The Importance of Explicit Digital Literacy Instruction for ELs
Digital literacy is an evolving literacy that is increasing in importance every day. “A digitally literate person can use technology strategically to discover and evaluate information, connect and collaborate with others, produce and share original content, and use the Internet and technology tools to achieve many academic, professional, and personal goals” (Mantiri et al., 2019). Without digital literacy, it is becoming increasingly difficult to complete even simple tasks like making appointments for the doctor. Processes that were once offered in a nondigital manner are quickly switching to digital-only platforms with little options for those who are not digitally literate.
Given the importance of digital literacy for all people, teachers must ensure that their students understand how to effectively use technology. Despite the importance of digital literacy, it is surprising that vocabulary instruction related to technology and its use is not considered more often in many classrooms. When searching for premade resources to help teach current digital literacy vocabulary, I had a hard time finding up-to-date resources that were appropriate for elementary instruction and/or ELs. Many of the resources were word based without visuals; the resources used definitions that require prior knowledge of both technology and English. In the end, I found a few resources that are a good starting point, but the challenge in finding resources leads me to infer that digital literacy vocabulary is not something people are creating or searching for often enough.
It is easy to assume that students just know how to use technology. We often see very young children navigating tablets or phones with ease. However, we cannot assume that students know how to navigate the programs or applications we need them to use in school. Also, it is important to keep in mind that ELs may not have had the same exposure to technology as their peers. And in addition to knowing how to use technology, it is important to be able to understand directions and speak about technology. For these reasons, explicit vocabulary instruction is very important; Yuan et al. (2019) explain that “Computer technology comes with a set of jargon that is not usually in a typical English class for beginners.” Technology instruction is a great opportunity to have students teach each other. As teachers find students who are more proficient at using programs and using appropriate vocabulary to help others, teachers can have students create screencasts to teach others. Teachers can create a help page where student-made videos can be posted to help others.
You make a really good point when you talk about how making an appointment with your doctor would be difficult without digital literacy. I remember when I would take my grandmother to get blood work done and they started having people check in using an iPad that was stationed out front. There was nobody there to check you in and a lot of the older people had no idea what to do. After I checked my grandmother in, I ended up being the “go-to” person for all of these older people and had to help them check-in for their appointment. It was amazing to me that these offices would switch over to something like that without anyone there to assist people who may not understand what to do.
ReplyDeleteThis leads me to agree with you that teaching students the vocabulary necessary to use this technology is just as important as having students use the technology in the first place! This is especially true for students who are at a younger age level and for our ELs, who may not have the same experiences as native English speakers. I think it’s important that teachers review the vocabulary and model how to use the different programs and applications before having students use them in the classroom. I appreciate the resources you included in your post!
It's so true what you say that just because students use technology doesn't mean that they are using the correct programs and software that they need to know. And I never thought about the jargon that is used for tech - and how difficult that must be for ELs just starting out. And it is definitely a great idea for EL students to help teach each other and collaborate with technology. Thanks - great post!
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