Learning Log (Module 6)

Introduction

As a classroom teacher who teaches early primary students, it is difficult to consistently use technology in the classroom due to many reasons including the lack of technology resources in our elementary school, the young students’ developing (and sometimes lack of) reading skills to use online tools independently, and taking the time to teach them how to operate technology along with teaching many other skills at this age. Although it seems more difficult to teach young primary students about how to take care of this expensive equipment and how to use them independently, it is essential that the teacher-librarian as well as other educators teach these young students the skills on how to be responsible online Internet users. Many will have already accessed these digital tools before and many more will encounters these tools later on in their life. This Learning Log features the readings from Module 6 and other articles to help support the curation of various resources that students as well as teachers and teacher-librarians can use when learning about digital and media literacy. These resources are curated through Symbaloo and includes a variety of multi-modal resources in order to reach all learners. Themes that will be specifically explored are excessive usage and news literacy. These themes are chosen because it is the most prevalent issues at this age group in my current school context.

Definitions

Digital literacy is the knowledge and ability to use digital technology and communication tools that are used daily through work, school, and daily life in appropriate and ethical ways (UBC, 2021; MediaSmarts, n.d.-a)

The definition of media literacy is how to access influential media like television and video games as well as to critically analyze, evaluate, and produce it (MediaSmarts, n.d.-b).

News literacy includes the skills to help identify fake and real news (Bober, 2021). Students are consumers of news information as well so it is important to equip them with skills that include critical thinking to identify fakes news and disinformation.

Context

The following tools are curated with my school community in mind. I teach at an elementary school with students from Kindergarten to Grade 5 in New Westminster. A majority of the students at my school are early primary students so the themes that will be discussed are trends and issues that have been observed within this age group. Playing video games is quite a common hobby for older children but it is also becoming more prevalent among kindergarteners! Many young students are already exposed to tablets and IPad, video games, YouTube, TikTok, and other online content and it is often unsupervised. The guiding questions that this Learning Log will address include: How do we manage screen time in our young students? If it is difficult to manage screen time at home, how can we, as teacher-librarians and educators, equip students with tools and skills to access the digital world in safer and wiser ways? Excessive use and news literacy are themes that will be explored. There are many overlaps in these themes like how the user will need to think about whose voice is being heard in a story or news article and how news is not neutral (MediaSmarts, n.d.-c). The tools curated will be for students in Kindergarten to Grade 3 classes as well as their classroom teacher. Some resources will also consider the efforts from the students’ parents and family members.

Role of teacher-librarians

As mentioned in Module 6, the role of teacher-librarians is to “narrow the divide” (UBC, 2021). This divide describes how students are knowledgeable in technology, apps, and other online tools that they use but strangely, they may not know how to use digital tools that that require the student to engage in deeper thinking and writing (UBC, 2021).

Symbaloo

Symbaloo is an online tool that helps bookmark websites and resources in a visual-way through grids that resemble app icons on a smart phone or tablet. This Symbaloo is organized for both the teacher-librarian and classroom teacher in mind to meet with the current trends in education. There are also three (3) not mutually exclusive sections that contain resources that pertain to students, teachers, and parents and guardians.

Tools for Students

Watching videos from MediaSmarts is a great way to engage young students on tips for figuring out whether news articles are authentic and being critical of information that is spread among friends. These are bright, animated visuals that attract young students as they resemble cartoon shows that they watch and provide audio information for many of these young users who are not able to read yet. One of the videos is, “How to Fact-Check Online Sources” which informs learners about how content from the Internet can contain false information. Tips include checking the reliability of the source and the date of when the article was created. It is also important to consider whether the content is objective or contains bias or information that evokes strong emotion. Other videos that are similar from the MediaSmarts YouTube channel are, “News You can Really Use” and, “Authentication and Citizenship.”

Online games and activities are also engaging tools for young students to learn about digital and media literacy. The games on the Symbaloo (i.e. Privacy Pirates) are chosen based on the appropriateness of content and readability for these young learners. Reality Check is an interactive activity that questions the learner about whether they have critically thought about the news resources that they get.

Some kid-friendly websites where students can read the news include CBC Kids News, KidsPost by the Washington Post, and KidNuz. Kiddle is a search engine that is safe for kids because the website filters inappropriate content.

Tools for Teachers

The tools for students are also important for teachers. These activities and videos can be guided by the teacher and then allow for students to explore on their own. For example, the video by Common Sense Education, “Media Balance is Important,” is age-appropriate for viewing among this young group of elementary school students; there is also a Google Doc file that supplements the video that contains discussion questions. Several lesson plans from Common Sense Education and MediaSmarts are included in this Symbaloo to make it easier for teachers of early primary students to carry out lessons about balancing our media and technology use, how to be respectful and responsible online citizens, and noticing false information. Videos, colouring sheets, and discussions are activities that supplement these lessons and reaches all types of learners.

Curriculum documents are also included to remind teachers of the importance of incorporating digital and media literacy into the curriculum. Other websites and documents like the, “Educators Guide to Digital Literacy,” by Cyber Wise help inform educators and provide research and statistics that continue to support digital literacy.

One of my favourite resources is the poster from Cyber Wise which outlines seven (7), “indispensable digital life skills that every kid needs.” It is a simple document that is useful for both teachers and parents.

Tools for Parents and Guardians

TedTalks are useful for both teachers and parents. One of the TedTalks by Keegan Korf is about how teachers and other adults need to prepare students to be a positive member of the digital world. In Dr. Itoro Emembolu’s TedTalk, she mentions the importance of digital literacy and how we need to prepare young learners to use these skills in the future. Articles from Edutopia and MediaSmarts provide concise and easy-to-read information about technology use and media and digital literacy.

Conclusion

Although I have heard of MediaSmarts throughout several courses for my Diploma in Teacher-Librarianship, I was able to take the time to dive deeper into the website and familiarize myself with the content in this resource for this assignment. There was an abundance of information, interactive activities, lesson plans, and advice for parents on how to prepare our young learners to be literate in the usage of media and digital tools. A lot of the resources that were curated for this Learning Log came from MediaSmarts as many of these resources are relevant and most importantly, doable for teachers and students in my school community. As mentioned in the Module 6 discussions and from my own experience, thinking about technology can be quite overwhelming in addition to the other roles and responsibilities that teachers take on. Teachers need to balance the curriculum as well as social-emotional needs so to add-on being knowledgeable in technology and how to use it responsible can be quite stressful. A suggestion from Shawnese in the Module 6 Discussions was to integrate technology into units and lessons that the students are currently learning about (Trottier, 2021). This makes their learning as well as how to use technology meaningful. Other skills that can be learned are critical thinking and communication which are Core Competencies in the BC Curriculum. Teachers do not have to know everything as this shows that teachers act as “guides” in learning and model how we are life-long learners as well (MediaSmarts, n.d.-a).

References

BC Ministry of Education (2014). Digital Literacy. Retrieved from: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/teaching-tools/digital-literacy

Bober, T. (2021).  Bober, T. (2021). ”It’s What’s Happening”: Young learners need a foundation in news literacy. School Library Journal, 67(6), 9.

MediaSmarts. (n.d.-a). Digital Literacy Fundamentals. https://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/digital-literacy-fundamentals

MediaSmarts. (n.d.-b). Media Literacy Fundamentals. https://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/media-literacy-fundamentals

Media Smarts. (n.d.-c). The Intersection of Digital and Media Literacy. http://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/intersection-digital-media-literacy

Trottier, S. (2021, October 10). Module 6: Supporting Learners Through the Library: Digital and Media Literacy [Discussion post]. University of British Columbia. Retrieved from https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/90895/discussion_topics/1101158

University of British Columbia (2021). Module 6: Supporting Learners Through the Library- Digital and Media Literacy. [Course notes]. https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/90895/pages/module-6-supporting-learners-through-the-library-digital-and-media-literacy?module_item_id=3571986