Children today must navigate an ever-expanding array of mobile electronic devices and digital technologies that require literacy skills of a different order than in past eras. School systems everywhere are racing to keep up with the rapid pace of technological change and to respond to these changing learning needs which disrupt existing pedagogical practices. Yet, they often continue to rely on 20th century pedagogical models to guide curriculum and classroom practices. This international case study partnership research initiative responds to the urgent need to help teachers and students develop the necessary knowledge and proficiencies for our digital age, by generating theory, curricula, and classroom strategies.
- Approach
Specifically, the project aims to:
- Investigate literacy teaching and learning by first exploring the everyday use of digital media by teachers and students in and out of the classroom.
- Apply digital technologies through 'maker' collaborations in 11 international classroom contexts to explore their effect on digital literacy.
- Co-create literacy curriculum models, frameworks, and theories, intended to enhance and extend learners' digital and multimodal knowledge and skills.
- Develop innovative teaching and learning strategies for teaching digital literacy for grades K to 6.
- Make recommendations for future research areas, policy development, and practice strategies in digital literacy education.
