Why should teachers care about digital literacy?

I have been focusing on ‘Digital literacy across the curriculum’ by Futurelab. This is a handbook about the importance of digital literacy, and digital literacy in practice. They see digital literacy as an important entitlement for all children in an increasingly digital culture, as technology plays a growing role in the lives of children in today’s society.

Having grown up with technology, children have accumulated a wealth of technology especially digital technology skills. Unlike some parents and teacher who would consider themselves ‘digital immigrants’. Due to this children are seen to be very confident when using a wide range of technologies, they are able to operate unfamiliar hardware and software very quickly. In my opinion this puts a bigger emphasis on teachers incorporating digital literacy in the class. Focusing on digital literacy in the classroom can help children to expand and extend their use of technology for creativity and self expression, also to develop a greater understand of the complexities of what they are doing. Digital literacy also supports subject knowledge and can ensure that technology enhances teaching and learning, and that it is not just an add on to the curriculum.

Davies and Merchant (2009) discuss how digital literacy facilitates processes of interaction and participation within the classroom; from my previous experience I have seen this. The whole class was all engaged and willing to learn, as they were interested and fascinated by the use of the iPad and Apple TV. Having seen the impact the use of the iPads had on the class, I see the benefits of using digital literacy; it gave the children a range of new opportunities. Futurelab also talk about how these processes allow the children to become active rather than passive in social contexts.

“Over the past 20 years there has been a significant increase in the difference between young people’s digital technology use outside and inside school” (Buckingham, 2007. P11).

Teachers should care about digital literacy as it plays a massive part in children’s lives, children are critically engaged with technology and therefore, it should be continued at school as well as at home. They should plan teaching activities aimed at developing digital literacy alongside subject knowledge. Myself and my peers suggested in our seminar group, it may be useful for teachers to educate children on what is not trustworthy as the world wide web is vast with so much information out there. Smith (1999) stresses the importance for teachers to educate children on how to access and use the Internet safely and provide them with the knowledge on how to navigate correctly.

This increase of significance in ICT is an explicit recognition of the increasing digitisation of the world in which children are being born into. I feel this stresses the importance of digital literacy in today’s day and age, and how teachers should be including digital literacy in all subject lessons.

Bibliography:

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