Digital Literacy in the new Australian Curriculum
How do we ensure our digital generation has the skills they need?
The classroom has changed dramatically since many parents and carers went to school, but one of the most transformative changes has been the impact of technology on education.
How we equip our young people with the digital skills to be creative and innovative in their thinking and problem-solving, while also fostering resilience and a spirit of considered risk-taking, has never been more pressing.
In the latest review of the Australian Curriculum, one of the important revisions was the updating of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capability to the Digital Literacy capability.
General capabilities
The Australian Curriculum is 3-dimensional, with 8 learning areas, 7 general capabilities and 3 cross-curriculum priorities.
Digital Literacy is one of the 7 general capabilities.
Why have we changed ICT to Digital Literacy?
Digital Literacy is a fundamental aspect of literacy learning. It is an extension of the literacy skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Literacy has always been part of the way we gain knowledge; however, with our ever-increasing engagement with digital tools, today’s students need to develop knowledge, values, communication and critical thinking relevant for the digital age.
The definition of digital literacy contains a broader skill set than an ICT capability. An important distinction is the need to implement critical thinking when engaging with digital literacy skills. ICT capability has a narrow focus on the ‘'how'' of using digital tools while digital literacy extends on this to include the ‘'why'’ and '‘when'’ of digital tool usage.
In light of the changing nature of our digital environment in the 21st century, there is a need to develop a broader, more inclusive and holistic understanding of what digital literacy entails. Digital literacy is not to be confused with a digital lifestyle, which refers to passive use of digital platforms.
The Digital Literacy general capability draws on the strengths of the previous ICT general capability and addresses the need for young people to become effective users of digital tools and have the capability to know when and why they need to use them.
Digital Literacy
Part of a student’s journey to becoming digitally literate means ensuring they have the skills to select the right digital tools to make and create content; investigate data, information and ideas; solve problems; and work collaboratively.
As students develop digital literacy, they are learning to make the most of the digital tools available to them, adapting to new ways of doing things as technologies evolve, and protecting the safety of themselves and others in digital environments.
Part of this important modern capability is developing the skills to select the right digital tools and knowing what to do with them.
In the classroom, Digital Literacy involves using digital tools to complete tasks in effective and suitable ways. For example, in the Foundation year when students are required to create a digital story, they not only learn the basic functions of the software but also how to operate and manage the device, and to make choices about the ways they can share their content. When students use digital tools to communicate, they also learn “just-in-time” the practices associated with digital safety and wellbeing, so the learning adjusts as students are presented with new situations.
How is Digital Literacy aligned to the Technologies curriculum?
Digital Technologies is a relatively new subject, which was introduced in 2015. It’s part of the Technologies learning area, along with Design and Technologies.
Digital Technologies provides the foundational knowledge needed for applying Digital Literacy across the curriculum while Design and Technologies enables students to become creative and responsive designers through practical application of technologies, which includes the use of digital tools.
Together, Digital Literacy and Digital Technologies give students the opportunity to become discerning users, productive creators, critical analysts and effective developers of digital solutions to a range of real-world situations.
Digital Literacy is integrated and contextualised in the classroom setting and is a capability that students develop across all learning areas.