As the beginning of the school year draws ever closer, it becomes more and more clear that many districts will be starting with remote or digital learning. This will bring new challenges for both teachers and students, especially those who are less-inclined when it comes to technology and digital literacy.
What is digital literacy, you may ask? It is defined by the American Library Association as “the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills.” In layman’s terms, it means not only knowing how to use technology, but how to synthesize and create content through technological means.
The following are some resources that can help teach students (and teachers, parents, or admin…anyone, honestly) about digital literacy:
Interland
Interland is a browser-based game that teaches kids about digital citizenship and safety, separating information into four mini-game worlds that focus on topics such as sharing information, passwords, and phishing. It focuses heavily on internet safety, but who couldn’t stand to learn more about that, anyways?
Interland is great for those who maybe want something a little more interactive – since each of the learning segments are mini-games (one is a platformer, another a tower defense), it will keep them engaged while also teaching them about the perils of using the internet.
Created by Google, Interland is part of their Be Internet Awesome program, which provides resources about digital citizenship to youth and adults alike.
iKeepSafe: Google Digital Literacy & Citizenship Resources
iKeepSafe, also known as the Internet Keep Safe Coalition, has a ton of resources dedicated to digital literacy and citizenship. Specifically, they have a set of lessons designed around the idea of being safe online. Some of the resources in these lessons are a tad bit dated, mind you, but they’re still really effective at getting the message across and can work with both younger students and older ones (though they are a little more geared towards the older ones).
That’s not the only resource on digital literacy they have, though. They also have:
Faux Paw the Techno Cat
Faux Paw the Techno Cat is deeeeefinitely geared toward the younger crowd. Essentially, iKeepSafe created this cartoon character to help teach the younger ones about internet topics such as how to react when someone says something mean or untrue and balancing screen time with time outside the digital world. One even features former First Lady Laura Bush!
These are just a few of the many, many resources online to help teach digital literacy. I’ll be sure to add more as I find them.
Jacob Ryckman 