Digital Literacy or Electronic Babysitter?

 

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We live the Digital Age, where people are expected to demonstrate, at the very least, basic digital literacy skills. Despite the fact that technology in schools often lags behind technology at home, academic environments are doing all they can to build their students' digital knowledge. (Be sure to check out these previous posts: Flipping Out in the Elementary Classroom and Teens Aren't as Digitally Literate As We Thought.)

In her article, What Do Good Readers Do  - On the Computer? (The Reading Teacher, April 2013), Lindsay Buck Saldana's does an excellent job explaining why "interactive" computer games are merely electronic babysitters unless the classroom teacher actively participates with his/her students while they play these games.

She conducted a mini-action research study of sorts after watching her students mindlessly click through activities on a well-known reading web site. Were they engaged? Sure! But were they thinking? Not so much. She worked toward solving the problem by showing students how to apply the traditional reading strategies we all know and love to their online reading games. Through modeling, read alouds and explicit instruction of strategies, she demonstrated that while the text format may be different, the concept is the same. Using one of their web-based programs, Saldana walked her students through the steps of how a good reader interacts with a website, which include taking advantage of all the resources available such as clickable images and words.

It's all about getting students to transfer their knowledge from one content area to another. And sometimes the best way to bridge the gap between traditional and cutting edge is to realize there is room for both. 

What are some ways you boost your students' digital literacy skills?

Teens Aren't as Digitally Literate As We Thought

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Despite their ninja-like nimbleness with texting, downloading music and posting on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, it turns out that teens aren't all that when it comes to digital literacy.

According to several studies, most young adults don't possess the ability to evaluate the level of quality or the credibility of online information. To draw attention to the lack of digital literacy skills among teens, libraries across the country will celebrate Teen Tech Week (March 10-16) through the theme Check in @ your library. According to the American Library Association, during this week "teens will work with librarians to create their own unique Web and technological content as well as to learn how to become competent and ethical users of technology." The goal is to not only help students strengthen their digital literacy skills, but to help them understand the importance of developing these skills so they can be successful in the 21st century work environment.

Check out the full article here.

What about you? How do you help your students or children enhance their digital literacy skills?

Thanks for reading! It keeps your ... Mind Full of Literacy!

10 Reasons Why & How We Should Immerse Our Students In Digital Literacy

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Digital literacy has been a hot topic on this blog in recent weeks. (Read related posts here and here.) The opinion piece, Teach U.S. Kids to Write Computer Code by Douglas Rushkoff gets to the heart of why increasing our students' digital literacy skills is vital to propelling our country forward when it comes to technology. I wish him all the best as he brings his case to Congress later this week.

Actually, Rushkoff's 10-minute meeting with Congress is my first point of concern. The fact that he must address Congress and educate its members on the value of digital literacy says quite a bit about our reticence to embrace the Digital Age, even though we live in (and have been living in) this age for quite some time. Why do we have such a sluggish mindset about technological innovation when it is so crystal clear that this the path the world is blazing?

As Rushkoff writes, "Although we live in a highly digital age, digital literacy is not a priority among us. And as a result, computer science is not a priority in our schools."  My husband, who has worked in software development for decades, laments this fact often. While he tries to hire American coders, he finds that too often their skills, their knowledge, their drive for doing the work, lags behind potential candidates from other countries. In fact, Rushkoff sarcastically (?) states, "But I'm hoping we can get motivated enough to catch up with, say, Estonia (where they teach code to kids) ...."
In his article, Rushkoff shares with readers the 10 points he plans to present to Congress. Two really stood out for me. The first is the impact that our lack of digital literacy skills will have on our cybermilitary efforts. Think about it. We don't just need soldiers to use the technology that protects us; we need to soldiers to create the technology that protects us. Second, he spotlights that computer science isn't just about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), but liberal arts as well. It requires highly-developed critical thinking skills. (Did someone say Teaching Reading In The Content Areas?)

Be sure to check out this article and chime in with your thoughts.

Thanks for reading ... it keeps your Mind Full of Literacy!