Learning Opportunities

This session has been completed.

Digital Literacy in a Social Media Influenced Landscape

Presented By

Janet Bell, Darren Maltais

Session Details

Date Time
March 06, 20244:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Location

Virtual

Grade Levels

All

“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” (Arthur C. Clarke)

Although we live in an incredible age where technology continues to help us address so many of the world’s problems, we also live in an age where huge segments of society, happily unaware of the “magical” (but actually absolutely contrived) workings of algorithms and other marketing influences, are taken in by media, led one step at a time into increasingly radical views.

To understand what and how these forces can radicalize us - and our students and families, is to be able to see the subtle but powerful workings of the magician: once we better understand the whats and hows that can lead us towards believing false narratives, and become better able to identify them for what they are, we can also gain a better sense of cognitive balance within the slippery world of social (and other emergent) media today. It’s our responsibility as teachers to teach students the digital literacy skills they need to navigate the digital world - so that the digital world becomes one they can shape for positive change rather than one that shapes them instead.

In this session we’ll explore how social media can influence our landscape/us, and the implications and calls to action presented by this. Next, we’ll look at the concept of digital literacy, exploring the role of digital literacy in shaping an aware society. Finally, we’ll address the question of how we can best support our students on their journey across their years in school to becoming  balanced, aware, and critical connoisseurs of/contributors to social media.

Target Audience

Teachers, School-based Administrators, Instructional Coaches, Learning Coaches, Inclusive Learning Teachers

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