This century could be considered the information era but it is not easy to skim in this ocean of communication. If we want our students to retrieve accurate news, if we want them more educated and competent, we need to teach them also some special skills. Digital literacy plays a key role in education, preparing students to become information-literate, avoiding the spreading of fake news and using knowledge to improve society. This project wants to enhance learners’ digital skills while scaffolding their critical thinking.
The general objective of the project “Digital Literacy in 6 Steps” is using modern technology for both formal and informal education methodology. The biggest challenge for the six European high schools involved in this project will be the creation of a motivational school environment for almost 180 students and 20 teachers coming from: Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and Spain.
The main objectives of the project are:
- Give the necessary tools to evaluate Media Literacy news and viewpoints
- Strengthen e-safety concept to the target group
- Improve digital learning by using flipped classrooms and collaborative tools
- Learning to build realistic and critical profiles on Social Media
- Develop the ability to recognize fake news
- Promote and disseminate the importance of copyright on socials
- Increase communication skills in English
- Introduce and implement the eTwinning in the target group.
The project educational design is based on six modules providing authentic contents: case studies, simulations and workshops. The activities will support students to communicate their ideas through gamification, creative media and laboratories, online polls.
Planned Activities:
1. Social Media Literacy – managing your online presence.
Case studies on negative and positive social media cases.
Tips on the use of social media.
Creation of students’ dos and don’ts through a poll.
2. ICT Literacy – learning through blogs, social networking, online educational communities.
Workshop: in-depth activities on source evaluation.
Simulation and exercises on dissecting news sources.
3. Online Learning and Team-working – collaborating in flipped classrooms.
Workshop: advantages and disadvantages of Flipped Classroom approach, sharing good practices.
Seminar: new strategies to improve learning and teaching activities.
Elaboration of a manual for using collaborative tools and flipped classroom approach.
4. E-safety protecting users against dangerous online activities.
Survey on e-safety.
Students’ contribution to e-safety through comics, posters, Powerpoints.
Creation of the e-safety symbol.
Creation of the Kahoot survey.
5. Media Literacy – improving knowledge about copyright and responsibilities.
Research and case study on the digital footprint.
Production of a collaborative document on users’ responsibilities on the net.
Creation of a webpage and its Creative Common License.
Digital portfolio as a final task.
6. Information Literacy – combining information from multiple source, to evaluate information.
Case studies: how fake news can affect and influence the way we live.
Practical exercises to detect fake news.
The project methodology will:
- boost communication and collaboration between learners and teachers, with forums and creative
laboratories
- Provide opportunities for active learning, with flipped classrooms and practical competences
- Allow students independence and autonomy during their learning experience
- Convey clear expectations while setting specific goals
- Provide appropriate and well-timed feedback.
During all the project activities support and aid will be based on: teacher-student; student-student
and student-learning resources.
According to our objectives the results will be:
- Development of the capability to dissect a news source, interpreting and making connections
between different sources of information
- Reinforcement of e-safety concept
- Enhancement of digital learning
- Growth of a critical thought while using social profiles
- Ability to recognize fake news, asses and evaluate information
- Increased perception of copyright to create ethical media literacy content
- Students familiar of eTwinning and able to use it.
The foreign language skills, of all the actors involved, will be improved by a practical use while communicating with international partners. The project will also show intangible long-term outcomes.
Teachers will improve project-management and team-work skills while students will gain selfconfidence, public speaking ability, interpersonal communication, teamwork competences.
Even after its conclusion, the project will deliver benefits in term of positive models to future beneficiaries because all the material and works will be on the project web, accessible and possibly implemented by the schools involved. Moreover, the app will create further dissemination for other potential digital literates.
