Media Awareness Network (MNet) released a thought provoking report [report pdf, press release] yesterday.
It is worth looking at.
The report found there are still significant challenges to overcome before digital technologies can succeed in enriching students’ learning – one of the main barriers being students’ lack of digital literacy skills. Interestingly, the report says that typical school filters and policies banning or restricting networked devices in the classroom may take away opportunities needed to help youth develop digital literacy skills, such as good judgment and responsible use.
These are among the findings in Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Teachers’ Perspectives.
In the study, MNet sought to better understand how digital technologies are being integrated into classrooms, enhance learning, and examine the impact on the teacher-student relationship.
Digital literacy has been a frequent issue raised on these pages – although I had focused on Canadians that are not yet connected, Canadians who do not yet have a computer.
MNet’s report examines the need to improve skills among kids who may be competent at using and navigating, but not necessarily digital literate.
All of the teachers we talked to indicated that their students loved working – and playing – with smart phones, iPods, iPads, computers and networked devices of all kinds. But they also agreed that simple access to networked technologies has not made their students better learners. In spite of the fact that young people demonstrate a facility with online tools, many students lack the skills they need to use those tools effectively for learning. There is also a real propensity on the part of students to take what they find online as “given”.
Improved digital literacy is a critical element in building Canada’s information economy. In the absence of a National Digital Strategy, where will we find leadership in developing these skills?