Page 2 of 2

How do we navigate around computers or a tablet? How do we use a cellphone? How does anyone understand these technologies? The importance of digital literacy is growing every year. Every time someone creates a new website or a new shortcut the knowledge changes. With the amount of change that happens with technology, teachers and students need to be able to understand the basics to grow a foundation. Then be able to add onto their knowledge to help keep up with the world that is technology. It’s a technology world we are just living in it.

As a teacher, it can be hard to keep up with changes that get thrown at us from every direction. Having digital literacy can make most things easier. We can communicate with parents and even each other quickly. We can use videos, lesson ideas, and tools, and we can find everything we ever wanted to know right at our fingertips,

“ A teacher well-versed in digital literacy and internet safety can engage with these inquiries, fostering deeper understanding and critical thinking with students. However, when a teacher lacks expertise, they might struggle to answer questions accurately, leaving students to question their teacher’s real understanding of today’s online world.” (The White Hatter)

Having skills that we can build upon for ourselves and our students helps in so many ways. Nowadays we can find new ways to teach. Although teaching with technology can have it benefits but it does comes with its draw backs as well. Most of the time it comes from slow connection to wifi or if someone forgot to charge the device and if all of a sudden the device just stops working. Plus, even though we can adapt our lessons easier which in return makes our student’s lives much easier, it can be a challenge to adapt the technology to those who need it. Unless you have the resources.

“The benefits of digital literacy include improving young learners’ writing, reading, listening, and speaking skills, getting used to authentic materials, increasing the frequency of digital technology use, enhancing online collaboration between teacher-learners and learners” (Buckingham)

The more we can communicate with others the more we learn and grow. As a teacher, we never stop learning about the world around us. We help create the next generation and shape them for the ever-changing world.

1. Teach students how to evaluate the information they find online
2. Discuss online privacy with students
3. Help students understand online etiquette
4. Teach digital writing
5. Discuss AI tools and academic integrity

For students or any learner, it’s important to have digital literacy. They can learn better and they can create so many things. They can write papers with accurate information, they can create art and share it with the world, start a business from their homes, learn world cultures from the world in a classroom and they can find out about their ancestors with a click of a button. The world is at their fingertips and the world is their oyster. Communication is the first thing that comes to mind with digital literacy. The more we know and can learn the more we can strive.

There are so many skills that come out of using computers. They are not just a distraction for games or social media,

“In relation to the internet, for example, children need to learn how to locate and select material – how to use browsers, hyperlinks search engines, and so on. But to stop there is to confine digital literacy to a form of instrumental or functional literacy. The skills that children need in relation to digital media are not confined to those of information retrieval. As with print, they also need to be able to evaluate and use information critically if they are to transform it into knowledge. This means asking questions about the sources of that information, the interests of its producers, and the ways in which it represents the world; and understanding how these technological developments are related to broader social, political and economic forces.” (Buckingham)

The stronger students can be with digital literacy the stronger they will be in life. It opens up jobs. It helps them succeed in their studies. So much information is shared every day being able to decipher what is real and what is fake is huge. Digital literacy can help form opinions and can help discover real answers to questions.

It’s important for everyone to have digital literacy. Being able to communicate with each other and discover what we can about the world. It will change everything we do.

Buckingham, David. “Defining digital literacy-What do young people need to know about digital media?.” Nordic journal of digital literacy 10.Jubileumsnummer (2015): 21-35.

The White Hatter “The Challenges of ‘Boxed’ School-Based Digital Literacy and Internet Safety Lesson Plans!” the White Hatter, 1 Sept. 2023, https://thewhitehatter.ca/blog/the-challenges-of-boxed-school-based-digital-literacy-internet-safety-lesson-plans/

Vos, Lesley J. “Teaching Digital Literacy to Students in 2023.” eLearning Industry, June 2023, elearningindustry.com/teaching-digital-literacy-to-students-in-2023.

With all the technology that puts the world and then some in our hands comes with some perks and also creates eeary situations. The current generation and some before it grew up with being tech savvy. They know how to navigate themselves around technology even with their eyes closed. As a teacher we might not fully be on the same technological level as our students but we need to be able to get deeper. To help navigate ourselves and our students in the right direction.

Everything we do on the internet leaves a trace that follows us whether we know it or not. So, understanding how our digital footprint happens and what is left behind matters.

Our digital footprint happens with everything we do,

• Websites we visit
• Emails
• Submissions we make
• Purchases
• Social Media Posts/Shares
• Accepting cookies when a site asks/ Accepting terms and conditions
• Surveys
• Games
• Chatrooms
• Google/Google maps

Your digital footprints speak volumes than your CV — Bernard Kelvin Clive

https://quotessayings.net/topics/digital-footprints/

Since the dawn of social media, lots of people have said to children of all ages be careful of what you post online, who you talk to and where you go. A lot of the time people resort to scare tactics, the ‘stranger danger’ trope, “speak with any educator and they will tell you that when a child is frightened, learning stops. This is an important reason why I believe that when teaching children, we need to “enlighten and not frighten.” (The White Hatter) We shouldn’t just focus on the negative. People don’t always listen to ‘authority’ telling them what to do.

“Many  children  and  teenagers  are  being  discouraged  from  freely  using  the internet,  in  an  effort  to  protect  them  from  making  mistakes .  Media  stories that  unduly  focus  on  the  dangers  posed  by  the  internet  (stalking,  identity  theft,  cyberbullying,  and  internet  addiction,  for  example)  frame  children  as  passive,  vulnerable consumers  of  digital  culture  endangered  by  the  online  environment.  This portrayal  of  children  as  powerless  victims  rather  than  resourceful  participants  overlooks  the  multiple  ways  children  use  the  internet  to  establish their identities,  build  skills,  communicate,  and  engage  in  their  social  worlds.” (Buchanan et al.  51)

Students are smarter than we think. There is a lot of unknown with how the internet works but we need to think of the positives that come along with it. The internet is a tool for students, just should be treated as a smart tool. Think about what and how much you are sharing.

As a teacher understanding digital footprints helps keep us safe and the ability to keep our students safe. Especially since technology is used in and outside our classrooms. We can’t hide from technology we need to embrace it. Parents, teachers, school admin, districts etc have a responsibility when it comes to the internet and how we use it and how our children use it.

1. What’s the message they want to convey?
2. What’s the best tool for doing it?
3. What are the best techniques to use in creating that message?
4. Who is your audience?

Also, it is important to understand digital footprints as teachers and as students because what others find about us online shapes how they see us or feel about us. When applying to jobs some look you up on social media and see if you would fit with their company right from the beginning. Teachers should as well understand that parents, schools, and students may come across social media profiles. Starting children young in understanding their footprint helps them in their future endeavours.

Buchanan, Rachel, et al. “Expert Insights into Education for Positive Digital Footprint Development.” Scan: The Journal for Educators 37 (2018): 49-64.

The White Hatter. “Stranger Danger Doesn’t Work in the Real World or Online World – The White Hatter.” The White Hatter, 29 Aug. 2022, thewhitehatter.ca/blog/stranger-danger-doesnt-work-in-the-real-world-or-online-world.