Digital Literacy
With Google, Wikipedia, multiple dictionaries, thesauruses, and other reference materials and sites never more than a few clicks away, access to information has never been easier for students. The new challenge faced by today’s students is sifting through, understanding, and being able to use all of the information available to them at the click of a button. What good are 200,000 search results if you don’t understand how to differentiate useful information from spam? Teaching digital literacy empowers students with the skills and understanding necessary to not only use internet and technology to their benefit, but also to use it in the most effective ways to quickly find information and utilize the ever expanding list of sites and means of communication at their disposal. This can include teaching how to conduct a proper Google (or *insert preferred search engine*) search, as well as which sites are reputable to use as reference materials, among other useful knowledge (Nina W, 2019).
Digital Literacy Issues:
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E Safety / Privacy
Storytime: A few years back, when we purchased our new home, my son, due to the pandemic and virtual learning, was given an email through his google classroom. A few months into virtual learning I see a notification pop up on my sons phone regarding YouTube, he was never allowed to have a you tube account. As I began to search his phone, I find the YouTube app, with the registered email as his school account. As I continue onto his YouTube page, I find a 5 minute video of the entire layout of our new home with narration. I was devastated because I knew the impact of what this video could possibly be to others, trollers, etc. The moral of this story is, my son was excited about our new home and wanted to share his excitement in a virtual way. He was learning new technologies due to virtual schooling, but was not being taught how to use these tools effectively. That day was a teaching moment in our home. I explained why you cannot post personal information to the world wide net, the ramifications of that video, and how to further use technology in a private yet good manner. He is now an appropriate YouTuber. He does not post his real or full name, address, or anything that can identify his location or him personally. He is aware that there are individuals in the world who pretend to be your friend on social media and they are, simply put, NOT your friend.
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Digital Users Need to Learn Effective Communication
Click here "Cyberbullying" to view statistics, facts, and trends in
2022 with charts to learn more on cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior (Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA), 2021).
The most common places where cyberbullying occurs are:
Click here "Cyberbullying" to view statistics, facts, and trends in
2022 with charts to learn more on cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying crosses the line into unlawful or criminal behavior (Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs (ASPA), 2021).
The most common places where cyberbullying occurs are:
- Social Media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok
- Text messaging and messaging apps on mobile or tablet devices
- Instant messaging, direct messaging, and online chatting over the internet
- Online forums, chat rooms, and message boards, such as Reddit
- Online gaming communities
Check out the video below:
Learn more about appropriate digital behaviors, educational facilities' AUP' s, and the astonishing statistics on cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying by Joy MacMahan
Evaluate online resources for accuracy
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Digital literacy is when students are able to engage with multi-media to read and interpret text, sounds and images. Digital literacy is when students can manipulate and evaluate data to construct their own meaning. Digital literacy also includes a student having knowledge about how to use technology to construct meaning, but most importantly in ways that are appropriate to their needs. Students who know how to use technology are also instructed by parents and teachers on how to use it effectively and appropriately to communicate a message (Hobbs, 2011).
Because of the hodge-podge of information on the Internet, it is very important you develop evaluation skills to assist you in identifying quality Web pages. There are six (6) criteria that should be applied when evaluating any Web site: authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, coverage, and appearance. For each criterion, there are several questions to be asked. The more questions you can answer "yes", the more likely the Web site is one of quality (Olson Library, 2018).
For lists of news sources ranging from left to right to satire, check out Media Bias/Fact Check. A checklist on how to identify fake news in ten questions (pdf). Science vs. pseudoscience? Here is another checklist.
Because of the hodge-podge of information on the Internet, it is very important you develop evaluation skills to assist you in identifying quality Web pages. There are six (6) criteria that should be applied when evaluating any Web site: authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, coverage, and appearance. For each criterion, there are several questions to be asked. The more questions you can answer "yes", the more likely the Web site is one of quality (Olson Library, 2018).
For lists of news sources ranging from left to right to satire, check out Media Bias/Fact Check. A checklist on how to identify fake news in ten questions (pdf). Science vs. pseudoscience? Here is another checklist.