A Collection of external digital literacy resources

This collection includes resources created by various organisations that may help to improve your digital literacy or aid you in helping others with their digital literacy. They have been classified into different categories for easier navigation. Click on How to use the collection below for an explanation of the categories and a guide on navigating the collection. Click on Glossary at the end of the page for definitions of common words and recognisable icons used in digital spaces. .

• How to use the collection

  Resources are divided into categories: 

  • Staying Safe Online – Online security, privacy and best practices for internet safety 
  • Misinformation Awareness – Recognising, evaluating and responding to false or misleading information online such as AI-generated content or biased internet news 
  • Program & App Tutorials – How to use specific digital tools, apps, or platforms 
  • Self-directed Courses on Digital Skills – Structured courses designed for independent learning covering different digital skills 
  • Online Services – Guides to accessing or using services online, such as libraries, digital banking, shopping, healthcare, and more 
  • Helping Others – How to assist others with improving digital skills, including teaching, mentoring, or community support 
  • Digital Literacy Awareness – Improving knowledge about digital literacy, its importance, its impacts and the sectors that are affected by it 

  Each category has its own table of resources that relate to the category. The columns of the table include: 

  • Resource – The link to the resource itself. The link is shown as underlined text and will direct you to the resource when you click on it.
  • Aim – What the resource is trying to achieve 
  • Resource Type – What kind of resource it is 

  For example, if you would only like to look at informational articles about staying safe online, you may only look for resources in the staying safe online table classified as informational articles under the ‘Resource Type’ column. 

Staying Safe Online

Misinformation Awareness

Program & App Tutorials

Self-Directed Courses on Digital Skills

Online Services

Helping Others

Digital Literacy Awareness

• Glossary

  Icons are commonly used across different websites and apps and generally have the same meaning each time you see them, although the same icon may slightly differ in appearance depending on the website or app. Some terms are also commonly used across digital spaces. Learning these would help make navigating the digital world easier. This glossary includes a list of some common icons and words and an explanation of their meaning. All icons included were found from Icon Finder and were labelled as ‘free for commercial use’. 

  Icons Frequently Used Online:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Terms Frequently Used Online:

  App – A program that can be downloaded onto devices such as computers and phones. They allow you to do specific tasks such as online banking, shopping and play games 

  Cookies – Files downloaded onto your device when you visit a website that allow the website to remember things such as your login information and preferences so that you won’t have to enter them again when visiting the same website later 

  Digital Assistant – A chat bot designed to help you with an online service, they will answer your questions and guide you through anything you may need to do. When chatting with a chat bot, you are not speaking to a real person, but they can usually get a real person to speak with you if requested 

  Email address – A unique identity that is used to send and receive electronic mail over the internet. Every address has two parts that are separated by the at sign, @. 

  Login – Signing into an account you have previously made typically by entering your username or email address and your password 

  Passcode/Security Code – A sequence of numbers that are entered typically to gain access to a device or service. They are used to prove that you are allowed to access them, so it is important to not show them to anyone else 

  Password – A sequence of not only numbers but letters and often symbols too to login to a service. A password manager, which are often included in web browsers may be used to conveniently store and retrieve passwords for website logins 

  Push notification – A pop up from an app or website containing information 

  SMS – A shorthand way of saying Short Message Service which allows users to send text messages to each other through mobile devices such as phones 

  Website – A collection of information that can be accessed using web browsers 

  Web Browser/Browser – An app that allows you to search the internet. Examples are Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari 

Ackowledgements

This collection was curated and presented by the following students as part of a University of St Andrews STEP project during summer 2025:

• Abdulmajid Awotorebo
• Oscar Blagrove
• Selina Chen
• Zoe Chung
• Billie-mai Cox
• Bao Nguyen

Links correct as of 10 August 2026