Digital Literacy in BC
British Columbia’s Digital Literacy Framework, introduced in 2015, defines digital literacy as “the interest, attitude and ability of individuals to use digital technology and communication tools appropriately to access, manage, integrate, analyze and evaluate information, construct new knowledge, and create and communicate with others.” It is divided into Research and Information Literacy; Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making; Creativity and Innovation; Digital Citizenship; Communication and Collaboration; and Technology Operations and Concepts, and provides targets in each category for students from kindergarten through Grade 12. (“Digital Literacy”, 2015)
In the article What is Digital Literacy Liana Heitin of Education Week, writes that although “reading and writing are still at the heart of digital literacy…. digital literacy also encompasses a broader range of skills—everything from reading on a Kindle to gauging the validity of a website or creating and sharing YouTube videos” (Heitin, 2016). This article also contains links to many other interesting topics connected to a special report on the changing face of literacy education.
The following video, created by mediasmarts.ca, provides a great introduction to digital literacy and media education. If you find this video helpful, there are plenty of more of the Digital Literacy 101 page by mediasmarts.ca.
Digital Literacy Learning Outcome Links by Grade Levels
The following links (created by mediasmarts.ca) provide digital literacy learning outcomes for each grade level in an easy to read and well-organized fashion. Each grade level is divided into digital literacy topics and links to Media Smarts resources are provided. They also provide an overview for media education in BC and a series of articles on themes in digital and media literacy and on digital literacy fundamentals.
Media Smarts
mediasmarts.ca is a fantastic Canadian website for all topics found within the digital literacy framework. This site is full of resources for parents and teachers and includes fun activities on teaching students about fake new with the BreaktheFake campaign and those trusty “house hippos”. This really is a one-stop-shop for everything you need for teaching digital literacy, and best of all, it’s Canadian!
NCTE Framework for 21st Century Literacies
The NCTE Framework for 21st Century Literacies created by the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) provides an in-depth framework of questions teachers can use for for planning, supporting, and assessing student achievement in digital literacies.
Teaching Tolerance (Digital and Civil Literacy Skills)
The website, Teaching Tolerance (Digital and Civil Literacy Skills), offers lesson for teaching seven keys areas where students need support in developing digital and civil literacy skills. Lessons are provides for K-12 students and includes links to articles on each of the seven topics.
Fake News
Although many of the sites mentioned above offer great teaching videos and resources on fake news, this TED Ed talk by Noah Tavlin also gives great information on how false news can spread through circular reporting.
The following TED Ed talk by Lea Gaslowitz on How to spot a misleading graph also offers an interesting approach to data interpretation and the importance of digital and medial literacy.
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