Digital Literacy

What Can Children Teach Their Parents? Grade Level: 3-5 6-8

• The United States set aside November 1 as a day to encourage families to read and learn together. National Family Literacy Day began in 1994, and schools, literacy organizations, and libraries promote read-a-thons, book drives, and other activities, sometimes for the whole month. It’s usually the parents that teach the children, but did you know that parents can learn some things from you? Often you know more about the latest technology than your parents, as well as things like cyberbullying, teens abusing drugs, etc. You can also remind your parents that they can learn patience and forgiveness, too.

• Topic: Literacy, Digital literacy, Families

• Language: English

• Lexile: 830L

• Audio & Video

• URL: http://wonderopolis.org

Jo Cool or Jo Fool - For Kids Grade Level: 6-8 9-12

• Josie and Joseph Cool are looking at some of their favorite websites. Decide whether they are making smart choices. Jo is surfing the Web and fills out of form with personal information on a site for Splurge Cola. She wants to register to get cool stuff. She even gives them e-mail addresses of her friends so they can get cool stuff too. Think about whether it is safe to meet people online. Is CD Rama a safe place to buy music? Learn about hate propaganda, gossip sites, Netiquette, hacking, online contests, and fake events that want you to send cash.

• Topic: Evaluating online resources, Digital literacy, Online identities

• Language: English

• Lexile: 680L

• Educational game

• Interactive

• URL: http://mediasmarts.ca

Digital Literacy Is… Grade Level: 6-8 9-12

• Can you find, create, and evaluate information found on the Internet? Writing reports and designing multimedia presentations will likely be part of your educational experience, but digital literacy is not cutting and pasting. Digital literacy is difficult to define by a list of tasks because technology is constantly changing. Issues of copyright, privacy, and plagiarism are more difficult to define. Becoming digitally literate is not only discovering what can be done with technology, but evaluating what is appropriate.

• Topic: Digital literacy

• Language: English

• Lexile: 1070L

• URL: http://digitalliteracy.cornell.edu

Unlocking Opportunities with Digital Literacy Grade Level: 6-8 9-12

• Explore the digital divide. In 2013, more than 60 million Americans didn't use the Internet. Some don't know how, while others lack access or don't believe it would be helpful. The inequality created by the digital divide limits the access of 20% of Americans to information about jobs, health care, and education. A library tutor and mentor describes a project to provide digital literacy training to thousands of people. Immigrants get to see family overseas with online communications, parents take classes online, and people get the computer skills they need to get a new job.

• Topic: Digital literacy

• Language: English, Spanish

• Lexile: 1360L

• URL: http://www.whitehouse.gov

How Teens Do Research in the Digital World Grade Level: 6-8 9-12

• Although teachers of successful high school students say digital search tools have helped students do research, they also believe that digital technologies are distracting students from learning. While students have access to more information, students expect to always find the answers quickly. The amount of information can be overwhelming, discouraging students from using new sources instead of familiar ones. The credibility of digital information is often lacking, making it essential to teach students to judge the quality of information found using search engines.

• Topic: Digital literacy

• Language: English

• Lexile: 1540L

• URL: http://www.pewinternet.org

New User Tutorial Grade Level: 3-5 6-8

• If you've never used a computer without help before, this tutorial might help. Get to know the basic skills of using a computer with this new-user tutorial. Find the Enter key on the keyboard. Learn about the parts of a mouse and how to use it. Click on the arrow with your mouse. Drag the red square across the page. Learn how to highlight text, use a drop down menu, or open an application. Discover what you can do by right clicking on the mouse. Investigate three different ways to scroll.

• Topic: Digital literacy, Mousing skills

• Language: English, Spanish

• Lexile: 920L

• Interactive

• URL: http://tech.tln.lib.mi.us

Find the Technology: Computer Vocabulary Grade Level: 3-5

• The room on this Web page is very, very messy. There are computer parts mixed in with all kinds of other things. Take a look around to see if you can spot them. When you find a computer related item, click onto it to find out what it is. This fun game keeps track of how many clicks you use to find everything on the list of computer technology items in the picture. So, study the picture carefully, and then have fun learning about the different items used with a computer.

• Topic: Digital literacy, Vocabulary games

• Language: English

• Lexile: 1360L

• Educational game

• URL: http://www.abcya.com

Nichole Pinkard on Digital Literacy (Big Thinkers Series) Grade Level: 6-8 9-12

• Literacy has evolved with technology, from the printing press to the Internet. If a person can read a book but not critique media, are they literate in the 21st century world? Increasingly, literacy is defined as fluency in a variety of media. This educational network began with the goal of helping students use digital media for schoolwork, but the designers realized students would need digital literacy for the real world too. The Digital Youth Network uses schools, libraries, after-school programs, and online resources to help students use media and become mentors.

• Topic: Digital literacy

• Language: English

• Lexile: 1460L

• Video

• URL: http://www.edutopia.org

Teens Without Smartphones Encounter a New Digital Divide Grade Level: 6-8 9-12

• Nearly three-fourths of American teens have smartphones, but only half of those in low-income communities have smartphones. Snapchat and Instagram are popular among wealthier kids, but photo-sharing apps are rarely used by low-income kids. Texting is the preferred method of communicating for kids from low-income communities. Half use Facebook, which can be accessed without a smartphone. Discover how the digital divide continues in the 21st century, making it more difficult for low-income teens to gain digital fluency. Access makes it more likely for young people to learn to code or manage a network.

• Topic: Cell phones and teenagers, Digital literacy

• Language: English

• Lexile: 1300L

• URL: https://theconversation.com