Part 2 Digital Literacy Standards

After reviewing 6 Essential Steps to Teach Digital Literacy to Your Students, the two steps I want to focus on are teaching Google search techniques and critical thinking online. I've discovered that many of my students do not understand how to properly research and cite sources. Many of them find answers in the Google search result previews without ever clicking into a website or article and site "Google" as the source. In health class, I want to show students how to use advanced search tips like restricting search results to reliable sites, and then actually exploring that site and reading about the topic for longer than 30 seconds to find more accurate health information. I’ll also guide them through evaluating the credibility and bias of the sources they find, especially when researching wellness trends or nutrition advice. They must build the muscle memory of asking each time they interact with media, "who made this", "who are they trying to reach", "what message are they trying to send", "what perspective is missing?". Using the digital literacy matrix, I can measure student proficiency by observing how independently and effectively they apply these skills. For instance, beginner-level students might only identify whether a source “seems trustworthy,” while more advanced students can justify their choices with clear reasoning and evidence and demonstrate true critical thinking in the digital space. 

The 6 steps for teaching digital literacy are incredibly valuable, and it's tough to choose just one or two to focus on. That said, Steps 5 and 6 stand out the most to me, both as a parent and a math coach. Step 5-basic internet safety is crucial. Kids need to know how to protect their personal information and recognize online risks. These are essential life skills that start at home. Step 6 is equally important. Teaching students how to act responsibly online isn’t just about what not to do, it’s about giving them opportunities to model and practice appropriate behavior. 
In class, I would give students opportunities to role play for Step 5 and then create an anchor chart as a class for basic internet safety.  For Step 6, I would find a video about real world examples of poor digital choices, have a classroom discussion about appropriate comments- kind, helpful & respectful and then allow students opportunities to comment on each other's work in a digital platform.

I explored the 2-3 grade level band for Digital Literacy.  I would probably use ChatGPT to create a student friendly rubric to help me measure student proficiency with these standards.

1. Reflection on Incorporating 6 Essential Steps to Teach Digital Literacy: After looking over the "6 Essential Steps to Teach Digital Literacy to Your Students," I really want to focus on teaching how to evaluate sources and teaching digital responsibility.
For my kinders, evaluating sources can be very simple. We can work on thinking more carefully than digging deep into research. When we do our  "research" (like finding pictures of animals for K-1.DL.3), I can model asking questions like, "Does this look real?" or "Is this what we were searching for?" It’s a good way to start building those critical thinking skills early, even if it’s just with pictures and simple websites.  I can use this in our life science unit with eggs, chicks and plants!
For digital responsibility (K-1.DL.7), I plan to weave it into everyday conversations. We’ll talk about what it means to be safe, kind, and careful online. Maybe we’ll act out different scenarios, like what to do if we click something we are not supposed to be on at school, so it feels real for them.

With using the matrix to measure proficiency levels: The matrix could be a great tool to help me see where each student is starting and how they grow over time, especially with them using the IPads from kinder to highschool.
For example, with K-1.DL.1 (exploring the keyboard), I could think of it in simple steps:
First, students might just be able to find the spacebar and enter key with help.
Then, they might start recognizing more keys like the arrows and backspace on their own.
Eventually, they’ll be able to use these keys without reminders and even explore others they notice.

They will also help me click over or pause things on my laptop if they are closer than I am. 

Using the matrix this way makes it easier to celebrate small wins and know exactly where to support students next.

1. After reviewing the resource, "6 Essential Steps to Teach Digital Literacy to Your Students," select 1-2 areas and reflect how you can incorporate these steps into your instruction.

One area that I think is important to teach our students is the ethical use of online resources.  Whether we want to believe it or not, students cheat.  Not all, but many students mean to cheat and there are some that inadvertently used a source and did not credit it or use it properly.  By teaching students what could happen if they mean to cheat (or didn't mean to cheat) and its consequences.  

Another area that I thought was important to teach is using "site" to get results.  I feel like the internet is so incredibly massive and it can be challenging - even to an internet-savvy person - to get lost.  If students know how to search with the site:example.com, this could cut down on a lot of time and confusion.  I just tried it with the Buffalo Bills and ONLY quality and reliable sources appeared.  A game changer for me! :)

2. After reviewing your grade level standards, explain how might you use this matrix to measure proficiency levels of your students?

The grade level standards were pretty interesting to me, especially the proficiency on the keyboard.  Now more than ever, I feel like our students are extremely proficient on their keyboards - just from their cellphones.  It is just the vernacular that students need to be aware of for academics writing.  Knowing how their digital footprint can impact their lives is another learning goal that is of high importance.  Collaboration and learning together is also an amazing skill since it is used so much in school and in the workplace setting.

Digital literacy in education is the ability to find, evaluate, and use online information safely and responsibly.  After reviewing the resource, "6 Essential Steps to Teach Digital Literacy to Your Students," I will continue to teach my students how to find reliable information on the internet while we are working on our ELA 10 Research Unit.  There is so much misinformation on the internet and there are many ways to help teach students what is reliable and what is not.

I looked at the grade level 9-12 digital literacy standards and reviewed "Digital Use" and "Digital Citizenship." After learning about each of them, I think DL.2, DL.4, DL.7 would definitely help me to measure proficiency levels of my students during our Research Unit in ELA 10.

I would choose  the first and second steps to use with my students-  Teaching to find reliable information from a google search and teaching google search techniques to teach students how to find reliable resources.  I would begin by doing many whole group lessons practicing both steps by integrating these into our science, social and literacy  units.  After, I might try having the students  try it with a partner before trying independently.  It would be great to have the partners present their information to the whole class.  These activities would cover the standards  - explore keys on a keyboard, communicate and work with others using digital tools and conduct a basic search based on a provided key word.  Based on their presentations the teacher and/or the class could have a rubric and would be able to see if they were successful with mastering the goals.

1. I see many different areas that I can use to incorporate into my teaching of mental health practices. 
One area I can focus on is teaching students about online bullying. This has a great affect on mental health of kids and can be very detrimental in the school world. Continuing to educate students about the effects and even future consequences of engaging in this behavior is something I will continue to do. Another area is teaching google search resources. I want to be able to provide realistic and helpful resources to students in need. Helping them find reliable resources is essential especially when it comes to helping them find ways to handle mental health problems. 

2. I can use the matrix to help students appropriately be able to identify the impacts of bullying on themselves and others. I can have discussions regarding their findings while having them discuss stories that they might have found about others.  Many websites provide statistics so I can help them use their google search techniques to find reliable data. 

If I must choose two of the 6 steps to digital safely that resonate in my daily teaching, I will pick 3 and 4. Step 3 reads Teach students how to encourage critical thinking online. I think it is essential to teach students not only how to find information but to evaluate the information for validity, POV, relevance and currency. In teaching kids how to search for information, evaluate their sources, I am helping them to understand that they must think about all information located online. The idea of google it and you will have your answer has to be changed in their minds to google it and you will find one possible answer that you must then check to see if it has merit. This is a concept that is discussed whenever I Am able to be a part of research projects. Step 4 states Teach students about the ethical use of online resources. This is reinforced many times each year as I teach kids about citations and copyright rules. I think this is a critical conversation that needs to take place in all classrooms. Students are to quick to grab and go with information and images. They rarely take the time to see who owns the image and what rights they may or may not have to use someone else’s work.   These important concepts are always a part of all rubrics when I collaborate with content area teachers. Students are expected to use at least one database and one online source when completing research. They must show correct citations for all images and information used in their final project. If information is collected from a webpage that is not acceptable to the teachers, it cannot be used for the project. This has been difficult for students to understand but is a valuable lesson. @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Aptos; panose-1:2 11 0 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:536871559 3 0 0 415 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Aptos",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Aptos; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Aptos; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-font-kerning:1.0pt; mso-ligatures:standardcontextual;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; mso-ascii-font-family:Aptos; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Aptos; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}

1. After reviewing the resource, "6 Essential Steps to Teach Digital Literacy to Your Students," select 1-2 areas and reflect how you can incorporate these steps into your instruction.

As I went over the 6 Essential Steps to Teach Digital Literacy to Your Students, I was drawn to step 4 ethical use.  I have had many instances of students turning in assignments that clearly was not their work.  There are many sites and apps that will give students answers and help them understand math questions and concepts, however often times the material may be shown in a different way.  I try to communicate with my students that just using these answers does not show understanding and often I will take them aside and have them try to show me another question using the method that they found.  Most of the time they are unable to, which is where we talk about leaning verse copying.  They need to lear and I need to teach them how to use these sites to their advantage not as a crutch.

2. After reviewing your grade level standards, explain how might you use this matrix to measure proficiency levels of your students?

I immediately thought, when I read over DL7 along with cyberbullying, about the kids that I coach in various sports.  We have conversations all the time about what you put out on social media and how that can affect your future both positively and negatively.  When college recruiters look at you social media as well as future employers what do they see?  It is important to have these conversations and teach them how to have fun and be kids but to also keep other people and their futures in mind.

I focused on steps, four and five. For step four, teaching ethical use. I think it's very important at this point, especially with how easy it is becoming to find content online and just reuse it. Many students grow up without even considering the images or content posted online is someone else's creation, and that using it is not necessarily allowed.  
The more AI is integrated into many of the tools that we use daily the easier this is going to be. Having conversations about what it means to plagiarize and what it means to cite information so you can give credit to the proper creators is important and they are skills that we need to consistently discuss and teach to our kids.
For step five, online safety is a topic that has to be consistently approached in classrooms so students realize how important it might be to not share personal things online.  As a district, we need to do a better job of modeling what password security looks like. When it comes to social media use, I am not naïve enough to believe that we are going to stop kids from using products that are not available to them due to the age restrictions placed on them.  Since they have been introduced into society, people have lied about ages to get access to things that others have access to. This is no different than when people from my generation used to lie about their age through fake IDs and things like that to access alcoholic bars. I believe this is unavoidable in the best way for us to discuss this is to have discussions around healthy habits and the safe use of these tools.


This may seem like a simplistic view of how these can be integrated into our current teaching methodologies, but if we were to take some of the standards and incorporate them into our units of study, then it may make the lift a little less heavy.  Depending on what you're asking students to create for an output method, to show their understanding of a topic or their demonstration of learning, we may be able to take some of these standards, and incorporate them into our rubric. We may use to evaluate student final product.

Part 2- I could definitely see myself using this in my USH classroom the next time that we do a research-based activity/assignment (Hero or Villain, Enlightenment Thinkers, King or Common Man, Reforming Age, Robber Barons vs. Captains of Industry...) This would be a good use of teaching, applying, grading, and holding the students accountable for their proper digital literacy.

Part 1- Step 1 and 2 resonate with me. Teaching students how to properly find reliable and trustworthy information from online. As well as, how to teach proper search techniques. We definitely do our fair share of research-based assignments, essay writing, etc. This reminds me of Yellow Journalism (Fake News), which I'm currently teaching in my class during our American Imperialism Unit.