5 Essential Literacies for Students: Part 4 Digital Literacy

5 Essential Literacies for Students: Part 4 Digital Literacy - Our students need to be proficient in 5 Essential Literacies and School Librarians can integrate a Library Literacy component into any class visit. In Part 4 we look at ways to incorporate Digital Literacy into library visits, so students learn how and when to use personal tools, group tools, and presentation tools. #NoSweatLibraryIn our complex, information-rich, culturally diverse world, literacy is no longer just knowing how to read and write. Students need to understand and be proficient in Five Essential Literacies to be successful in our global society:

  1. Reading and Writing (the original literacy)
  2. Content/Disciplinary Literacy (content & thinking specific to a discipline)
  3. Information Literacy (the traditional library curriculum)
  4. Digital Literacy (how and when to use various technologies)
  5. Media Literacy (published works—encompasses all other literacies)

As School Librarians we need to integrate at least one Library Literacy component into every class visit to the library, so I’m addressing each of these literacies in a separate blog post to offer examples/suggestions about how we might do that. Previous blog posts covered reading literacy, content/disciplinary literacy, and information literacy, so this post looks at Digital Literacy as more than Technology Competency.

DEFINING DIGITAL LITERACY

The definitions of Digital Literacy are numerous. Here are a few:

  • Digital Literacy-the ability to use technology to navigate, evaluate, and create information. Common Craft
  • Digital Literacy is the ability to understand, use and safely interact with technology, media and digital resources in real-world situations. Learning.com
  • Digital literacy…includes knowledge, skills, and behaviors involving the effective use of digital devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop PCs for purposes of communication, expression, collaboration and advocacy. Wikipedia
  • Digital literacy…specifically applies to media from the internet, smartphones, video games, and other nontraditional sources. [It] includes both nuts-and-bolts skills and ethical obligations. Common Sense Media
  • Digital Literacy is the ability to use information and communication technologies to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive and technical skills. ALA Digital Literacy Task Force
  • AASL National School Library Standards defines Technology Literacy as the “ability to responsibly use appropriate technology to communicate, solve problems, and access, manage, integrate, evaluate, and create information to improve learning in all subject areas and to acquire lifelong knowledge and skills.”

These definitions include Technology Competencyknowing how to USE technology equipment, applications, and online services, but too often we show students how to use a tool within the narrow confines of a particular assignment and fail to teach them why that tool is being used. Consequently, today’s students have and use digital devices, but they don’t really comprehend the digital world. We must, as the definitions clarify, go beyond mere tech competence and build Digital Literacy: a full understanding of the type and purpose of technology tools so as to communicate original multimedia productions through multiple devices and platforms.

With the increase in cloud computing, students can only achieve digital literacy if they understand these broad digital and online concepts:

  • Source: desktop application, personal device app, or cloud computing.
  • Purpose: personal use, presentation, or group collaboration.
  • Audience interaction: 1-to-1, 1-to-many, or many-to-many
  • Delivery method: 1-way broadcast or 2-way exchange
  • Response interval: synchronous (same time) or asynchronous (different times)
  • Scope & Efficacy: all potential uses vs. the best use
    For example, a word-processing tool’s best use is to record information, but it can be a collaboration tool by using comment and track-changes features, it can be a multimedia tool by including charts, images, and hyperlinks, and it can be a presentation tool by publishing to a larger online audience.

HOW SCHOOL LIBRARIANS CAN INTEGRATE DIGITAL LITERACY

Here are some practical tips on creating lessons that help students learn types of tools rather than brands, so they can better choose according to their needs. | No Sweat LibraryCreating lessons that integrate technology and digital literacy in an authentic way can be daunting. I find that models such as SAMR, TPACK, LOTI, and TIM are more theoretical than practical, and as busy school librarians we need practical. So, I ask this fundamental question: How do I create Digital Literacy Library Lessons that:

  • are short & simple and can be scaffolded over time?
  • focus on the objective of the assignment and the purpose of the library visit?
  • have a classroom-related activity so students can practice what they learn?

With such lessons, teachers, who otherwise might not know about or use the tools, can see how to integrate them into their own lessons.

ISTE provides Technology Standards for Students as 7 Outcomes, under which we can organize our in-house and online tools, as shown in this table:

Empowered
learner
Knowledge
constructor
Innovative
designer /maker
Computational
thinker
Creative
communicator
Global
collaborator
E-portfolio
Flipped­learning
Mind map
MOOC
Curation
Database
e-book
Note-taking
Spreadsheet
Images-Animation
Interactive­poster
Photo­editing
Video­production
Webpage
Coding
Robotics
Makerspace
Blog
Podcast
Slideshow
Screen-cast
Text­document
Online­forum
Survey­tool
Wiki
Video­conference

Organizing types of tools, rather than brands, prompts me to create lessons that teach students what a tool is and why to use it, regardless of who makes it. Furthermore, when I introduce tools to students, I present them through these 3 Digital Literacy Conceptual Groups:

  • Personal individual tools (1-to-1) for organization, communication, learning, and reflection, like email, digital documents, and digital storage.
  • Presentation tools (1-to-many) to create and publish original multimedia products, like blogs, audio pod-casts, slide shows, animations, videos, and live streaming.
  • Group tools (many-to-many) for collaborating with others, like chats, discussion forums, wikis, social networks, and Web/video conferencing.

This grouping incorporates broad digital concepts that can be turned into short, simple lessons, and makes it easy to introduce a variety of media & technology tools for students to express themselves and add creativity & value to their products.

PRACTICES TO PROMOTE DIGITAL LITERACY6 Ways to Integrate Digital Literacy in Library Lessons - NoSweat Library ideas for School Librarians to introduce a variety of media & technology tools so students can express themselves and add creativity & value to their products. #NoSweatLibrary

  1. Convince teachers to introduce technology early in the school year & integrate it throughout the year so we can gradually build skills in students. So often big technology projects happen after State testing, but a school only has so many computers and kids can only learn so much new stuff at a time!
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  2. I use my Library Lesson Curriculum Matrix to decide which Subject will most benefit from a new technology tool, and I prepare a Library Lesson Plan to convince the teacher to visit the library with their class. For example, when the 6g Spanish teacher asked how students could give online written responses to practice vocabulary, I introduced my “Cloud Computing” lesson with a district-provided online service that fulfilled that need.
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  3. Introduce a new technology tool to students by using it as an alternative for a non-tech task; later it’s easy to interest them in new ways to use the familiar tool. I often try new tools with ELL and SpEd students—these teachers are very flexible with curriculum and eager to give their students new experiences. Lessons must be short, simple, and specific so these students grasp what I’m showing them, and classes are small so I can work with each student individually. Because technology is visual, interactive, and adaptable for every learner, they learn quickly and use the tools for other classroom activities. I can later introduce the tool to larger groups of students, having ironed out any problems.
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  4. When technology is the end product of an Info-Lit project, I introduce the technology tool during the Create phase of the problem solving model. I show students the tool while the teacher distributes a checklist of end product requirements and an assessment rubric, both of which include my input for the technology tool.
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  5. When integrating technology into a project that allows students to work outside the classroom or library, we need to be cognizant of the digital divide in our schools. Always offer alternatives to a technology product that meet the assessment evidence, but are completely different in nature. (When offering options to middle school students, we find that 3 choices gives variety without being overwhelming for students—or for teachers to create guidelines and rubrics.)
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  6. Think about how to scaffold lessons in small chunks across subjects within a grade level or across different grade levels. For example:
    • 6g Social Studies students learn that landmarks & monuments reflect the culture of a country. I show students how to search for copyright-free images online, and they use an in-house tool to create a picture calendar of landmarks from 12 countries. This project is repeated the following year with 7g State History monuments as a tech refresher for students.
    • A 7g ELA project offers students the option to create a song about a novel they’ve read. Students learn to find copyright-free soundtracks online then use an in-house audio tool to create and sing the song. (7th graders like singing, even into a computer!) Students also create a cover for a CD container, using prior knowledge to find copyright-free images.
    • When 8g ELA students create a video book-talk, I just need to review how to find copyright-free images and sounds online. I show them how to upload files to an online video-creation service then copy the URL into an online QR-code generator so others can view their book-talk.

TOWARD A DIGITALLY SUCCESSFUL FUTURE

In spite of the abundance of technology tools, educators still have obstacles to overcome: availability and reliability of tools, wide variation in teacher comfort, and the digital divide among students having home access to the Internet. And while we educators use digital tools every day for professional and administrative needs, what students need for their work is quite different. Thus, our challenge is to equip students with the digital literacy that will help them achieve success in school and in their future.

For further reading, try these 6 Books on Digital Literacy.

This is the fourth entry in my series of blog posts on the 5 Essential Literacies for Students. I invite readers to offer comments and suggestions about any or all of these literacies.

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Social Media, Cloud Computing, and School Library Lessons

Social Media, Cloud Computing, and School Library Lessons - Lessons using social media are abundant, but School Librarians need to inculcate the wider concept of “cloud computing” so students truly understand such technology. This model for teaching the elements of cloud computing makes tech integration more effective. #NoSweatLibrarySocial media is always growing and changing. There are so many ways it can be used in education:

  • As part of a teacher’s or librarian’s Professional Learning Network (PLN)
  • To inform parents and the community about school-related events and information
  • As an engaging technology tool for students in the classroom.

Many educators don’t realize that it’s a School Librarian’s responsibility to teach students about social media!

SCHOOL LIBRARIANS TEACH SOCIAL MEDIA

AASL School Library Standards logoAccording to the American Association of School Librarians (a division of the American Library Association) and National School Library Standards, the School Librarian is tasked with teaching students the responsible use of social media, evident by these 5 references:

  • III.B. School Librarians demonstrate the importance of personal, social, and intellectual networks by modeling the use of a variety of communication tools and resources.
  • III.C.1. The school library provides opportunities for School Librarians to connect and work with the learning community by facilitating diverse social and intellectual learner networks.
  • V.C.1. The school library [and School Librarian] prepares learners to engage with a larger learning community by modeling and promoting the use of personal and professional learning networks.
  • VI.A. School Librarians promote ethical and legal guidelines for gathering and using information by directing learners to responsibly use information, technology, and media for learning and modeling responsible and ethical use of information, technology, and media.
  • VI.C. The school library [and School Librarian] encourages participation in a diverse learning community to create and share information by providing both online and physical spaces for sharing and dissemination of ideas and information.

The Young Adult Library Services Association (another division of ALA), offers a 13-page downloadable PDF “Teens & Social Media Toolkit” for teaching students positive ways to use social media. The document suggests helping teens “learn about a variety of social media technologies,” which includes “photo-sharing technologies, …video creation technologies, …image editing. …connect with favorite authors, artists, musicians, and so on via Twitter, Facebook and personal blogs.”

ISTE Standards infographic

Click to enlarge

The International Society for Technology in Education has 3 Standards for Students that directly relate to social media:

  • Digital citizen – Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and ethical.
  • Creative communicator – Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.
  • Global collaborator – Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.

SCHOOL LIBRARIANS: TEACH CLOUD COMPUTING

Lessons using social media tools are abundant in print and online, but these rarely give students an understanding of the larger concept of cloud computing. And, as online tools steadily replace desktop apps, School Librarians need to emphasize Cloud Computing, so students learn the responsible use of ALL online tools.

Teach Students the Concepts of Cloud Computing Instead of Tools - School Library Lessons about social media need to focus on the type and purpose of digital services, rather than brand names, so students know when and how to use any tool responsibly. Read about forms of interaction, presentation, transmission, and more... #NoSweatLibraryFor every School Library Lesson we can provide a deep understanding of cloud computing as a prelude to introducing a digital tool. I teach each different aspect of cloud computing by focusing on the type & purpose of digital services, rather than brand names, so students learn how & when to use a particular kind of tool regardless of who makes it.

For my School Library Lessons I group cloud computing tools into 3 types of services:

  1. Personal services: individual tools for organization, communication, and learning—email, drop box, digital documents, digital storage.
  2. Presentation services: tools to create and publish original multimedia products—blogs, audio podcasts, slide shows, videos, webinars, live broadcasts.
  3. Group services: tools for collaborating with others—chat rooms, discussion forums, wikis, social networks, video conferencing.

Within and across these 3 groups I teach the specifics which differentiate the services and individual tools from each other:

  • Audience interaction
    • 1-to-1 (personal individual tools)
    • 1-to-many (presentation tools)
    • many-to-many (group tools)
  • Method of delivery
    • 1-way transfer (drop box, digital storage, podcasts, blogs, slide shows, videos, live broadcasts)
    • 2-way exchange (email, some digital documents, all group tools, webinars)
  • Transmission interval
    • synchronous (chat rooms, some social networks, video conferencing, webinars, live broadcasts)
    • asynchronous (email, discussion forums, wikis, some social networks, blogs, podcasts)

Next I decide whether to teach the scope of a tool—all its potential uses—or the efficacy of a tool, that is, its best use. I make that decision based on the purpose of the library visit, as noted in my Library Lesson Matrix, and then I create the lesson with my Library Lesson Planner.

THE SCHOOL LIBRARY LESSON

Consolidating all online tools under the umbrella of Cloud Computing allows me to introduce a variety of media for students to express themselves, add creativity and value to student assignments, and inculcate responsible online behaviors. I can keep lessons short and simple, focused on the purpose of the library visit, with a classroom-related activity so students can practice what they learn.  Often my Library Lessons help teachers understand Cloud Computing and see how to integrate it into their own lessons.

Cloud Computing is my first technology lesson of the school year with Spanish and Art classes, and I’ve also incorporated the concept into lessons with core subjects, ESL, and Special Ed. Using just a few slides, I introduce the concept, types of tools, their purpose, and form of audience interaction.

First 2 slides that begin every Cloud Computing lesson.
Types of Cloud Computing Cloud Computing Tools

The best way to teach technology is to demonstrate how to use it, so I close the slide presentation and open the online service. I distribute a handout showing images of the tool to help students follow my demonstration. Then students use the rest of the period for a daily grade activity that guides them through 2 features chosen by the teacher which they will use throughout the school year to respond to assignments.

Often after the lesson students ask other teachers to give them assignments using the tool, so the teachers come to me for help, and I’m able to expand student use of the service through short lessons during library visits with other subject classes.


Other ISTE Resources:

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