Digital literacy of a teacher as the basis for creating a unified information and educational space
N.V. Svirin, Kemerovo region, Polysayevo city
INXXIcentury, learning without information and communication technologies (ICT) is unthinkable. A teacher’s digital literacy plays an important role - a quality that includes: confident use of a personal computer; availability of an email address and exchange with both work colleagues and students; use of e-learning technologies in their teaching activities; a system of assignments for each subject that students complete electronically; availability and constant updating by the teacher of his electronic resource for each subject he teaches; maintaining an electronic journal of assignment results, which is always available to students; use of cloud and, if possible, mobile technologies.
The concept of “digital literacy” as a tool for information activities has gone beyond the ability to only use a computer and has begun to be considered in a number of concepts related to technological literacy: computer and ICT literacy.
Modern practical skills are a complex system of knowledge, skills, abilities and motivational factors that need to be developed in accordance with specific areas of activity. Digital literacy is most important for ICT users, e-business professionals and ICT specialists.
ICT user skills must be acquired by all citizens of a knowledge society and include the ability to:
Effectively select and apply information systems and ICT devices;
Use publicly available software in everyday life;
Use specialized ICT tools and tools for work;
Flexibly adapt to changes in infrastructure and applied ICT tools.
The skills of an e-business professional are the abilities needed to take advantage of the opportunities offered by this type of Internet-based activity.
ICT specialist skills require a high level of specialist knowledge to:
Research, develop and improve ICT tools;
Manage, produce, market and sell ICT tools and services;
Consult, implement and install ICT-based applications;
Provide operation, administration and support, provide services in the use of ICT.
The level of media literacy of teachers can vary significantly depending on the availability of opportunities to use the media environment.
The starting level of MIL can be classified as follows:
Elementary level: reading and writing skills are absent, language skills are very poorly developed, as is basic knowledge of media technologies; limited or no opportunities to use media at home.
Basic level: moderately developed reading and writing skills; experience using media technologies (e-mail, Internet navigation, online communication); the ability to use media resources at home.
Advanced level: developed reading and writing skills, experience in independent use of media (video, television, radio); extensive practice of using a variety of technical devices; the ability to use a variety of media resources at home.
Information literacy of teachers and students runs like a red thread through the concept of new educational standards. “Children’s awareness has increased sharply. If previously school was the main source of information for children about the world, man, society, and nature, today the media is a significant factor in shaping children’s picture of the world. The negative consequences of information shock must be neutralized by the positive, developmental potential of the information environment. Already At the first stage of education, the education system must make full use of new opportunities - the information potential of the Internet, various distance learning forms and others."
The education received in primary school is the basis, the foundation of all subsequent education. This also applies to how we teach primary schoolchildren to master information: to know sources of information, to be able to look for an answer to a question of interest, to select correctly (in accordance with the topic and task) information, to correctly format and present the selected material, that is, we are talking about about the information competence of students.
The term “information literacy” refers to a set of skills for working with information (information). These skills are developed in subject lessons, in electives, in clubs and are used when performing tasks that involve active actions in searching, processing, organizing information and creating your own information objects, for example, when working on projects.
Students can master skills related to information literacy in any lessons, electives, or in clubs when performing certain types of tasks.
Thus, a modern teacher is required to find and apply forms, methods and techniques of educational activities that maximally contribute to the formation of information literacy in students. To solve this problem, it is possible to use methods and techniques of design and research activities, which have already become firmly established in the modern educational process. Having broad integration capabilities, design and research activities also contribute to the formation of universal educational activities defined by new educational standards. “A feature of the content of modern primary education is not only the answer to the question of what a student should know (remember, reproduce), but also the formation of universal educational actions in personal, communicative, cognitive, regulatory spheres, ensuring the ability to organize independent educational activities.”
The formation of the above skills related to information literacy of students will be more successful with a close relationship between the components of the educational process, educational activities and additional education.
In order to meet all the requirements of the modern world, each teacher needs to introduce a software product into the work of the educational institution, which will include:
communication module (website, mail, forum, bulletin board);
electronic schedule;
testing module;
the ability to create collections of electronic resources;
distance learning module;
electronic journals reflecting not only grading, but also attendance records;
module for information control of student nutrition;
library module;
module of additional educational services.
In addition, all participants in the educational process will receive a unified environment for exchanging information within the educational institution (bulletin board, catalog of school resources, portfolio mechanism, internal email, forum, list of birthday people, etc.), which improves mutual understanding and cooperation, creates an open , comfortable atmosphere.
The advantages of using this information environment and, as a consequence, creating a unified information space in the educational institution are obvious:
Information propaganda of the school’s activities affects all main aspects of the school’s activities and is managed by us.
The teacher's self-esteem increases significantly.
The openness of the educational system to parents significantly increases their trust in the school and the status of the school itself.
The possibility of daily monitoring of the child by the parent in the on-line system increases their responsibility for the upbringing and education of the child.
The creation of a unified information environment makes it possible to analyze, predict, and adjust school life processes at an accelerated pace. Decision-making time is significantly reduced.
The main results of informatization of the school education system should be:
Improving student learning outcomes
More complete implementation of the concept of student-centered education
Teachers' implementation of student education based on modern pedagogical technologies.
Improving the information and general culture of students and teachers.
Free communication between students and teaching staff on specialized websites on the Internet, via e-mail.
The emergence, consolidation and development of public need for lifelong education, adapting to changes in the socio-economic situation, supported by the resources of the information and educational space.
We are confident that the successful and rapid achievement of these results will be facilitated by the creation and development of a unified information space of the educational institution.
Course Information
The course “Electronic portfolio as an effective tool for assessing a teacher’s digital literacy” is an explanation of how digital technologies and Internet resources can change the principles of organizing monitoring and recording individual achievements.
Purpose of the course- formation of professional skills in developing an electronic portfolio as the main tool for assessing individual and professional achievements of teachers, based on the competent use of the basic potential of information technology to solve practice-oriented problems of professional activity.
Orienting teachers to the development of ICT competence, we describe in detail the capabilities of computer technologies while taking into account individual achievements and pedagogical developments.
The course will help students develop skills in competently organizing an electronic portfolio, including technologies for recording and monitoring individual achievements and organizing an online repository of educational content.
Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are a living tool for communication, learning and improving the professionalism of teachers, so we invite members of the teaching community to take this course and take part in its further development.
An additional learning path, including a more complete use of online interaction tools, will allow students with higher education to receive a certificate of advanced training.
The course was developed with the support of UDPO Tolyatti State University.
Format
The course is implemented on the Canvas massive open online course platform.
Course materials are automatically opened by the system as scheduled tasks are completed. To pass the subsequent material, you need to complete the study of the previous one. The student completes tasks freely (at any free time).
The course contains a large amount of illustrative and video material, practical tasks, which are completed optionally and do not affect the final grade for the course.
Topics are accompanied by test and creative tasks to process the acquired knowledge.
At the end of the course, students take a final test, which includes questions on all topics studied.
Information resources
1. Online platform “Canvas canvas.instructure.com
2. Pedagogical online community UchPortfolio.ru www.uchportfolio.ru
Course program
Module 1. Digital literacy of a modern teacher
- Digital literacy of a teacher and its components.
- Digital consumption for teachers.
- Digital competence and its types.
- Digital security and its structure.
- Teacher Digital Literacy Roadmap.
- Tools for assessing teacher digital literacy.
Module 2. Electronic portfolio as a way to reflect the individuality and professional achievements of a teacher
- Electronic portfolio for a teacher.
- Who needs a teacher's portfolio and why?
- Structure of the electronic portfolio.
- Tools for creating an electronic portfolio for a teacher.
- Technology for creating an electronic portfolio for a teacher.
- Evaluation of a teacher’s electronic portfolio.
- Advantages and disadvantages of a teacher's electronic portfolio.
- Digital literacy in creating an electronic teacher portfolio.
Learning outcomes
As a result of training in the course “Electronic Portfolio as an Effective Tool for Assessing a Teacher’s Digital Literacy,” the student will gain the following skills and experience:
Skills:
- navigate the variety of digital technologies and Internet resources for the professional activities of a teacher;
- use digital technologies and Internet resources to organize a record of individual achievements;
- use tools for creating an electronic portfolio to organize monitoring and evaluation of a teacher’s rating.
Experience:
- working with electronic and Internet resources of educational content;
- creating elements of a teacher’s electronic portfolio for monitoring and evaluating ratings using digital technology tools.
Formed competencies (result)
- readiness to apply the conceptual foundations of developing digital literacy in the professional activities of a teacher;
- ability to develop an electronic portfolio using tools.
effectively use communications, process information, work in teams, use information technology and produce new knowledge.
These skills are rarely taught in school (Partnership for 21st Century Skills website – www.21stcenturyskills.org). Today, a new challenge for the traditional education system is the need to lay the foundations of digital literacy at all levels of education, and this requires professional development of teachers and teachers. Issues of developing digital literacy in the general education system are resolved on the basis of a review of decision-making experience on this issue in different countries, including the development of ICT integration into educational programs, into the information educational environment of network interaction between schools and school management based on the use of ICT.
Digital literacy as a component of life skills
Modern practical skills are a complex system of knowledge, skills, abilities and motivational factors that need to be developed in accordance with specific areas of activity. Digital literacy is most important for ICT users, e-business professionals and ICT specialists.
ICT user skills must be mastered by all citizens of a knowledge-based society, they include the ability to:
effectively select and apply information systems and ICT devices;
use publicly available software in everyday life;
use specialized ICT tools and tools for work;
flexibly adapt to changes in infrastructure and applied ICT tools.
Skills of an e-business professional represent the abilities required to take advantage of the capabilities of this Internet-based activity. Some of the most important skills include the following:
rationalization of management;
promoting the most efficient and effective ways to organize a business;
mastering new ways to manage an existing business;
building a new business.
ICT Specialist Skills require a high level of specialized knowledge to:
research, develop and improve ICT tools;
manage, produce, market and sell ICT tools and services;
consult, implement and install ICT-based applications;
provide operation, administration and support, provide services in the use of ICT.
Digital literacy and core competencies
Digital literacy should be developed in relation to the overall objectives of education: if the use of ICT is a basic skill, it should be included in the school curriculum. Digital literacy appears to have a beneficial effect on students' development of other basic skills and competencies. There is a growing body of national and international evidence of the positive impact of digital technologies on overall measurable learning outcomes.
Digital literacy promotes successful learning: students gain easier access to information as digital storage databases grow, making access easier than working with traditional, paper-based learning resources. Component of digital literacy
STI is and management information, provided to and used by students in their private lives as they join online communities and interact with various networks. On the other side, integrated and evaluative information becomes part of the skills taught in the classroom when the teacher acts as an information evaluator, showing students the differences between reliable and useless digital resources.
The most important components of digital literacy common to future computer users and ICT professionals are: access, management, evaluation, integration, creation and communication exchange of information in individual or collective work on the network, computer technology support, web environment for learning, work and leisure. These skills are directly related to core competencies; therefore, digital literacy is as vital as traditional literacy
– reading and writing, mathematical skills and social behavior management. The relationship between digital literacy components and core competencies is shown below.
Access to information is defined as the identification of information sources, as well as the development of methods of collecting and receiving information, which is one of the basic components of literacy. The digital environment significantly increases the volume of potential sources of knowledge. However, searching for information in this environment requires more sophisticated skills in information management. When using the Internet, it is not always possible to apply existing traditional organizational or classification schemes to evaluate the content of a source. For example, books and magazines may be judged by the reputation of their publisher, but most websites have no indication that they are from a reputable, trustworthy institution. Evaluation of information(making judgments about its adequacy, relevance, benefit, quality, relevance or effectiveness) plays a special role here. The ability to determine the authority or timing of a source of information obtained online requires digital literacy skills that can only be acquired through training and practical experience. Thus, information management has become an essential part of digital literacy programs, which in turn builds on other literacies and provides students with the tools to develop them.
Integration is another skill related to core competencies. In the case of digital literacy, this skill involves interpreting and representing information using ICT tools. The most difficult task is to learn to synthesize, summarize, compare and identify contradictions in information received from a variety of sources. Integration requires solving certain technical problems: often different types of data must be processed simultaneously. Therefore, the integration process requires both visual and verbal literacy to compare and link texts, tables and images. Curricula designed with the integration of ICT into specific academic disciplines acquire special value in this context and are oriented towards an interdisciplinary approach.
Creating new knowledge is a key task of all major literacies. Similarly, the construction of new digital information through adaptation, application of computer programs, design, invention or development of copyrighted materials also forms the core of digital literacy. ICT proficiency is among the primary technical skills that can support the creative process. ICTs stimulate the formation of new creative methods and genres in science and art.
Finally, communication is an important component of core literacies that has changed radically in the digital age. ICTs enable information to be transferred more quickly and presented more persuasively to a wider audience than any previous means of communication could provide. Digital literacy can support other types of literacies by providing the most appropriate and convenient communication channel to adapt and provide information in a variety of sociocultural contexts.
To develop students' 21st century skills, educators must become confident in using ICT and integrating digital literacy with their other professional competencies in life. Young teachers born in the digital era can become a good example of such specialists who actively use ICT, but do not yet necessarily have sufficient
Media and information literacy in the context of the development of digital technologies
literacy for the use of ICT in the educational process. Teachers' digital literacy must include knowledge and skills in educational policy and ICT ethics, and they must keep up with the pace of innovation in digital education. Digital literacy of teachers should include the ability to effectively use ICT in teaching, professional development and organization of educational activities, and the diverse sets of skills required in these areas.
Strategic approaches to digital literacy in education
In many countries, education policies take into account the need to develop digital literacy, but the initial emphasis was on building and improving infrastructure rather than on preparing and motivating teachers to use it effectively. Thus, revolution in digital education comes only decades after the computerization boom in the 1980s. By the end of the twentieth century, ICT was included in standards in most developed countries and was widely used for teaching, learning, data access, management and school communication. Computers have become catalysts for innovative processes in education.
UNESCO's 2009 Annual Report, Policies for the Information Society, reflects a major challenge facing education policymakers: the widening digital divide or lack of digital literacy in developing countries. Increasingly, digital literacy is becoming a national priority for developing countries. The main benchmarks for assessing educational outcomes are almost always related to ICT-enabled educational activities, and ICT-enabled teaching is becoming increasingly common. For example, the contribution of digital literacy to general literacy (reading ability) and lifelong learning skills is beyond doubt. However, some researchers emphasize the importance of reading and writing with the support of a computer, while others see the “costs” of digital texts, which, in their opinion, become an obstacle to reading books. But in the field of lifelong learning, the role of electronic reading is great, since it provides access to a wide range of adult audiences to numerous sources.
Educational Management and Digital Literacy
Education authorities must create favorable conditions for the integration of ICT into key areas of school culture:
Management and Vision: Acquiring skills in planning and developing ICT strategies, suitable infrastructure and staff training.
Learning and teaching: Formation of motivation, skills and competencies necessary for the successful implementation of ICT strategies in the school curriculum.
Productivity and professional practice:The quality of learning depends on the implementation of the ICT strategy.
Support, management and activities: The quality of implementation of the ICT strategy in the school and the provision of technical, professional and moral support for staff.
Evaluation: Assessing the quality of the educational process and the role of ICT strategy in school culture.
Social, ethical and legal aspects:The quality of the ICT strategy affects the rights of individuals and groups - issues that are regulated at the legal level or decided individually by school management and staff.
The development of digital literacy strategies can be accelerated by addressing these skill clusters.
Assessing digital literacy levels
Digital tools are most suitable for assessing digital literacy; the most common is an electronic or digital portfolio - a collection of electronic evidence, co-
selected and user-defined, usually using the Web. Each electronic evidence may include electronic text, image files, multimedia, blog data
And platform for self-expression and, if hosted on the Internet, they can be dynamically managed over time. Some e-portfolios have settings that allow audience access to be varied, so they can be used for different purposes. Here are the three main types of e-portfolios, although they can be talked about in other contexts:
development-oriented (for example, working);
reflective (for example, educational);
presentational (for example, a package of work samples).
A growth portfolio is a record of what an author has done over a period of time and can be structured in relation to the user's results. A reflective portfolio involves personal reflection on the content and evaluation of what it means for the development of the portfolio owner. A presentation portfolio shows the owner's achievements in terms of a specific job or in relation to set goals, therefore, it is compiled selectively. When used to apply for a job, it can be called a “career portfolio.” The three main types can be combined to achieve specific academic, personal or business goals; The owner of an electronic portfolio usually determines the level of access to it.
A more flexible tool for accessing digital literacy “in action” is a computer in operation, or a computer in online testing. In 2006, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) applied computer-based assessment methods to the Specialized Assessment Study (CBAS). The results showed that online assessment is an equivalent alternative to paper-based methods. However, its results are much easier to analyze, and analysis data reaches teachers and educational system leaders faster.
Towards the creation of new parameters of digital literacy
The content and forms of development of digital literacy in the 21st century should differ from those that existed before; computer users – children of the “network generation” of the 1980s – are entering the scene. In the interests of children whose parents were born in the digital era, priorities in the development of ICT skills should be reconsidered. Models and attitudes of the 20th century describe basic computer skills that have already become the daily activities of many people, and new tasks arise. Digital literacy training also prepares for new challenges of the 21st century: the use of social networks, the creation of an ecosystem of participation in interaction that encourages cooperation in the field of knowledge construction and creativity. These concepts must be at the center of discussions about the digital literacy of the future. Digital literacy can only stimulate creative expression if education covers the wide range of creative options that ICTs offer.
Children and youth of the digital age need a new development model based on the use of ICT to create a visual language of learning that is natural for the generation that initially grows up with ICT; this encourages us to reconsider traditional ideas about the artistic development of children and youth. Likewise, learning music or design leads to new, creativity-oriented types of digital literacies. Creativity, as a core component of digital literacy, is likely to become a central characteristic of ICT applications in the 21st century, just as information consumption defined the last decades of the 20th century. If digital literacy is to include the development of creativity, then educational methods will have to change.
The impact of social media on how we learn in and outside of school may also shed new light on the content of digital literacy. Web 2.0 uses - blogs, wikis, social networking sites, microblogs or social links - are having an increasingly significant impact on the way we construct and acquire knowledge. The impact of these channels of information on our lives has been widely publicized, but even today these tools are still rarely used in the education system.
Media and information literacy in the context of the development of digital technologies
3.2. Media literacy and the new humanism
Mindfulness and the New Humanism
For a person living in the digital age, surrounded by ICT, it is important to develop a conscious perception of technological progress. To make informed decisions, he must consider the positive and negative consequences of any change and understand that when choosing technological alternatives, progress is only one of several possible options. The successful development of ICT and media technologies will depend on our ability to make informed decisions, anticipating their potential impact. The global communications society carries enormous potential, but also poses certain risks. This potential can be realized in the interests of society, subject to the continuous strengthening of the consciousness and responsibility of each person and society as a whole. This awareness should be of a humanistic nature, be media-oriented and contribute to the implementation of the principles of new humanism:
the human personality should be at the center of media civilization, the new world of telecommunications;
a critical attitude towards a hyper-technological environment and the ability to make a conscious choice between the need for change and immutability;
creating favorable conditions for individual freedom within the framework of communications that can cause addiction and other forms of intellectual enslavement;
respect for the diversity of cultures and promoting the development of the media environment in the interests of consolidating a new culture of harmonious peace;
revival of a classical concept a cosmopolitan citizen interested in maintaining contacts with other peoples and having a clear understanding of his rights and responsibilities.
The simplicity and global nature of modern communications are the conditions necessary for studying other cultures and the ability to transmit the features of one’s own culture. The media should help facilitate mutual understanding between different peoples, organizations and communities, and people should have the ability to criticize and destroy their own prejudices and stereotypes that hinder intercultural dialogue. Achieving this goal will require systematic efforts in the field of education (media education), as well as a systematic transformation of thinking and the formation of a conscious approach (media literacy), implying conscious independence of judgment and the ability to think unbiasedly and make reasoned decisions based on the implementation of the right to access information and information openness, free expression of opinions and transmission of information, freedom of creativity and interaction with others, use of all available means of information exchange and respect for the diversity of cultures.
New value system
The first place in the new system of values, based on media and information literacy, is occupied by the protection of individual freedom. Second in importance is constructive open dialogue: the ability of organized and unorganized groups of people to generate quality information, critically evaluate that information, and guide decision making. Next comes the concept of personal and collective creativity, creativity as the main method of solving problems, introducing innovations and achieving social and economic progress. Next in the series of values is the idea of active, communicative democracy, on which democracy in politics is based. Without freedom of expression and seeking information in a democratic way, without real equality in the opportunity to participate in the life of society and exchange opinions, the democratic exercise of power is impossible. Finally, an important factor in the value system associated with media literacy is the acceptance of cultural diversity and the willingness to engage in intercultural dialogue that promotes mutual understanding and the painstaking building of common values.
Diversity of media contexts
Personal media context manifests itself in the course of a person's daily interaction with media. In this way, a person acquires knowledge and forms his own individual attitude or develops his knowledge and attitudes acquired earlier.
Family context influences children's media consumption patterns on a daily basis. From an early age, families form the inclinations of children’s media literacy. Within the family, activities related to the acquisition of media skills can be planned, but they, as a rule, are of a controlling, training or even regulating nature, but are not of a systematic educational nature.
The educational media context is implemented within the framework of formalized media education, within which teachers provide training using media and teaching the use of media.
The media context itself is of a public nature and covers the media, the public, specialists and institutions or companies. All of them can be used to develop new aspects of media literacy and stimulate new types of activities in the media environment.
Finally, by civic context we mean the context associated with the civic position, social and political sphere.
All contexts interact with each other. The personal context is closely related to the family media context and the educational media context. The media context influences all other media contexts, while the civilization context includes all others.
New strategy for media education
The most significant development in recent years in the promotion of media literacy has been the massive, active involvement of new participants, which has entailed a number of changes:
Gradual introduction of media education and media literacy into state educational programs.
Promoting educational activities aimed at developing media literacy, both in schools and in cultural and youth centers.
Increased attention from parents to children's media education.
Strengthening the involvement of legislators in the protection of minors and preventing risks when using media devices.
Growing attention of non-governmental organizations and associations working with children to issues of media education.
Expanding the participation of the media industry in media education.
Incorporating elements related to digital and media literacy into vocational training.
Official recognition of the importance of media skills in all areas of professional activity.
Awareness of the importance of developing media literacy among citizens for the stable development of society.
Recognizing the fact that in a globalized world, the success of intercultural exchange and education for peace largely depends on the level of media education and media literacy.
The main trends in the movement aimed at developing media literacy can be formulated as follows:
Creating a practical conceptual framework for media literacy.
Updating educational programs to take into account media education and its implementation in current educational reforms as a key target skill. This implies drawing up specific media education programs, changing educational strategies, introducing
the operation of new systems for assessing these skills and emphasizing the role of teachers. Except
Media and information literacy in the context of the development of digital technologies
In addition, new strategies are emerging aimed at developing information literacy as part of lifelong learning.
Media literacy is becoming a key element in modern civil society, an integral part of global society. Thus, media literacy is seen as a right and responsibility of all citizens. Promoting the development of a vibrant, healthy society in which cultural communication plays an important role in a new culture aimed at promoting peace depends largely on the level of media literacy.
Conceptual Foundations of Media Literacy
The concept of media literacy covers three main areas:
Ability for critical thinking and creativity;
Ability to solve problems;
Ability for creative activity and communication. The ability for critical thinking and creativity can be
be considered as a way of using intellectual abilities to analyze and evaluate information, as well as create
new concepts, new ideas, arguments and hypotheses. Critical thinking promotes the development of models for understanding the world, the environment, and patterns of action. Media literacy is designed to develop new concepts, rules and skills to help people correctly use the information disseminated by the media. Thus, media literacy facilitates the solution of the following tasks: searching for and gaining access to the highest quality information resources, using reliable sources containing diverse information; checking the reliability and value of the source; evaluating information using strict criteria; coordination of data with a specific situation and perception of information in accordance with the source from which it appeared and disseminated, which, in turn, implies knowledge of the characteristics of the media environment, its informative side, as well as the ideological and cultural orientations, the spread of which it contributes, and, finally, the synthesis of new information with previously available information.
Problem-solving abilities are another aspect of media literacy. Media literacy should be the key to ensuring that media and their use by citizens will contribute to the effective solution of problems. There are many areas in which problem-solving methods involve the use of media, such as intercultural or political conflicts, combating stereotypes and prejudices, introducing information and communication technologies into education and public life, creating communities and networks, and citizen participation in political dialogue, preservation of cultural identity, privacy and protection of personal information, control of government institutions, transparency of market processes and consumption, the right to freedom of expression and access to information, political debate and much more.
The ability to be creative and communicate includes the following skills:
Practical skills covering the full range of technical skills required to use technology and media.
The ability to be creative, original and innovative in creative activities.
Communication skills cover social skills, the ability to interact, the ability to assess the relevance of certain messages to certain recipients and to respond based on the interlocutor's responses.
Semiotic and cultural skills are manifested in the ability to act using the features of the language of communication and cultural traditions.
Media education and its new goals
Critical thinking, creative and communication skills are usually inherent in individuals, however, media education affects all processes in which media are involved. In this way, we separate media education activities that can be carried out in a school setting from activities carried out in leisure time or within a social context. In relation to educational activities, the issue of teacher training is extremely important, and in the field of extracurricular activities, for the development of competencies necessary for “living in the media environment,” the determining factors are the possibilities of access to it. On the other hand, within the framework of media education we also consider the family media environment, since it is in the family that children and youth acquire their first skills in handling media.
Today, media literacy is recognized as an essential skill. Without media literacy training, the development of the information society will reach a dead end. It is also important for the development of civil society. A global society requires citizens with appropriate global and democratic beliefs. Without media literacy, a new civil society will remain an elusive goal. Thus, global civil society is a universal synonym for media literacy.
In addition, the values associated with literacy are combined with some of the values of past times, but in a new context. This is no longer a question of values such as the right to vote in government elections, but a question of participation in the global decision-making process on a planetary scale. It is not simply a matter of promoting national patriotism, but the sense of global citizenship inherent in cosmopolitan patriotism. This is no longer just a question about the dignity of the individual citizen, but about the dignity of humanity as a whole. Media literacy, therefore, determines the cultivation of new values.
The following aspects come to the fore: a) the ability to listen, understand and conduct a conversation; b) tolerance; c) respect for diversity; d) ethics. There is no doubt that these values, placed within the framework of the idea of global citizenship, are the values that are associated with the formation of media literacy.
The importance of intercultural dialogue
Intercultural dialogue itself is crucial for the survival and sustainable development of our planet. The UN and UNESCO initiatives in the field of intercultural dialogue and media literacy are based on the recognition that media literacy and global education can contribute to mutual understanding between cultures and civilizations. Currently, the means of communication actively shape the opinions of members of the human community about themselves and others. They also represent a communication bridge between communities and groups, especially in the context of the massive spread of ICT. Thus, they can contribute to the creation of conflicts and disagreements, or, conversely, promote dialogue and mutual understanding. If citizens improve their media skills, they will be able to make demands on the media to provide information consistent with the development of peaceful and harmonious international relations. However, if this demand is not met, there is a risk of sliding towards populism and sectarianism. On the other hand, if people improve their communication skills, their ability to express themselves on a global scale will promote respect for diversity and the perception of others as equal interlocutors.
Contemporary global problems require immediate attention and urgent measures to ensure peaceful coexistence, harmony and interaction between people of different cultural traditions through intercultural dialogue. In this context, when it comes to promoting large-scale international dialogue, the media have a strategic role, provided they are given independence and freedom of action. The media influence the formation of attitudes towards other cultures and religions and, therefore, they have a unique responsibility for promoting tolerance in the world.
Media and information literacy in the context of the development of digital technologies
Media literacy is facing new goals and new challenges. The main goal is to create a peaceful society that is a comfortable place to live for all its members. The creation of a global identity must be harmonized with ideas of cultural diversity. Therefore, to create a true knowledge society, special attention must be paid to the harmonization of all these aspects. Media literacy of citizens of the global information society can contribute to the promotion of these values.
Objectives of intercultural dialogue
Let's consider the potential contribution of media literacy to building a peaceful and harmonious global society. The action program should be based on the following principles:
Bridging the gap between digital technologies and cognitive skills – equal access and opportunity to participate in the global public sphere is essential. However, the more important focus now is not on the availability of technology, but on the balance of cognitive skills required to use these technologies.
Fostering international cooperation: Efforts to bridge the digital divide must be accompanied by increased promotion of creativity, communication and interaction across global communication networks.
In the current situation, it is necessary to make efforts to create systematic international cooperation with the subsequent exchange of resources and experience.
Global education is not just about achieving global recognition of media literacy, but about corresponding actions within the framework of developed international cooperation strategies. The education system, which is still overly dependent on the national context, must become a bridge between countries and peoples. This will require changing the outdated model of education, in which students were passive recipients of knowledge.
Education must be open to global interactions. Educational programs should be the fruit of cooperation and communication between peoples. Modern technology will facilitate the realization of this concept, and it is global media literacy that can help achieve this goal.
The emergence of a global public sphere: internationalism and recognition of cultural diversity are possible if citizens are interested in what is happening in the world and they are aware of the global scale of the world's problems. Only a media-oriented public sphere, which sets the direction of human activity, can contribute to the emergence of a new type of civil society. This requires deep reforms in the organization of existing communication networks and information flows. It is also true that the implementation of these reforms is only possible through the promotion of global cooperation.
Propagating a communication value system: A new global media literacy will require a new balance between communication values and a new ethical system that embraces global responsibility. Thus, new media literacy should be based on the following principles:
ο Balance between freedom of expression and access to information and the right to information and openness.
ο Balance between the various dominant communication flows in the development of content and technology. This linguistic, cultural and geographical balance will require new rules, respect for cultural diversity and the creation of new bridges for intercultural cooperation.
ο Balance between intellectual and material values, between private and group or public interests. The new global public sphere must be based on the harmonious interaction of all components.
Creating a culture of peace and peaceful understanding between people and communities
should be the highest value of media literacy, this means accepting a key principle: you cannot determine who is right without dialogue, and there can be no peace without freedom and justice.
The challenges of the 21st century place information dissemination specialists, teachers, politicians, scientists, government officials, the high-tech industry, the media and civil society on a par. The global challenges of media literacy are perceived as part of education on a global scale. This is reflected in the leading role of media literacy in the world of global communications and in understanding how to harness the potential of ICTs to improve the world. However, the goals set cannot be achieved unless the need to be guided by the values and practices of the new humanism is recognized.
Compulsory and additional training programs
The trends described above provide impetus for new approaches to teacher training and retraining. The use of computers and global networks, as well as knowledge of the tools for working with them, requires more knowledge and its constant updating. Society must be constantly predisposed to learn and develop skills to function in a new technological environment, without specifically allocating time or place for this. On the other hand, given the complexity of mastering a new technological environment, it becomes clear that without coordination with the education system, attempts to achieve the competence we strive for will be futile. With regard to new technologies, especially ICT, society cannot miss the opportunity to learn and educate. It must take advantage of every learning opportunity and almost every method developed for mastering media skills. Most of this training is not built into compulsory programs and is indirect.
Children and youth, and older media users, mostly acquire media skills on their own, without a clear curriculum, in a practical, inductive manner, and perhaps by consulting with peers or imitating the actions of others. Very rarely do they get their knowledge from instruction manuals or instructions. It occurs as a spontaneous, natural phenomenon, without a clearly defined curriculum. The movement aimed at developing media literacy has two main goals:
build clear, manageable and pre-calculated training programs;
define, identify and analyze compulsory and additional curricula. Achieving these goals is possible in two ways. The first is to conduct a broad campaign
on educational reform, in which media education will rightfully take an important place. The second way is to activate the public, which will put media literacy at the forefront of social progress.
Changes in education
The new technological and cultural environment of the 21st century poses new challenges: “To keep up with the ICT revolution and keep up with the pace of scientific and technological progress in the coming years, it is necessary to fundamentally reconsider education and training systems. We need new ways of working and learning to replace the old link between work and leisure, which enable individuals to develop their skills and competencies, keeping pace with the continuous evolution of qualification requirements, of which the use of ICT is an integral part" (Delors et al., 1996).
In recent years, media literacy has been at the heart of this rethink.
The information society requires new methods of processing and obtaining information, which will be discovered through the so-called collective intelligence and communicative society, and new languages that will emerge as a result of the interaction of technology and communication.
These processes are observed in a philosophical context that focuses on new values, such as communication networks, global cooperation, the introduction of rules through dialogue, consensus and negotiation.
All of these changes can occur while simultaneously undergoing a profound cultural shift.
1. Digital literacy serves as a catalyst for development, promotes self-education and the acquisition of other important life and professional skills.
Digital literacy of a teacher combines important groups of skills: computer literacy includes both user and special technical skills in the field of computers, ICT literacy (a set of user skills for using services and cultural offers), information component (the ability to find optimal solutions, obtain, select, process, transmit, create and use digital information), which is most often used by teachers in their professional activities.
Digital literacy allows the teacher to continue learning remotely, to devote time not only to routine, often monotonous study of the material, but also to independent, more flexible, integrated learning.
2. The assessment of digital literacy of the teaching staff of our educational institution is at a fairly high level.
I work at MBOU secondary school No. 14 in Pushkino, Moscow region. In close cooperation with the Moscow Regional Library, which is located next to the school and since the opening of the new school was carried out in November 2014, in which all classes are equipped with computers and multimedia boards, which contributes to the successful learning of students.
Learners can more easily access information as the volume of digital storage databases grows, making them easier to access than traditional, paper-based learning resources. A component of digital literacy is the management information provided to learners and used by them in their daily lives as they enter into online communities and work with various networks.
On the other hand, integrated and evaluative information becomes part of the skills taught in the classroom when the teacher acts as an information evaluator, showing students the differences between reliable and useless digital resources. The most difficult task is to teach students to synthesize, summarize, compare and identify contradictions in information received from a variety of sources.
3. Characterizing the principles of the formation of a new school, we can identify several main vectors of change in teacher-student relations.
- increasing the independence and responsibility of students for the results of educational activities;
- expanding the range of sources of knowledge and educational information;
- individual work turns into joint activity;
- the educational space expands and goes beyond the classroom;
- the teacher does not and should not know all the answers;
- Teacher assessment is increasingly being replaced by student self-assessment, their mutual assessment, and automated assessment.
- traditional educational tools are becoming a thing of the past;
- teachers begin to link their professional growth not with deepening and expanding knowledge in a school subject, but with improving general pedagogical skills, knowledge and abilities.
4. Factors hindering the development of teacher digital literacy (in comparison).
Advantages: the systematic nature of the impact on students; knowledge of the psychological and pedagogical characteristics of age groups of students, mastery of a wide range of modern forms and methods of teaching; mastery of innovative pedagogical technologies.
Flaws: lack of understanding of the diversity of information resources; poor knowledge of information retrieval algorithms; ignorance of methods of analytical and synthetic processing of information; poor knowledge of technology for preparing information products.
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