Digital Literacy in the Classroom
Digital literacy is an essential skill for all members of our increasingly digital world.
I will be teaching Grade 4/5 in my internship next fall, so this post will explore digital literacy overall, as well as ways it can be taught within the Grade 4 and 5 Saskatchewan curriculums.
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What is digital literacy?
Digital literacy is multifaceted. The NCTE Framework says that successful digitally literate citizens can:
"Participate effectively and critically in a networked world;
Explore and engage critically, thoughtfully, and across a wide variety of inclusive texts and tools/modalities;
Consume, curate, and create actively across contexts;
Advocate for equitable access to and accessibility of texts, tools, and information;
Build and sustain intentional global and cross-cultural connections and relationships with others so as to pose and solve problems collaboratively and strengthen independent thought;
Promote culturally sustaining communication and recognize the bias and privilege present in the interactions;
Examine the rights, responsibilities, and ethical implications of the use and creation of information;
Determine how and to what extent texts and tools amplify one’s own and others’ narratives as well as counter unproductive narratives;
Recognize and honour the multilingual literacy identities and culture experiences individuals bring to learning environments, and provide opportunities to promote, amplify, and encourage these differing variations of language (e.g., dialect, jargon, register)."
This lengthy definition demonstrates how many aspects are involved in becoming a digitally literate citizen. Accomplishing these goals has become increasingly essential in this age of "fake news", as all internet users need to be able to identify legitimate sources to determine what online information is trustworthy and what is not.
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A few of our suggested class readings this week discussed why inaccurate information and news stories can be spread so easily online. On TRU Libraries, the section Why Do People Fall for Fake News? details how Confirmation Bias, as well as the distrust of government and media, shorter attention spans for fact-checking, large presence of online bots, and ability of anyone to make professional-looking content all combine to make people more susceptible to falling victim of fake news stories. I also read the comic You're Not Going to Believe What I'm About to Tell You from TheOatmeal.com, which explains how the Backfire Effect causes our minds to respond to intellectual threats to core beliefs the same way as to physical threats. This means that when people are confronted with evidence that refutes a belief that is important to them and that they have held since childhood, their brains prepare to fight. This effect can be observed in many hyperpartisan online spaces, where people of all political allegiances refuse to accept proof that refutes their core beliefs.
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| via The Oatmeal |
Anecdotally, I have found that friends and family members who completed all their education before the internet became widely-used are more likely to take information shared online at face-value, particularly when it is in line with their previously-existing beliefs. This demonstrates to me that digital literacy is not innate knowledge, but something that must be taught.
So, how can we teach students to challenge what they read online so they can identify whether or not it is truthful and also to be open to challenging their beliefs? In the article Developing Critical Literacies, Alec Couros and Katia Hildebrandt discuss how false news stories are becoming more insidious and difficult to identify due to technology like deepfakes. They recommend moving away from teaching digital literacy using checklists like CRAAP (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose), as they may not catch these new sophisticated fakes. Instead, Couros and Hildebrandt advocate for teaching students how to use reputable fact-checking websites like Snopes, to use Google reverse image search to determine the true origin of images, and to "nurture a critical disposition" (i.e., to help students approach all online information with a desire to fact check rather than to respond emotionally or accept at face value).
Personally, when I read new information on the internet, particularly if it is inflammatory, I immediately search elsewhere to find reputable sources that will confirm whether or not it is accurate. I believe I was mainly taught how to approach digital news with a critical disposition during my first degree (a Bachelor of Arts Honours in English), where I had to evaluate legitimate sources and was presented with multiple viewpoints while researching, and where I was also introduced to the concept of digital literacy in a class about the history and future of written media. Children now have access to a wealth of information on the internet at a much younger age than I did, so these lessons must now be taught beginning in elementary school to help students avoid being fooled by fake news stories and to build core beliefs at a young age about the importance of having a critical disposition towards internet content.
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Curriculum
In terms of opportunities in the Saskatchewan Grade 4 and 5 curriculum to teach digital literacy, some possible ties can be made with ELA, Health, and Treaty Outcomes.
ELA
Grade 5 ELA outcome CR5.2 "View and evaluate, critically, visual and multimedia texts identifying the persuasive techniques including promises, flattery, and comparisons used to influence or persuade an audience" and indicator h "Identify how the language, explicit and implicit messages, and visual and multimedia features (e.g., sound, colour, movement) are used to influence the intended audience" presents one opportunity. This indicator can be used to help students analyze and critique features of online news that are intended to stoke emotional responses and fool people. Topics like biases in publishing can be covered in the learning process, which connects to the NCTE framework concept of ensuring digitally literate citizens "recognize the bias and privilege" on the internet. This outcome can also be connected to the NCTE call to "recognize and honour the multilingual literacy identities and culture experiences individuals bring to learning environments", as students can analyze the use of language and dialect to reach different intended audiences.
Health
Another curricular opportunity to teach digital literacy is present in Grade 4 Health outcome DM4.1 "Investigate the importance of personal responsibility and communication in making informed decisions related to healthy eating and physical activity, prevention/management of health challenges, negotiating disagreements, safety and protection, personal identity, and stressors." With this outcome, teachers can guide students through finding and evaluating helpful information and online sources when making informed decisions (alongside seeking medical guidance when making health decisions).
Treaty Ed
Teaching self-regulation strategies is a great way to help students begin to recognize emotional responses in themselves and learn how to calm down in order to think logically rather than emotionally when presented with new information online. A curricular opportunity to further help students, particularly white settlers like myself, to learn to accept information that may challenge core beliefs is available when teaching Grade 5 Treaty Outcomes (available as a PDF on the Saskatchewan curriculum website). I think that many white settlers believe misconceptions about Treaties, so teaching the Treaty Outcomes, which include information about Treaties being living documents and about the ongoing promises and benefits for both sides of the Treaty promise, can help students learn that it is okay to re-evaluate things they may believe are true when confronted with proof that they are wrong. Teaching these truths about Treaties when students are young can also help students avoid learning incorrect claims about Treaties in the first place.
Ultimately, although there may not currently be outcomes specifically related to teaching digital literacy, it is an essential skill that can be incorporated in many opportunities within the Saskatchewan curriculum.
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Thanks for reading my thoughts on teaching digital literacy! Please leave me a comment below!
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