Page 4 - Booklet 2 word

Digital Literacy and Creativity -Practical Methods

Being able to use technology in the classroom is an advantage both for students and teachers.

The first thing that needs to be addressed in digital literacy are the basic ICT skills. This can be
applied to learners of all ages and is best to do according to the commodities in the school.
The learners need to be able to turn on the computer and access the internet without
problems. When this step is successfully mastered the teacher can introduce creativity
building, where the students start applying methods for sharing and distributing
knowledge. Projects to build creativity can be to look for websites or create your own,
directing and uploading videos, making or listening to podcasts, projects that involve writing
blogs, studying wikis, making digital portfolios, recording vlogs and making e-books.

Teamwork can not be overlooked, for the learning to be meaningful teachers and students
need to construct a dialogue, we need to encourage discussions and exchange ideas both
with and in relation to others on the web, in chat rooms or other social media. The whole
class could for an example have their own Facebook site, Padlet or other programs where
they can exchange information and ideas. Communication is one of the biggest part, digital
technology is mediated by communication, and digital literacy therefore needs additional
communicational skills. This can be enhanced by diverse social media sites.

One of the most used factors of digital technology is to find and select information, inquiry-
based learning is a fundamental skill in development in the learning to learn. The first step in
this is teacher directed discussion of copyright, plagiarism and who owns intellectual
property.

Everything on the internet needs to be looked at through critical glasses. Critical thinking
includes transformation of information and requires reflection to consider and evaluate
different interpretations, the student needs to be able to evaluate the information that is on
the net and find the value of information on diverse sites. Here it would be useful to discuss
the difference between .org sites and Wikipedia.

Cultural and social understanding provides a language and context to promote wider
understanding in the creation of meaning. Many projects on cultural and social differences
and understanding can be connected to sites like www.workaway.info and
http://www.projects-abroad.org

And last but not least, teachers are obliged to support learners so that they can make
informed decisions to protect themselves in their internet travels. Material to follow up on E-
safety can be found in many places, for the younger learners
http://www.safetynetkids.org.uk/personal-safety/staying-safe-online/ can be a good start. It
is always good to ask the students, sometimes they are more efficient than the teacher in the
ways to digital literacy and creativity.

Straumar og stefnur í enskukennslu - GSS 550G
Árný M. Eiríksdóttir Eva Óskarsdottir