… seriously. Maybe at some point, we could get away without being digitally literate, but as the world around us changes, this is becoming more and more crucial for everyone. This week we had some wonderful content catalyst presentations from Andrea and Dustin to dive deeper into this.
In the article (shared by Dustin) Digital Literacy: The Most Valuable Tool for Lifelong Learning, Rob Ewart shares that digital literacy is “… having the skills you need to live, learn, and work in a society where communication and access to information occur through digital technologies such as internet platforms, social media, and smartphones.” As Andrea shared in her content catalyst video, digital literacy goes beyond knowing how to use a device.
Andrea shared a great article titled Empowering the Future: How Digital Literacy in Schools is Shaping the Next Generation that expresses just how relevant digital literacy is today. In this article, the author stresses that “To fully prepare students for the digital world, providing opportunities for them to apply their digital literacy skills in real-world settings is crucial.”
This takes me back to something called Genius Hour which I did at the beginning of my
teaching career. I dedicated one hour a week to student-led inquiry projects and supported my students along the way. At first, my administrator wasn’t thrilled with the idea… they were very concerned about how it would be graded, and what outcomes I would be meeting. In my opinion, this is a delicate balance… as teachers, we are mandated to teach the curriculum to ensure that every child has equal opportunity, but we also want to foster that curiosity and ability to learn in many different ways.
So… I used Genius Hour self-assessments to support my ELA outcomes. I found that with the right group of students and with the right preparation, this approach got students excited about learning and motivated them in new ways. I learned to take a step back and look at what I really wanted to instill in my students… critical thinking, problem solving, and a curiosity that would drive them to learn more.
I can see parallels between these inquiry-based projects and fostering digital literacy… taking a step back and trying to conceptualize the real-world applications of what you are teaching. When our students get out into the world, they will absolutely need to be digitally literate. It’s in everything we do… it’s how we learn, how we communicate, how we work, and how we operate from day to day.
I guess my question for you is this… what about our educators who feel very strongly that digital learning should be avoided in the classroom?
If too much screen time is harming our children, then is it fair to assume that we can keep them away from it forever?
Or should we face the facts that this is where we are, and commit to learning and changing to give them the best opportunities we can?
An always-present characteristic of being a professional is being open to new learning and change. – Jim Knight
Proofread with the help of grammarly… although I copy and pasted the text after putting in my images and links. Next time I will run all of the text through first and then add images and links. I am finding that using this tool is helping me to keep my work more concise and clear!
I loved the idea of genius hour when I was in the classroom. The right group and preparation is a big factor in the success. I noticed that the students were so used to being told what to do that the freedom was paralyzing.
Using the inquiry method to allow students to engage in digital tools and skills allows the students to self-direct their learning, keeping interests high which should drive engagement and result in deeper and more meaningful learning. – Grammarly is my editor.
Your questions are questions I have been struggling with lately in my own school. When sharing and discussing with staff (just casually) about the various things I have learned throughout this course or the various ways I am implementing iPad time in the classroom, I’m met with different opinions – mostly that others will never use the iPads as they do not see the benefit. On the flip side, I hear from the intermediate teachers about how students are coming to them unaware of how to type or even use a computer. Its a tough balance.
I love the idea of genius hour! And have actually never heard of it, or really considered it, until reading your post. And yes, so fitting for an ELA classroom. I think trying to avoid technology and AI is just putting us further behind the ball at this point. It’s here, it’s not going anywhere, students are using them – our curriculum guides are so outdated at this point, it isn’t even funny. So if we don’t take in upon ourselves to start driving some of that change, while still being able to loosely tie what we’re doing to the outcomes, we’re doing everyone a disservice.