As the world continues to become more reliant on digital technologies, it is imperative that schools recognise this reality and adapt to the needs of students. If students are going to be successful in the world outside of school, they need to be familiar with all of the ways to communicate and engage with the world around them. This means that they will need to become comfortable with all the possible ways to communicate and go beyond the traditional forms of expression that have been used previously.
The Saskatchewan English Language Arts (ELA) curricula’s main goal is to help students “become effective communicators, learners, and critical thinkers through developing their skills as viewers, listeners, readers, representers, speakers, and writers” (Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2011, p. 4). As students progress through from kindergarten through grade 12, the hope is that their literacy skills will continually progress and allow them to develop a multitude of literacy-based skills in a multiple modes of literacy. To help the course adapt into the modern age, it is imperative that educators and government stake holders recognize the importance of evolving media literacy in the required literacy skills students need to be ready for the realities of the modern world.
All of Saskatchewan’s ELA courses should include some form of media literacy education, and this project will focus specifically on the province’s ELA B10 course. This is one of two ELA courses that are currently required in the province. The course is supposed to take place over one semester, and is divided into two suggested themes:
Equity and Ethics
– for this theme, students examine questions of right and wrong while also reflecting on their own morals and judgements. Students also look at questions of what shapes their ethics, and how their values can change and adapt over time.
The World Around and Withing Us
– this theme asks students to look at how they are part of a larger community, and how their community contributes to who they are as people. As well, it asks students to investigate how nature, their constructed worlds, and their understanding of themselves to become agents of change to help build a better world.
(Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2011, p. 10-11)
In addition to the two themes, students are asked to demonstrate their understanding and skills in three outcome indicator areas:
Comprehend and Respond (CR):
- skills associated with student skill in areas of viewing, reading, listening, comprehending and how they respond to the texts they interact with.
Compose and Create (CC):
- skills associated with writing, speaking, and other forms of representing to allow students to express thoughts, feelings, and experiences to an audience.
Assess and Reflect (AR):
- skills associated with students assessing their own language skills and what they can do to improve their language skills and setting goals for future improvements.
(Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2011, p. 4-5)
These themes, and the three outcome areas associated with ELA courses, provide amble opportunities for integration of aspects of digital citizenship and media literacy, as outlined in the Saskatchewan Digital Citizenship Continuum (Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2015). Like the Saskatchewan ELA curricula, the Continuum provides a progression of skills from kindergarten through Grade 12 that see students progress their knowledge and application of digital citizenship and media literacy skills in the overarching areas of “respect, education, and protection” (Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2011, p. 14), which are meant to align with Ribble’s Nine Areas of Digital Citizenship. These Nine Areas hope to make students more comfortable with the skills that are necessary to function in digital spaces, while also empowering students to become engaged digital citizens who are ready to express their beliefs confidently in digital spaces.
The emphasis that ELA B10 puts on students grappling with deep questions of morality and their impacts on the world make it a perfect candidate for infusion of digital citizenship content. For students to be prepared for all the kinds of texts they will encounter in their lives, and they need to also enhance their digital and media literacies. This project will align Saskatchewan ELA B10 outcomes, Saskatchewan Digital Continuum Knowledge and Skills, and resources from sources such as Common Sense Education, Media Smarts, and other digital citizenship education organizations in the hopes that more ELA teachers in Saskatchewan can see how digital citizenship can be incorporated into their classrooms and how digital literacy skills can align with the traditional literacy skills in the ELA curriculum.
Below, are links to the blog posts I have written for the different lessons I have curated. They will be separated into the two course themes of “The World Around Us and Within Us” and “Equity and Ethics.”
The World Around Us and Within Us
Curated Lives: Teaching Students to Show Their True Selves Online
The Filter Bubble and how it fits into ELA B10
Combating Confirmation Bias: A Lesson Battling Fake News
Having Students Reflect on Their Online Behaviour and Usage Through Journaling
Starting off the semester with a technology survey
Equity and Ethics
Digital Citizenship as a Tool to Combat Hate Speech
Using Digital Citizenship Skills to Talk About Cyberbullying in ELA B10
Trying to Teach about Privacy Rights
As well, I made a final reflective post about my final project, which can be read here.
References
Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. (2011). Saskatchewan Curriculum: English Language Arts 10. https://curriculum.gov.sk.ca/CurriculumHome?id=37.