UNLOCKING THE POWER OF DIGITAL LITERACIES AMONGST SECONDARY STUDENTS

Literacy involves understanding social practices using language, text, and symbols. It develops through daily experiences and social interactions tied to societal power relations. Garcia, Fernández, & Okonkwo, 2020). During secondary school, my parents discouraged me from interacting with computer users due to their perception of negative consequences. Despite limited access to literacy resources, I ignored the negatives and struggled with my self-esteem. After leaving school, I enrolled in a computer skill training course, realizing the benefits of digital skills. This experience highlighted the challenges faced by children in rural communities, such as losing self-esteem and feeling marginalized. I volunteered with organizations in Nigeria to understand these educational challenges and find solutions.

In September 2020, I initiated a literacy project for LACED Africa, a non-governmental organization established in Nigeria. The project was tagged "Weekend Read-Hotspot." The project aimed to build a community of young leaders, particularly teenagers, by providing self-help books, inspiring stories, leadership skills development, and indigenous knowledge about Nigeria and Africa.

A few years down the line, I secured a teaching job in a public secondary school in Nigeria.

With the mission to promote literacy in mind, I started an after-school project, where I engage students with literacy challenges on how to improve academically, and socially and become an ambassador of their communities. It goes beyond decoding text and includes understanding cultural contexts that shape our relationship with written and digital information. (Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (Eds.). (2008)). 

I categorized the teaching session into 3; Class A for Basic Literacy skills, identifying letters, and pronunciation of words in their categories.

Class B was for intermediate beginners, who should learn how to understand what they read and build on fluency. The last category, Class C, focused on helping those who could read, write, and also understand what they read to apply their knowledge and build competencies around becoming a voice against oppression, gender stereotypes, and harassment, and also having conversations around addressing global issues.

This agrees with the understanding that digital literacy should not begin with technology or digital tools. Understanding cultural and social issues, critical thinking, and being creative all make up part of a broad set of practices that students need to wrap around their use of any tool and need to develop to participate effectively in any kind of culture.  (Colin Lankshear & Michele Knobel, 2008).

 

These conversations led to initiating a new project, "Community Tech LAB", which we officially co-founded in 2022.

The students are being encouraged to participate in creative writing competitions that deal with addressing anomalies in today's social norms, learning design thinking skills for problem-solving, collaborating on projects, improving their communication skills, and building competencies around internet accessibility. However, as a teacher, I assist my students' research process by clarifying the purpose, encouraging students to design their own questions, and requiring them to use and understand the information, thereby promoting purposeful content consideration. (Cassie Hague and Sarah Payton, 2010)

Reflecting on the reading for Week for, I have deepened my understanding of literacy, digital literacy, digital skills, and technologies. The concept of digital literacy goes beyond knowledge with software and computers. It includes teamwork, security, and efficient communication.

It involves developing creativity, being aware of one's cultural and social surroundings, and knowing when and when to use digital tools. It involves knowing when and why to use digital technologies for a task and when not to. (Colin Lankshear & Michele Knobel, 2008). 

Today, my students are taking responsibility for their learning, within and beyond the classroom. Through access to information and knowledge and digital technologies and their society, they are discovering their potential and are being encouraged to harness opportunities that encourage contributions to addressing community-based problems and advocating for social change.

 Digitally literate individuals are adept at transitioning between mediums, identifying appropriate expressions for different knowledge types, and presenting information in a way that their audience can easily understand, thereby enhancing their digital literacy. (Colin Lankshear & Michele Knobel, 2008).  Digital literacy is closely interconnected, and successful collaboration often involves students developing communication skills simultaneously. (Cassie Hague and Sarah Payton, 2010). 

References: 

1. Lankshear, C. and Knobel, M. (2008) 'Introduction'. In Digital Literacies: Concepts, Policies and Practices, pp. 1-32. Retrieved from ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291334632_Digital_Literacies_Concepts_Policies_and_Practices_Cover_plus_Introduction

2. Garcia, P. et al. (2020) 'Digital Literacy Learning In Higher Education Through Digital Storytelling Approach'. The Clute Institute. Retrieved from ERIC: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1144564.pdf

3. Hague, C. and Payton, S. (2010) 'Digital Literacies: A Framework for Thinking Beyond the 'Skill Approach''. In Digital Literacy for Primary Teachers, pp. 21-45. Retrieved from CORE: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/303756359.pdf

Afeez Olalekan SAKA © 2023

Reflective Essay: Education in a Time of Social and Technological Change (Week 4)

M.Sc. Education: Learning, Technology and Society 

Picture 4: The last picture shows one of my students, Esther Oluwaremilekun Odekunle, attending a Global Conference in Kenya as a member of the Teach for All Student Leader Advisory Council.