The increased use of
technology means digital literacy is an important skill for children to be
prepared for the ever-changing digital world. The Future Lab (2010:2) states
that digital literacy provides children with the ‘skills, knowledge and
understanding that will help them to take a full and active part in social,
cultural, economic, civic and intellectual life now and in the future’.
Therefore, it is necessary for children to be digitally literate in order to
succeed in the future world. This means that ICT has to take a central role in
all subject areas across the Primary curriculum so children have the
opportunity to become digitally literate.
Digital literacy provides a wealth of opportunities for
children and the Future Lab claims that ‘developing digital literacy in subject
teaching supports young people to be effective, competent, critical students of
that subject in the digital age’ (2010:12), suggesting that children will not
be prepared for the future if they are not taught to be digitally literate. The
Leitch Review (2006) supports this, claiming that the UK needs to develop and
improve the skills of it’s workforce in order to maintain global
competitiveness. This implies that it is the responsibility of the future
workforce, the current Primary children, to uphold digital literacy to sustain
global competitiveness. Therefore, teachers hold the responsibility because ‘it
is teachers who have experience in the higher order critical thinking skills
that can support young people’s use of digital technology’ (The Future Lab,
2010:10). Without the teacher’s knowledge, children will not have the
opportunities to become digitally literate.
However, it is unfair to assume that all children are
‘digital natives’ who have a wealth of experience with technology before
entering the classroom. Although children may have experience of using
technology for personal use, it is unlikely that all children are aware of how
to use technology academically, for example choosing reliable information on
the Internet. Therefore, ‘it is not enough to assume that young people
automatically have all of the skills, knowledge and understanding that they
need to apply to their use of technology’ (The Future Lab, 2010:10). All
Primary children need a wealth of support in order to thrive in digital
cultures, to make sense of the ever-changing technological world.
Finally, it is important that teachers care about digital
literacy and childhood because it is their responsibility to prepare children
for the future world. The Future Lab (2010:2) suggests that ‘digital literacy
gives young people the ability to take advantage of the wealth of new and
emerging opportunities associated with digital technologies’. This means that
teachers need to teach children to become digital literate, in order to allow
them to expand and extend their use of technology for both personal and
academic use.
Bibliography
Futurelab. (2010) Digital literacy across the
curriculum. London: Becta.
Leitch,
S (2006). Prosperity for all in the global economy – world class skills (HMSO).
Available online: hm-treasury.gov.uk/leitch (accessed 20thth February 2014)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAs children are labelled 'digital natives' we assume that they have this technological awareness already. This is the case for some children, but not all. It is not something to be assumed. This emphasizes the need for 'starting where the children are at', something which arises within many subjects and modules at university. Understanding children's prior knowledge makes for a more meaningful, ensuing learning experience as the teacher can plan accordingly.
ReplyDelete