Week 5:

Why should teachers care about digital literacy and childhood in the digital age?

National Foundation for Educational Research (2010) considers digital literacy ‘furnishes children and young people with the skills, knowledge and understanding that will help them to take a full and active part in social, cultural, civic and intellectual life now and in the future’. Parallel to this view, Palfrey and Gasser (2008) state; ‘Young people need to learn digital literacy- the skills to navigate this complicated, hybrid world that their peers are growing up in’. Both views acknowledge the rapidly changing digital society we live in and consider it is a requirement for children to learn digital literacy so ‘all of us… can manage this extraordinary transition to a globally connected society’.

Palfrey and Gasser (2008) firstly promote digital literacy as they consider digital natives to be ‘tremendously creative’; in the way they ‘perceive information to malleable; it is something they can control and reshape in new and interesting ways.’ This is an important skill to have in the 21st century, as information is no longer solely communicated through written text, but through multimodalities which all serve to communicate meaning, for example, in advertisements. Congruent with this view, Dean (2010) argues that just as children are taught to comprehend written texts; they must also be able ‘to understand the arrangements of elements in non-print texts.’ Therefore, teachers must consider that the definition of ‘literacy’ is changing, and despite their fears that ‘the skills they have imparted over time are becoming either lost or obsolete’ (Palfrey and Gasser, 2008), teachers now need to review their current practice and adapt it to meet the demands of digital literacy. In our seminar group we discussed the potential of traditional ‘literacy’ being given less attention if digital literacy made its place in the classroom, however, we came to understand that is possible to develop both at the same time using the correct resources, e.g. iPad apps such as ‘Book Creator’.

Another reason teachers should care about digital literacy and childhood is the fact that ‘major aspects of their lives- social interactions, friendships, civic activities- are mediated by digital technologies’, so much so that they ‘live much of their lives online, without distinguishing between the online and offline’ (Palfrey and Gasser, 2008). Social networking sites have allowed personal information to be obtained much more easily, giving way to online predators and cyberbullies. To be able to function safely and responsibly online, Palfrey and Gasser (2008) state that digital natives must ‘be their [own] guides into this new connected way of living’; however, ‘Parents are teachers are on the front lines. They have the biggest responsibility and most role to play’ when it comes to child online safety. Therefore, digital literacy is not just about knowing how to operate technologically, but knowing how to do this in a way that does not jeopardise personal safety. This will then allow us to ‘make smart choices and head towards a bright future in a digital age’ (Palfrey and Gasser, 2008).

Bibliography

Dean, G. (2010) Rethinking Literacy. In: Bazalgette, C. (ed.) Teaching Media in Primary Schools. SAGE Publications Ltd, 51-60

Palfrey, J and Gasser, U. (2008) Born digital: understanding the first generation of digital natives. New York: Basic Books.

NFER (2010) Futurelab. Available at http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/digital-literacy-across-curriculum-handbook accessed  27/10/14