Digital: Literacy, Accessibility, & Security

A debrief on three critical components to be considered in EdTech

Introduction

There are many critical issues when it comes to educational technology and all that it can bring to the classroom. Three of those issues that will be highlighted in this post are that of digital literacy, digital accessibility, and digital security. All three components shed light on important issues facing technology in education and all three require diligent attention from educators and administrators.

What is Digital Literacy?

In today’s 21st century classrooms, technology is no longer considered an accessory to learning, but rather a necessity to learning. The fact that technology encompasses almost every aspect of our day to day lives means prioritizing the dire need to create digitally literate students. Success in tomorrow’s world relies on a person’s ability to navigate technology in purposeful and impactful ways. Because our world relies so heavily on various technologies across various manners, it is critical that we begin instilling digital literacy skills in students early on in order to establish foundational understandings about technological uses and advances.

Instilling digital literacy in our students from the very beginning is a “lifelong competency” that addresses their approach to technology and makes sure they understand all components of how it can benefit them in their education, work, and everyday life (Herescu, 2021). The importance of teaching foundational digital skills must be prioritized. “Digital literacy belongs beside reading, writing and math as a fundamental skill in the modern world” (SREB, 2018).

Why is Digital Literacy Important?

Tomorrow’s jobs are relying on today’s students. There is currently a huge digital divide happening that educators have a chance to assist in narrowing by prioritizing digital skills in their everyday instruction. It is important that educators begin viewing digital literacy as a backbone that can greatly enhance student performance, engagement, and outcomes. Technology and media are deeply ingrained into most of the businesses and companies our students will eventually work for. It is important for students to be rooted in basic technology application as early as preschool or kindergarten, and then begin layering skills on top of those roots as they grow. Understanding how technology works and the ways it can be applicable to day to day life allows students to become universal critical thinkers.

By preparing students to be digitally literate, we are preparing them for life outside of the four walls of our classroom (Bolden, 2019). The use of these skills allows students to develop “essential life competencies such as communication, collaboration, creative, and critical thinking” (Herescu, 2021). When we teach our students to become digitally literate, we are teaching them to find, evaluate, and then synthesize information all while developing strong analytical skills and fostering creativity and innovation (DepEd Tambayan, n.d.).

Simple Ways to Instill Digital Literacy in Students

Knowing everything technology entails and then adding on the responsibility to educate our students to become digitally literate can seem like an overwhelming task for educators-especially when many educators don’t consider themselves digitally literate. However, understanding that our student’s entire world is engulfed in technology and realizing that their resiliency towards many digital components is unmatched, can help relieve pressure. As educators, we don’t have to know all of the answers, we just have to be willing to try new things and learn alongside our students with an unnerving confidence and believe that these skills are crucial in the success of our students.

Before any construction can be made on the establishment of these skills, a digital foundation must be laid. Students must learn very basic foundational computer skills that are incorporated into relevant learning scenarios in order to begin absorbing and retaining this literacy (Vanek, n.d.). By presenting students with authentic opportunities to learn these skills, students can begin to gain confidence in digital literacy and that confidence can transpire into the development of stronger skills. Because these foundational skills are so incredibly important, it is vital that learners not just work on them during scheduled computer class times. Rather, these types of skills need to be woven into the pedagogy of instruction happening in classrooms.

Across all subject areas, we want to foster creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving in our students and the use of technology can provide profound assistance towards this goal. These are all necessary skills needed to become productive citizens in the workforce. By becoming digitally literate teachers and staying intune with ways technology can be implemented into our classrooms, we can properly handle the responsibility of crafting digitally innovative students.

Digital Accessibility

While technology generally makes learning more convenient for many, for some, it can complicate learning. Understanding and believing that all technology can be assistive and digitally accessible is important in delivering instruction that is inclusive of all students. Digital accessibility “aims to eradicate the obstacles that prevent people from accessing digital products or services” (Patten, 2023). Digital accessibility is increasingly important in the world of EdTech and general education. As educators, we know that we have an obligation to best serve all of our students and meet the various needs presented. The use of assistive technology can be incredibly helpful in achieving this.

One of the best ways to ensure content is digitally accessible is to implement the POUR principals created by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). When including digital content into instruction, it is important for educators to make sure it is:

• Perceivable: able to be viewed by anyone with sensory impairments

• Operable: able to be operated by everyone, even those with impairments

• Understandable: able to be understood by all users

• Robust: the content should be able to be interpreted by assistive technologies (Patten, 2023).

If we value digital literacy, we must value digital accessibility because the combination of the two creates equal learning opportunities for all students. When these two components are jointly prioritized, powerful learning can take place that leads to developing learners who are future-ready.

Digital Security

Because so many classrooms are beginning to rely so heavily on the benefits of technology in education, it is important to prioritize and address the global issue of technological security. There are many trainings offered to educators today that raise awareness on phishing attacks, security breaches, and malicious web content. Because schools possess so much personal information about students, it is important for them to have several different modes of protection against these types of things and stay up to date on the latest security services (SREB, 2018). Having this type of sensitive information, also makes schools a heavy target for these types of scams. The Southern Regional Education Board (2018) recommends a few simple ways to reduce these threats and improve security. They are:

• Keeping strong passwords and changing them frequently

• Keeping accurate and updated data inventories

• Collecting minimal amounts of personal information

• Using appropriate safeguards to prevent security breaches

• Advice third party vendors on security policies and laws

• Using data encryption and host protection on devices

• Disposing properly and securely of irrelevant or outdated information

• Documenting and revising security plans regularly

Conclusion

Each of these components holds a hefty importance in the world of education and instructional technology. If we are going to approach one well, we must approach the others in order to suitably include technology in our instruction. By becoming digitally literate educators, we have the ability to create digitally literate students who are fully equipped and prepared for the digitally saturated world they will grow up in.

Additional Resource

https://builtin.com/edtech/assistive-technology-in-the-classroom

References

Bolden, F. (2019, October 12). Technology in the classroom: What is digital literacy? TeachHUB. https://www.teachhub.com/technology-in-the-classroom/2019/10/technology-in-the-classroom-what-is-digital-literacy/

DepEd Tambayan. (n.d.). Digital Literacy in the Classroom: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever [Review of Digital Literacy in the Classroom: Why It Matters Now More Than Ever]. Deped. https://depedtambayan.net/digital-literacy-classroom-matters-now/

‌Herescu, D. R. (2021, October 29). What is the value of teaching digital literacy? | Cambridge English. World of Better Learning | Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/elt/blog/2021/10/29/value-teaching-digital-literacy/

Patten, B. (2023, March 14). Why Digital Accessibility is Important in Education | Parmetech. Parmetech, Inc. https://www.parmetech.com/digital-accessibility-in-education/

SREB. (2018). 10 Issues in Educational Technology (pp. 8–9). Southern Regional Education Board.