It
seems that overnight traditional “school” has changed. Due to the pandemic, we
are now thrown into the world of technology and the internet whether we like it
or not. Most campuses have become one-to-one where students all are issued a
device and the majority of their work is completed on this device. We expect
this from our students but have lacked in preparing them to be productive
digital citizens.
This trend has come about
so quickly, schools are not prepared to teach digital literacy to our students.
At an early age, students have an online presence through games and watching
videos. Later it is social media. They are unprepared to discern what is true
and what is false. “If our students do not learn how to assess the information
they access via the Internet, for credibility, question author’s motive, or synthesize
new knowledge from what they read, we are at risk for breading ignorance in the
uninformed populace.” (Miller 2018) Librarians
and classroom teachers are tasked to fill these gaps.
If students are to succeed
in the Information Age, they must have access to a strong library program that
includes collaboration between the Librarian, classroom teachers, and administrators.
I located an article about a study done at Grant Elementary School, located in
the Eastmont School District, in East Wenatchee, Washington. The problem
addressed was student achievement in reading and writing was falling short of
state standards. Staff began meeting to determine what changes could be made to
positively affect student achievement. There was a district-adopted curriculum
for reading, writing, math and science, there was no library curriculum in the
district or school and therefore, no consistent measurable student learning of
information skills. The purpose was to develop an elementary library curriculum
plan for students at Grady that would enhance, support, and deepen student
learning of information skills. The curriculum plan incorporated research on
the effect of the library on increased student achievement and integrated
national and state standards in reading, technology, and information skills. This
project supports the need for the teacher-librarian to be able to collaborate to
create consistent library goals, assessments, and activities that will show
collective evidence that elementary school libraries and their instructional
interventions positively affect student achievement.
One emerging strategy for teaching digital citizenship to students is through medians most young people today are familiar with; Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat. Through these, students can create digital research projects, such as public service announcements on issues that matter to them. Students can investigate issues, prepare arguments, and connect with publicly elected officials. Students can share political views and ideas with others and see other points of view on the same topics. These strategies help teachers empower students to develop critical thinking abilities, enhance digital communication skills, and influence their communities by connecting their in-school learning with their out-of-school online activities and communications.
References:
Freeman, A., Adams
Becker, S., Cummins, M., Davis, A., and Hall Giesinger, C. (2017). NMC/CoSN
Horizon Report: 2017 K–12 Edition. https://library.educause.edu/~/media/files/library/2017/11/2017hrk12EN.pdf
Gleason, B.,& von
Gillern, S. (2018). Digital Citizenship with Social Media: Participatory
Practices of Teaching and Learning in Secondary Education. Educational
Technology &Society, 21(1), 200-212.
Miller, A. (2018).
There’s so Much There! Helping Kids Conquer the Internet and Save Democracy. Knowledge
Quest, 47(1), 24-30.
Scott, K.J., &
Plourde, L.A. (2007). School Libraries and Increased Student Achievement:
What’s the Big Idea? Education, 127(3), 419-429.
Nice post! Over the last few years, we have seen the shift to digital learning in the schools, and although students (and teachers alike) seem to be proficient in social media and device use, is has been evident that digital citizenship is something that needs to be taught.
ReplyDeleteExcellent explanation of how schools are dropping the ball on not teaching information literacy skills. Schools need to integrate these skills into the schools curriculum so students are prepared for a digital world.
ReplyDeleteThrough this global pandemic, the definition of what a School Librarian is and does has also changed over the course of our recent history. Libraries are essential in ensuring that students have the skills and information they need to thrive and participate in the digital society of the twenty-first century. School librarians have the capacity to make significant contributions to our children's learning and instruction in the educational system. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI liked your take on technology. Things have had to change in the last two years whether we wanted it to or not. We handed Chromebooks to our students but didn't teach them how to use them.
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