Critical digital literacy

The first report of the DETECT project. The report presents the Critical Digital Literacies framework that has been created as part of the project's Intellectual Output 1. You can use the framework as a starting point, to get informed and get "the big picture" on what critical digital literacies are needed according to the research. 

The report aims to develop an understanding of teachers' needs in relation to critical digital literacies within a school context. It presents the empirical activities carried out as part of Intellectual Output 1 of the project and the relevant findings that emerged. In particular, it presents the findings from the survey and interviews that were carried out between January and June 2020.

The resource explaining how digitalization has entered our lives and changed them in an unprecedented way. This resource is easy to understand and presents a clear picture of how technological change will affect our daily lives.

Today, using free software is crucial to generate new forms of "technological sovereignty". You can use this resource with students to explore different types of free software and consider them as alternatives.

The city of Barcelona's approach to technological sovereignty, including free software proposals and information. You can use this resource with students to carry out an in-depth study of policies connected to technology use.

An exercise produced by the Edul@b UOC team to promote students' awareness of the use of technologies in their personal and professional lives. It provides access to the resources developed and the results published.

This Problem Solving and Computing Unit has been designed to engage with tech problems and show how students can face them. It offers a lesson plan to teach students the problem solving path.

This material explains how companies approach technology risks and obsolescence. The resource can be used either to understand the problem and work on tailored lesson plans or to work with vocational students working in technology maintenance.

A popular service that can be used for teaching computational thinking and computer science in schools. The service includes a rich assembly of activities and tasks for multiple purposes. The service includes good guidelines and search functionalities.

This material introduces computational thinking to students. Each participant gets 45 minutes to answer 15 multiple-choice questions that focus on computational and logical thinking.

A game-based website to engage students with coding. Coding is the base for computational thinking and it can be used for teachers or even for parents.

A non-profit website that tries to explain computer science in an engaging way. It is free for all, so everybody who wants to learn has access immediately.

The Data and society unit covers the importance of data in solving problems and highlights how computers can help in this process.

This collaboration between Australia and Uruguay is designed to help children understand how digital data are captured and could be potentially used within the digital devices adopted. The project offers theoretical underpinnings and resources for teaching.

Secure online learning: policies and governance for the protection of student data in Latin America. A resource providing teaching staff with guidance on the forms of working online securely.

A lesson plan to understand our digital footprint and prevent displaying or giving information we would like to keep private.

An Essential Guide to Data Security for Teachers

This resource, divided into three main activities, provides a space for educators to design thinking around data literacy in our societies. 

Open data have potential value as a material for use in learning activities. In this resource, several scenarios and activities are proposed in order to encourage educators to design thinking around using open data for learning.

A lesson plan to go from a dataset to data visualization

Understanding how to adopt R Code to develop data visualization within a digital storytelling approach.

Dear Data is a year-long, analogue data drawing project by Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec, two award-winning information designers living on different sides of the Atlantic.

This activity tries to explain the way to analyse data in order to make a chart to understand them. DataBasic activities are suitable for classes and workshops for participants from middle school through to higher education. No prior data experience necessary.

In this introductory lesson and subsequent minilessons, students will read e-books and learn how to use many tools and features on a digital reader to support literacy learning. In particular, students learn how to manipulate the font size and page orientation to suit their individual needs and preferences, highlight text to mark key passages, insert notes in response to the text, access a built-in dictionary to develop new vocabulary and word consciousness, and use a text-to-speech feature to practice reading fluency. 

Digital resources for reading comprehension in Spanish.

Best Practice Guide to Use Wikipedia in University Education. A guide to adopt Wikipedia in University Education, which includes tasks for the students to search for and retrieve quality information.

A learning resource from UOC to search for quality information on the internet.

A research article providing practical models and guidelines to teachers to design students' online inquiry practice.

An online inquiry tool to support the exploration of controversial issues on the internet.

A report explaining the current situation around the literacies needed to deal with fake news.

Resources produced to work with the students on analysing, understanding and stopping fake news.

Template on misinformation and information validation.

TOOLKIT Digital & Media Literacy Education. Realized within the European Project Virtual Stages Against Violence (VSAV). The various units provide useful and interesting activities to understand how to participate, develop credibility, protect and promote identity and privacy and develop authorship and creativity while interacting and creating online resources. The resources specifically aim at preventing violence within social media and digital environments.

This quiz tests users' ability to identify which accounts are genuine and which are professional trolls. Along the way, advice is provided for what to look for and how to be a better consumer and producer of social media. [A troll is an inauthentic social media account. Often created to spread misinformation and distrust, trolls have been deployed on every major social media platform.]

This web platform provides an opportunity to explore the subject of contemporary propaganda by hosting thousands of examples of 21st century propaganda from around the world. Users can upload, examine and discuss examples of propaganda from their own everyday lives.

Activities for children in order to understand the meaning and the use of copyright and creative commons.

TED Talk by John Maeda on how art, technology and design interact

The results of a transnational EU project led by a Catalan university collated into a teachers' toolkit, including: a transmedia skills map, learning cards, videos and a bookmark.

Reading, Listening, Viewing: Multimodal Practices for English Learners.

A Coming Into Being: Learning Multimodal Literacy in Pre-School Through Digital Production. Young children are active consumers, content producers and members of digital culture, which challenges education and literacy teaching. Digital mobile devices allow anyone to produce content by using multiple modalities.

Climate Change and Southern Voices is a learning module for multidisciplinary learning for the upper comprehensive school and for upper secondary institutions. A video project of four lessons which will be carried out as a group project brings an active element into the module. The students have a chance to examine the themes of sustainable development from the perspectives of both North and South and to take their own stand on the themes. The package of learning module includes the following materials: a lesson plan, orientation materials (presentations and related info packages, printable photocards about the topic and their explanations, links to background materials) and instructions and examples for the video project.

The joint creation of knowledge consists in implementing collaborative student-led initiatives that result in, for example, written resources, videos, audio files, entire courses and even study programmes for said resources.

Co-creating rubrics is when a teacher collaborates with students to create a rubric assessment tool together. The theory is that students gain a deeper understanding of what is expected from them if they help create the rubric.

A lesson plan for secondary school students, exploring rights and respect while remixing content.

Esta lección sirve para aprender a hacer remezclas mediante varios ejemplos que fomentan las actividades prácticas.

This lesson makes students aware of online privacy issues, primarily those relating to giving out personal information on social networking websites such as Facebook. Students will learn to assess the various types of information they provide in Facebook profiles, along with the different levels of access. They will examine the potential risks and consequences of posting personal information on the internet, and become more aware of how to protect their privacy.

This unit "explores how personal online information can be used, stored, processed and shared. It offers both behavioural and technical strategies to limit impact on privacy and protect data and systems against compromise"

From selfies to social media, many of us create unique online identities for ourselves, and our students are no different. But do kids always understand how others might perceive what they post? Help your students think critically about the online identities they're creating.

This handout from Sage publications provides 2 activities to explore digital identities.

A guide to develop virtual debates. Debate is a specific technique to help the students to engage critically in communication and dialogic processes, to exchange ideas. For online debates, there are some specific considerations.

A lesson plan exploring the differences between online and face-to-face communication.

A lesson plan on how to avoid miscommunication in online communication.

TEDx talk by the researcher Katri Saarikivi from the University of Helsinki about empathy in the rapidly digitizing world.

Student-generated content where the participants explain what digital empathy is and how it affects their lives.

A lesson plan to support your students' understanding of what collaboration is and how it can be implemented.

Collaborative learning in virtual environments: methodological development.

A short interactive resource providing recommendations for online collaboration.

This lesson will help teachers work on writing skills in the context of social networks. It also encompasses the ability to understand and interact with others in the networked context of life and learning.

In this lesson plan, you will find resources and activities to support students in their reflection about networking. Although there are various places individuals can find job roles advertised, new job opportunities can also be discovered through word of mouth, so knowing how, where and with who to network with could be the key for students to get into their chosen career.

Networked communication requires specific skills. Digital environments can be used to circulate ideas and build knowledge, namely, networking. Nevertheless, there are some considerations to successfully take part in such processes.

Digital overexposure has implications for health. This brief article considers the various effects. The article can be used with students to trigger an inquiry activity, or for self-reflection, in several contexts of secondary school learning. The material can also be a source to be adapted by the teacher for primary school.

Azoomee, the safe entertainment app for primary aged children, has created five free classroom resources to help teachers cover e-safety in schools. The lessons are planned around episodes from the BAFTA-nominated online safety series Search it Up. Lesson 5 allows the whole class to reflect on the perils of self-exposing too much to the screens.

This lesson plan helps children and young people recognize concerning behaviour and identify characteristics of positive relationships. The lesson plans, films and accompanying activities cover what behaviour to look out for and how to respond to it.

A campaign launched by Instagram showing teenagers how their identities get exposed and how to protect them.

An online safety training resource to help teachers learn about how children and young people use existing technology, also considering the risks involved and how to protect them from harmful content online in certain contexts. The material includes modules on bullying, radicalization and extremism, and grooming, among others.

All children and young people develop a sense of self through their life experiences, knowledge and environment. This lesson provides an introduction into what factors play a role in the development of a sense of self and how you can support children and young people.

How Instagram (and other social media) is aiming to protect children and teenagers.

Ergonomics at school using computers.

There are several health risks associated with the improper use of the computer laboratory and electronic devices. This unit should provide an overview and understanding of health and safety guidelines governing their proper use. It will also highlight the methods of prevention/reduction that should be followed to ensure that these risks are minimized or eliminated.

Children and teenagers are at risk of musculoskeletal discomfort associated with notebook computer use. This resource will help the teacher to achieve crucial information in order to organize a lesson or lab activity on ergonomics.

Guidelines for schools from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society based on COVID-19 experiences.

A set of resources generated by Barcelona City Council to cultivate digital empowerment; harness digital technologies in order to create good jobs in communities across the city and fight inequality; ensure that advances in digital technology preserve citizen's digital rights, gender equality and social inclusion; promote participatory democracy and establish a policy to leverage the collective intelligence of citizens; and build a stronger and more just digital society by boosting social innovation movements.

Though the project is meant as a resource for adult education, particularly for women, it could be adopted in secondary education to reflect on the problems encountered by citizens who are not able to participate in digital activities, and how to empower them to do so.

A set of massive open online courses adopted by EU countries to empower migrants and refugees in their pathway to integration in Europe. Intended for adult education, it can also be a good source of inquiry and activity to understand how people that are at risk of social exclusion can benefit from digital education and participation.

A sense of belonging, from the classroom to the community, to the digital spaces. An account from a teacher that can be a source of inspiration for teachers to work on how students participate in digital spaces and how these interact with the material world from the students' perspectives.

Students explore the amazing possibilities that come with using technology. They'll also learn from the Digital Citizens, who take a pledge to be safe, responsible, and respectful when travelling through the online world.

An ebook for students produced within the European Project eEAV (e-Engagement Against Violence) on the relationship between videogames and violence in the society.

An ebook for students produced within the European Project eEAV (e-Engagement Against Violence) on the need to be politically active and avoid political propaganda and misinformation, whose circulation is particularly prevalent on social media.

An ebook for students produced within the European Project eEAV (e-Engagement Against Violence) on the relevance of networking and being an active citizen in the context of global and local problems, through the use of social media and other digital tools.

NCU has recently revised its CC Information Pack for Teachers and Students to incorporate the new CC 4.0 International Licence. The pack explains what CC is, how to find CC material and the best way to attribute CC material.

Developing the abilities to be intelligent, safe and effective participants in the digital world.

What is e-waste? A lesson plan to understand that computers and other technological devices are not "ephemeral" and generate waste like any other material resource.

How technology is driving a fourth wave of environmentalism.

What does innovation in pedagogy look like?, Teaching in Focus, 2018, No. 21, OECD Publishing, Paris

This paper, created in collaboration with global visionaries from New Pedagogies for Deep Learning, explores the now, the near, and the next in the changing landscape of education. The document spots the shift from traditional to remote to new hybrid learning approaches valuable in your return-to-school planning, and beyond.

The portal of the National Institute of Educational Technologies and Teachers' Professional Development is a source of information and opportunities to learn. On the site, the user will find not only news on educational technologies and digital skills, but also resources, training activities, and technologies that can be implemented in class. This space is particularly appropriate for teachers' professional development.

ALT is the leading professional body for Learning Technology in the UK. The association supports a collaborative community for individuals and organizations from all sectors including Further and Higher Education and industry and provides professional recognition and development. On the website, the teacher will find news and publications, as well as a wide network supporting peer learning and professional development.

A project with and for educators, guided by expert educational technologists, researchers and senior educators, to support teachers in transitioning to hybrid classrooms and online learning.

A set of resources (mostly in Spanish) to address Emergency Remote Education. The resources are organized according to the following (frequent teachers') questions: Where should you start? First steps for teaching online How should you plan and design your course? Tools for planning and designing online courses How do you interact with and motivate your students? How do you assess your students' learning? How can you tailor online teaching to different fields of study? How can we take care of the students' health and wellness?

A concept and models to start thinking of schools within a context of interconnectedness and openness. Learning happens beyond the classroom and the school. 

A viznote by Giulia Forsythe, an educational designer who provides graphical accounts of educational conferences and events.

A website providing brief notes and articles, presentations and resources to map and build learning ecologies. As a resource it is particularly recommended for school leaders and coordinators providing support to teachers' professional development.

10 minutes with Albert Sangrà to understand the approach to lifelong learning ecologies: going beyond the separations of non-formal, informal and formal learning and connecting digital with material spaces. The learner's side within the ecological perspective.

A report issued by the EU's Joint Research Centre conceptualizing learning analytics and showing their usage across cases and the technologies adopted. This report reviews early uptake in the field, presenting five case studies and an inventory of tools, policies and practices. It also provides an action list for policymakers, practitioners, researchers and industry members to guide work in Europe.

A report issued by the EU's Joint Research Centre conceptualizing learning analytics and showing their usage across cases and the technologies adopted. This report reviews early uptake in the field, presenting five case studies and an inventory of tools, policies and practices. It also provides an action list for policymakers, practitioners, researchers and industry members to guide work in Europe.

Learning Analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their contexts, for purposes of understanding and optimising learning and the environments in which it occurs, as defined back in 2011 for the first LAK, this general definition still holds true even as the field has grown.

The mission of this smart paper resource is to guide thought processes towards a critical focus on this innovation, with some thoughts on the relationship between technological innovation (i.e. learning analytics) and education quality. The tools we shall be offering seek to support teachers when first tackling learning analytics, to consider its applications in mediating design and learning processes.

During the course, teachers will be able to learn and apply the stages of a learning analytics process and learn how to gather, visualize and analyse valuable data for introducing improvements into classrooms and the education community as a whole.