We continue celebrating National Family Literacy Month by jumping into the digital world. Digital literacy is an increasingly critical skill for every family member. Whether it’s learning to send an email, navigating educational apps, or practicing online safety, digital literacy benefits the whole family. Here’s how you can help students approach digital learning as a family and make it a shared journey.
What Is Digital Literacy?
Digital literacy isn’t just about knowing how to use a computer or phone—it’s about understanding how to use technology to learn, communicate, and problem-solve.
This includes:
Finding reputable information online
Using apps and tools for learning, creativity, and work
Understanding online safety and privacy
Communicating effectively through emails, chats, and video calls
Why Digital Literacy Matters for Families
Technology is a big part of our daily lives. It is important to sharpen digital literacy skills to ensure success.
Helps Kids Succeed in School: Many schools now use online tools for homework, research, and communication. Students use Chromebooks in the classroom, and parents and guardians receive text and email messages about school closures and events.
Prepares Everyone for Jobs: Digital skills are essential in almost every workplace today. Email is used for team communication, while various apps help track employee schedules and allow them to request time off.
Builds Connection: Technology helps families stay in touch with relatives, access learning tools, and discover new hobbies. Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram for keeping in touch with friends and family, Pinterest for recipes and craft ideas, and looking up resources like knitting patterns online.
Teaches Responsibility: Understanding online safety and privacy helps protect families from risks like scams or inappropriate content. Knowing how to protect family devices from viruses, spot a spam email, and place parental controls to restrict access to inappropriate content for children are a few ways digital literacy teaches responsibility.
Digital Literacy Activities for the Whole Family
Explore Educational Apps Together: Set aside family time to explore educational apps to practice reading, math, or problem-solving as a team.
Suggestions: Duolingo for language learning, PBS and PBS Kids for educational videos, or Canva for creative design projects.
How to Do It: Family members can each pick an app and share what they learned from it or help each other with apps they may have run into issues with.
Create Digital Projects: Digital Literacy can also be creative! Creating digital projects as a family is a great way to learn and sharpen digital literacy skills.
Ideas :
Write a short story using a document editor like Google Docs
Create a family photo slideshow with captions on PowerPoint
Record a family video or podcast about a topic you all enjoy or share family stories.
Create a digital family tree with a site like Ancestory.com.
Why It Works: These projects are fun and engaging for the whole family. They also target skills in reading, communication, and teamwork!
Practice Online Research
Learning to filter through information online for trustworthy and factual information is a critical digital literacy skill for the whole family.
How to Do It: Choose a fun topic, like planning a family outing or researching a recipe. Show your kids how to look for trustworthy sources and avoid misinformation.
Play Educational Games Together
The family that plays together learns together! Many games teach problem-solving, strategy, and literacy skills. Take your family game night into the digital age.
Suggestions: Word games like Scrabble Go, coding games like Scratch Jr, or puzzle games like Lumosity.
How to Do It: Set up a family game night where everyone gets to learn while playing, using online games like Kahoot or Tactile.
Tips for Online Safety as a Family
Digital literacy also means staying safe online and how to protect your family. Here are a few simple tips:
Set Boundaries: It’s important to balance screen time with offline activities. Setting limits on screen time can help maintain this balance. Additionally, guide children by identifying which websites are safe and appropriate.
Teach Password Safety: Show your family how to create strong passwords and never share them with anyone in person or online.
Discuss Online Privacy: Teach kids never to share personal information like their full name, address, or phone number.
Use Parental Controls: Set up filters to block harmful content on kids’ devices.
Celebrate Small Wins Together
Learning digital skills takes time and every achievement matters.
Celebrate when you:
Send your first email or text message.
Finish a family project, like designing a flyer or creating a video.
Learn something new on an app or website.
Conclusion
By exploring new tools, working on projects, and practicing online safety, you’re not only developing valuable skills but also fostering connection and learning that benefits the whole family.
Start small, stay curious, and remember: every click, tap, and search is a step toward a brighter, more confident future for you and your family.
Resources:
PBS Learning Media: This site has a great variety of educational material for all age groups.
PBS Kids: Educational games, activities, and videos for the younger members of the family
Scratch Jr: An educational app for young children that teaches them about coding. Can be downloaded on Android or Apple devices
Kahoot: An online game site that engages users in quizzes about different topics. A great resources for a family game night.
Factile: A fun jeopardy style game that would be a fun game night for families.
