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.
