For me it is not really a matter of how will I begin to teach digital literacy, it is more of a matter of how will I continue to teach it. My kids have the opportunity to be exposed everyday to the digital world. There was a lot of frontloading and preparation that went on before they even touched a computer. I have tried to have a class that is a safe zone for the students to use. I first thought about having a strong online presence last school year when I found out that we had google classroom available in our district. In all honesty even without google classroom I still helped them to use computers and the gSuite. This year I started out with my syllabus having a technology contract between my students, their parents and myself. I will have to redo this contract for next year but it was a beginning.
My classes are made up of students with different leveled digital awareness. Because of this I have scholffolded my teaching of digital literacy. I have found that it takes about a week or two of chaos (really a couple of days) and then things are smooth and I use my TA’s and other knowledgeable students to fill in the gaps for students who were absent or just not getting it. Really it comes down to power for me. I know that having knowledge is powerful. I want to empower my students the most I can. I feel that I am thorough enough to cover most things they would need to survive in a digital junge. I then share this knowledge with my students. We explore different apps and sites together. They know that I experiment with them and they are glad to take the trip with me. So in short I teach my students through trial and error.
3 Comments
Kelley Miller
2/26/2017 02:24:45 pm
Your approach sounds very similar to mine, Adam- and it's one that I think works well.
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Karly
2/28/2017 01:55:55 pm
Hi Adam,
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Zack
2/28/2017 06:57:08 pm
I appreciate your comment about trail and error, taking positive calculated risks is the root of all success. Modeling that errors will happen, and how to respond is just as important as the original effort. Also, having them start with a technology contract is super helpful to also inform parents that this is a topic that they have to buy into. I'm curious how you use Gsuite, and what benefits and challenges you face. Also interested if you found that students who do not have computers at home are the ones falling behind, great to have a back up support for them with the TA's.
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Adam Vedomske father of Danger Archives
May 2017
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