digital literacy – jump in! I had an epiphany this week about…

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digital literacy – jump in!

I had an epiphany this week about how we often deal with digital literacy/fluency in education. Too often as educators, we approach teaching related to technology and computers similar to how I see foreign language being taught to my son. There’s an assumption of unfamiliarity and the need to practice the basics before moving on to more advanced work (think keyboarding drills before word processing). Of course, if you are lucky enough to do it, there’s another approach to learning a language and that’s an immersion experience. You go to a foreign country with whatever skill level you have and just jump right in. Formal immersion language programs then wrap a student’s education around this experience, providing support & guidance. 

Kids today are already immersed in technology and whether they are frolicking in the surf, riding a wave or drowning in the undertow, no amount of us shouting instructions from the shore will provide much assistance. Technology is changing the paradigm of learning. No longer do we need immense volumes of instructions to explain how things work and we don’t need to understand all the basics before starting to get some real world experience. Take the tablet computer which has practically no entry barriers (except cost). Even small children intuit it.

Another fallacy we adults live under is that if we just take enough classes or PD, we can not only catch up, but even get ahead of the kids. As a technology teacher, who spends much of my day trying to keep up with technology – I can say with some confidence, that ain’t happening. Kids are comfortable diving right in. They don’t get frustrated or flustered with new interfaces because those interfaces have been changing since they started with tech. They are not worried about breaking anything, whether or not they should or can. I remember when I was first learning to program, we would get a few minutes of time on a main frame computer and I was so worried about breaking it or having enough time with it to debug my code. Now when I learn a new coding language, I can dive right in, experiment, remix other code, find video tutorials when I get stuck. No longer do I have to have my whole program figured out before being given access to the tools I need to find out if I’m on the right track.

Kids still need our guidance and support, but we can no longer stand on the sidelines wringing our hands about digital literacy/fluency. Many kids carry super computers in their pockets and instead of trying to control the tech, we need to engage the learner to help them understand the wonders of this digital age and what a powerful responsibility it entails. I think our best bet is to jump right in with the kids and learn together. I can tell you kids are doing some amazing things with tech – things you would never imagine doing. They are also doing some dangerous things – things that they/we don’t yet understand all the consequences of. We can learn a lot from each other and search out resources when we get stuck. We don’t need to go it alone – there are life guards and first aid kits available to help navigate the rough waters and bandage up the scrapes and bruises. Digital literacy/fluency education is not a one time event that can be handled in one class, one semester at one grade level. It needs to permeate every school environment and be reinforced by all adults. 

Here are a few of my “go to” digital literacy resources – what are yours?