Digital Literacy

Of the 9 categories of technology use, digital literacy jumped out as a no-brainer topic for a teacher geek like me. I like the website's definition: the process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology.

I. Some of the biggest issues are:

-when to teach skills (scheduling & time)
-how to teach skills (methodology)
-unlearning bad habits & solidifying good ones (time & repetition)
-students who have (or at least THINK they have) better skills than the teachers (teacher training)
-which programs and skills are most important to teach (an ever-evolving list)
-teaching information literacy, not just applications (research and critical thinking)
-acquiring adequate hardware and sofware (funding and upgrading)

II. As I searched for solutions, I found many great lists, blogs, and sites to read. Two of my favorite are:

A. Common Sense Media works to educate parents and students about positive, wise media use. Here are just a few of their blog and video titles: 7 Rules for Online Ettiquette, Teaching Kids Online Manners, and Beyond Internet Safety: Moving from Fear to Education.

B. The GoodWork Project from Harvard is performing and compiling studies, interviews, and other research into positive uses of technology among different age groups and sponsors projects with the goal of multiplying such positive applications. The two largest are “Developing Minds & Digital Media” and “The GoodPlay Project.”

III. These sites, which are wonderful, led me to a bigger problem: these resources are great for adults, but kids don't want to read and research to learn. They want to DO and Experience. Thankfully, there are many organizations and individuals working on interactive digital learning:

A. By far the coolest I found is the Digiteen Project (from the creators of the Flat Classroom). First, several classrooms around the world are connected by the project coordinators to do research and resource collaboration around a current digital issue. Then, they collaborate to publish their findings, primarily through wikis. Then, each classroom performs and documents training in their own schools to share what they've learned. It's an excellent model of students teaching each other, while growing the collaboration and digital skills they'll need in the workplace and in life.

B. In addition to such large-scale initiatives, there are thousands (maybe millions) of individuals and schools working to train kids to be better digital producers and consumers. One of the best I found is Marianne Malmstrom, a middle school teacher from New Jersey. Her simple but powerful site Knowclue seeks to share the projects she has her students do in regards to digital learning, provide resources for students, teachers, and parents, and to share the experiences of her “second life” as a digital learner.


IV. Conclusions
A. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions to digital literacy; that's the problem. The best training comes from teachers who are passionate and equipped to teach THEIR kids in THEIR school, meeting THEIR needs.

B. Students learn best when they're doing something real. One major challenge we educators must overcome is making our projects applicable not only to our content, but also to big ideas, questions, and problems that engage our students. The good thing is that online publishing for a real audience has never been easier, and the tools to do it are, by nature, engaging to our digital natives.

C. To solve the "what" to teach, we educators must be good researchers and listeners. What are area businesses saying? What is the global marketplace demanding? What do our kids lack? Though there's much diversity, there are core competencies that all students must master. Come to think of it, the 9 categories of technology use would be a good place to start.