Digital Literacy is defined by the Government of BC as “The interest, attitude and ability of individuals to appropriately use digital technology and communication tools to access, manage, integrate, analyze and evaluate information, construct new knowledge, create and communicate with others”. The idea of digital literacy is going to be important to me as an educator because students are becoming more used to technology and technology is becoming more available to students in the learning environment. I also saw that during the Covid-19 pandemic online learning is something that I might have to utilize in my classroom. I hope to be digitally literate myself in order to provide an example for my students and to help them understand and use technology. The other reality is that students will be using technology more and more both in and out of class. I also hope to encourage students to use technology in ways that are different than how they might currently use them. Currently many children use technology for gaming especially in the younger ages. (Buchanan et al, 2017) The goal of my students with technology would be to encourage them to create spaces for collaboration on topics they are interested in. This idea can be seen in the makerspace approach where digital technology is used to create a safe online space for creativity and learning. (La rose and Detlor, 2021) This is something I would like to include in my classroom to create a way for my students to explore digital technology in a way that is not structured around entertainment like video games but more structured around community and creativity. An interesting method to explore digital literacy is also available in the form of digital storytelling. Digital storytelling allows sharing of narratives over a variety of media. (La Rose and Detlor, 2021) This idea seems ideal in the realm of language arts and literature as it allows students another way to express their learning. There is an added benefit as well in that being able to use media to share narratives and ideas will allow my students more ways to express their own stories and share their worldviews with each other. I think this will help my students develop skills with technology that will be relevant to them in the future while also encouraging them to connect with each other and understand different worldviews. I would also put an emphasis on how to identify good sources of information so that my students develop the research skills they will need to succeed in post-secondary education. In this way I hope to help students develop their skills outside of what they are familiar with and help them to create spaces to explore their interests and relate to each other and engage with their communities in a meaningful way. I will also have to work around the issues such as a lack of technology in my students homes so one thing I plan to implement is class time to develop these skills so that students who do not have the resources at home have enough time to develop their skills and ideas in the classroom. If I do this I believe that all of my students can develop relevant skills and new ways to express themselves.
Sources
Buchanan, R., Southgate, E., Smith, S. P., Murray, T., & Noble, B. (2017). Post no photos, leave no trace: children’s digital footprint management strategies. E-Learning and Digital Media, 14(5), 275–290. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042753017751711
La Rose, T., & Detlor, B. (2021). Social work digital storytelling project: digital literacy, digital storytelling, and the makerspace. Research on Social Work Practice, 31(6), 599–609. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731521992427
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