensuring sustained influence.

Finally, measurement must also be reflexive, capturing feedback on the digital literacy curriculum itself. Participants should be invited to critique how well the training addressed their needs, whether it demystified technical barriers, and how effectively it connected IDN usage to broader concepts of digital empowerment. This continuous feedback loop ensures that IDN literacy efforts remain dynamic, inclusive, and responsive to the evolving needs of multilingual digital citizens.

Impact measurement framework for IDN integration must go beyond surface-level statistics. It must capture knowledge growth, behavioral change, cultural empowerment, and long-term engagement, ensuring that digital literacy programs not only introduce IDNs but embed them into the lived digital experiences of diverse communities.

Conclusion

Integrating Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) into digital literacy education represents a crucial step toward fostering a more inclusive, multilingual internet. By embedding IDNs into broader digital competencies and following best practices from digital literacy research, educators and policymakers can build a digital ecosystem that genuinely reflects and serves the world’s diverse cultural and linguistic communities.

Article by Michael D'Rosario

---

References

Eshet-Alkali, Y., & Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (2004). Experiments in digital literacy. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(4), 421–429.

Hague, C., & Payton, S. (2010). Digital literacy across the curriculum. Futurelab.

Nelson, K., Courier, M., & Joseph, G. W. (2011). Teaching Tip: An Investigation of Digital Literacy Needs of Students. Journal of Information Systems Education, 22(2), 95–110.

Ng, W. (2015). New Digital Technology in Education: Conceptualizing New Literacies. Springer.

Sharma, R., Dahiya, S., & Sharma, S. (2016). Digital literacy and sustainable development. International Journal of Research in Economics and Social Sciences, 6(5), 32–41.