When we look at the changing landscape of education, the first thing that jumps into my mind is technology. We see lots of opinions and differing stances on technology in the classroom. There is an important connection no matter the stance you take on technology in the classroom, and that is that we need to teach digital literacy.
I personally have been unsure of what exactly was encompassed in digital literacy. When doing some research on the topic, I found that the BC government has set out a framework for digital literacy. The framework is as follows:
- Research and Information Literacy
- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
- Creativity and Innovation
- Digital Citizenship
- Communication and Collaboration
- Technology Operations and Concepts
Using the above framework I had to think about how that actually looks in the classroom. I would begin with what the previous and current relationship with technology looked like. Students often know how to get onto games, open a Word document, and search images. How do you use those skills and then, for lack of better words, retrain the students to see now the value of using technology with more of their day-to-day tasks? I would personally start by modelling the behaviour through using technology in my own schedule.
Learning how to use technology and then implementing it into tasks is the foundation for moving learning into a digital space. These are skills that also need to be provided to families so that they can support learners with the ability to complete work.
There is a lot of moving parts when considering digital literacy and how that lends itself to digital citizenship and students online footprint. By creating a strong foundation, students will be more prepared to have a healthy and strong online life.
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