A New Educator Guide For Teaching Basic Digital Literacy
by Amanda Melsby — November 30, 2023
Our students are highly engaged in a digital sense. Studies show daily screen time for teens is over 8.5 hours per day and that around 90% of teenagers use social media However, consuming online videos or participating in social media does not necessarily equate to basic digital literacy.
Digital literacy refers to a level of competency that allows for the gathering, evaluating, creating, and safe communication of information. From an educational standpoint, according to The Journal, digital literacy is the use of technology to access information in new ways and to communicate that with others, which gives the student a more central role in the learning process.
Many teachers have learned that their students are far less digitally literate than we, perhaps, gave them credit for. In our digital world, there is a huge need to equip students with basic digital literacy skills.
Digital literacy encompasses the following categories:
- Online safety
- Digital citizenship
- Understanding platforms
- Research skills
- Source evaluation
- Digital communication and collaboration
The amount of time you devote to basic digital literacy will vary from subject to subject and school to school. Some schools have goals across the curriculum around literacy, others leave that to the Humanities department. However your school chooses to address digital literacy, some time should be devoted to direct instruction around digital literacy–particularly if you have students engage in any type of research or online use.
Six Categories of Basic Digital Literacy
1. Digital safety
It is always important to remind students that they need to be safe when online and what that looks like. Even though students grew up with technology, we know that they are not as savvy as they may think they are.
Recent studies show that teenagers are increasingly susceptible to scams, losing money, and giving away personal information. Teenagers who were scammed online grew by 156% over the past three years, for a total loss of $71 million. When we talk about digital literacy, we are including the ability for students to engage in platforms in a safe way that protects their identity, their money, and their personal information.
Links and resources on digital safety:
Digital Futures Initiative – Free teacher courses on digital safety designed for grades 6,7,8, and 9. Also includes a course titled “Digital Parent Academy”.
Common Sense Education – Lesson plans broken by grade level (but can be swapped at upper levels) on online safety.
2. Digital citizenship
Digital citizenship is the appropriate usage of devices, content, and usage. This is a broad category that covers everything from the ethical use of copyright to properly attributing sources to maintaining your mental health and wellness to refraining from any form of cyberbullying.
The two most common types of digital citizenship fall into two categories: academic and social.
Academic digital literacy: Students need to avoid consciously or unconsciously plagiarizing, which means that they need to be taught how to properly cite sources.
Social digital literacy: Schools must have policies in place to deal with any sort of cyberbullying. Additionally, schools need to take the time to reinforce the importance of well-being when engaging in social media.
Links and resources on digital citizenship:
Common Sense Education – Lesson plans that cover the gamut of digital citizenship including lessons that focus on media balance and well-being.
This lesson on how social media makes you feel can open a dialogue with students. I like this lesson on hoaxes and fake videos as well as this more personal lesson about creating a digital footprint that showcases your purpose.
Learning for Justice – Digital tools to enhance active citizenship and civic engagement.
3. Understanding platforms
Understanding different platforms is one of the more basic functions of digital literacy but there is more depth than one might think. Understanding platforms, different search engines and how information comes to us moves from knowledge acquisition into evaluation and critical analysis.
As part of that critical analysis, students begin to differentiate among platforms based on use and learn how to conduct searches based on needed information. In addition to understanding what the platform does, students also need to think about how the platform can potentially be used in a different way. There are nearly limitless ways their platforms could be used creatively for school projects and assignments.
Links and resources on understanding platforms:
Learning for Justice – Lesson plan learning about different search engines and the types of information they provide.
4. Research skills
Teaching research skills often draws a groan from teachers because it is directly in their wheelhouse. They may work with the librarian to curate websites for students to use, or ask that the librarian teach a lesson on how to access research databases, or, even, leave it to the students to find sources and then follow up with source evaluation. It may be tempting to let the students do research on their own, but the more you can scaffold it, the better the final product will be.
What research skills do students most need?
- Narrowing a topic down to a research question
- Keywords and phrases for database searches
- Evaluating sources for reliability and/or bias
- Proper citation of sources
The most effective way to do this is embedded in an actual research project. I have seen many lessons from English teachers and librarians who are teaching these skills but without a corresponding project. And while there is nothing wrong with the lessons themselves, teachers end up having to redo that work when the project is assigned. Spare yourself the frustration and teach research skills after assigning the project.
Links and resources on research skills:
Learning for Justice – Lesson plans for understanding and evaluating online searches.
News Literacy Project – This lesson shows students examples of misinformation and asks them to identify patterns and red flags.
Stanford History Education Group–
Lesson plans that teach lateral reading (leaving a site to see what other digital sources say about that site to gauge validity). They also have digital literacy lessons for science classes and lessons for history classes.
5. Source evaluation
Source evaluation can be an ongoing theme throughout a course. Addressing the validity of sources, misinformation and disinformation is a major component of digital literacy and is essential for students to practice. In doing so, they are building their critical thinking skills and their ability to evaluate information.
The ability to evaluate information and determine its validity is a constant process that students need to be taught. Providing a list of questions (see below) similar to the CRAP test is a useful habit for students.
- Who is the author? (Not just name but any credentials, titles, etc.)
- What is the purpose?
- Who is the intended audience? (And, how do you know this? What values or points of view are represented?)
- What or who is omitted from the messaging?
- Who is behind the author? (Is the author part of a larger organization? Is it credible? How do you know it is or is not credible?)
- What is the bias? (Of the author and/or of the organization)
- What is the date of publication? (How recent and relevant is it?)
Links and resources on source evaluation:
Lesson plans that focus on mis- and dis-information and the evaluation of content. They have an interesting lesson on “InfoZones” and how the credibility of a source is often linked to its purpose.
Learning for Justice–Lesson plans on evaluating sources.
Stanford History Education Group–
Lesson plans that can be modified for middle or high school students. Intro lesson plans on evaluating who is behind the source information, the degree of evidence, and what other sources say about that source.
6. Communication and Collaboration
Arguably one of the more positive aspects of technology in the classroom is that students have an increased ability to communicate and collaborate with one another and with the teacher. Putting lessons in place that allow for collaborative learning opportunities such as building knowledge and collaboration on projects are two ways that teachers can reach the higher levels of technology integration, modifying and redefining the students’ task (SAMR model).
Engagement in digital communities also involves the development of student empathy toward one another in communication, showing inclusivity toward group members or classmates, and evaluating the appropriateness of group communication.
Links and resources on communication and collaboration:
Learning for Justice – A lesson plan analyzing how words communicate bias.
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Amanda Melsby has been a professional educator for 20 years. She taught English before working as an assistant principal and later as a high school principal. Amanda holds an Ed.D. in Educational Practice and Leadership and is currently a dean of teaching and learning.