The definition of literacy in education has changed. Instead of being geared solely on reading, writing and speaking; now students are responsible for their digital work as well. Students today will be entering a world that we may not be able to perceive at this time. We are responsible for teaching them these 21st century literacies. The following questions are things that you should be asking yourself and coaching to your students while on the internet.
  1. How do you find information?
    • How students' research and the tools that they use are essential skills to develop for their success in the future. They need to know how to search for key words, how to safely search, and how to sort through the junk that is on the internet.
  2. Where do you find that information?
    • Knowledge on how to search will lead you to the locations that are safe. Students will need to gather this information and for it to be credible. Grabbing information from Wikipedia can be information that is not credible. Students need to know what sources are good, and how to identify the bad.
  3. How do you present that information?
    • Using digital media to create interest and hook your audience will be an essential skill for the future, regardless of what their career is. Future careers will be spent in front of a screen of some kind, engaging their audience is a necessity for success.
  4. How can you use it to your advantage?
    • Leveraging information, or technology in general is another skill students must be familiar with. Being able to maximize what is in front of you will be a highly desired ability for any job market.
  5. How is this work impacting you or those around you?
    • Digital citizenship is a hot topic today. Social media will only continue to grow and influence our society. Students must know how to safely communicate and how decisions impact them on the internet.
Ask yourself and your students these questions the next time you are designing a lesson. Create digitally rich activities that maximize these skills! Encourage them to challenge and positively impact the world around them.