The Urgency of Digital Literacy for Generation Z Students in Chemistry Learning

Abstract

Chemistry learning is faced with problems that emphasize students' difficulty in learning the basic chemistry concepts to become increasingly difficult and less meaningful. Digital literacy can understand chemistry concepts and develop critical thinking skills because digital literacy emphasizes reading, writing, understanding, evaluating, communicating, and using the information in different formats. This research aims to determine the role and urgency of digital literacy for generation Z students in chemistry learning. This research is descriptive qualitative research. The research subjects were chemistry education students of FSTT of Universitas Pendidikan Mandalika. In this study, there were two types of data; primary and secondary data. The primary data was collected through direct observation and interviews. Secondary data was collected through the literature review. The results showed that digital literacy is needed in chemistry learning by focusing on the needs of Generation Z students in accessing the internet as a medium to promises ease of community connectivity, starting from how to communicate, collaborate, be creative, solve problems, make decisions, and consume information. In chemistry learning, digital technology can help improve chemistry teaching quality in technical, cognitive, and social aspects. Also, digital technology has become necessary in chemistry learning because it can help students learn better with various ICT-enabled features that can motivate understanding of chemistry concepts and reduce cognitive memory load when studying ICT-based chemistry. Thus, digital literacy is urgent for Generation Z students in chemistry learning.