
Category: Learner Digital Literacy
the skills and knowledge taught to learners


Reading and writing with digital
engage with and create a wide range of texts in different media, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by ICT
Texts
The literacy and English framework reflects the increased use of multimodal texts, digital communication, social networking and the other forms of electronic communication encountered by children and young people in their daily lives.
OECD report on literacy
… continuously evaluating the quality and validity of differences sources, navigating through ambiguity, distinguishing between facts and opinions, and constructing knowledge. reading is a daily activity for most people and that education systems need to prepare students to be able to adapt to the variety of scenarios in which they will need to read as adults
The more knowledge technology allows us to search and access, the more important it becomes to develop deep understanding and the capacity to navigate ambiguity, to triangulate viewpoints, and to make sense of content.
Digital readers not only need to follow linear information structures but construct their own texts by selecting and assessing information from various sources
– WHY
It recognises that the skills which children and young people need to learn to read these texts differ from the skills they need for reading continuous prose – WHAT
novels, short stories, plays, poems reference texts the spoken word charts, maps, graphs and timetables advertisements, promotional leaflets comics, newspapers and magazines CVs, letters and emails films, games and TV programmes labels, signs and posters recipes, manuals and instructions reports and reviews text messages, blogs and social networking sites web pages, catalogues and directories
So, HOW?
Reading helps students gain knowledge which leads to better writing, whilst writing can deepen students’ understanding of ideas.
Extensive practice, supported by effective feedback, is required to develop fluent transcription skills (typing and word processing features for checking accuracy)
- Planning
- Drafting
- Revising
- Editing
- Publishing
(planning)
before reading:
- Make a text outline and note what they already know
- bullets
- Tables
- Headings
- Slides – one idea with room to add more info as they read
- Save doc with a meaningful name to find and use again
(drafting)
As they read:
- Scan (instead of skim) to retrieve target information
- Find on page (Ctrl + F)
- Open multiple pages/docs – search and selection tasks involve the use of text descriptors such as headers, source information (e.g. author, medium, date), and embedded links
- Highlight
- Bookmark useful pages
- Follow links for primary sources or further information
Make notes:
- Copy and paste text (and weblinks to find again)
- Use audio notes
- Use comments (in a doc)
(revising)
After they read:
- Re-read notes
- Rewrite notes as prose to develop the idea
Editing
The writing you’re teaching
Publishing
Save
Medium: word, pdf, blog post,

Developing Learners’ Digital Literacy

George Milliken Mon 14/04/2025 12:50 engage with and create a wide range of texts in different media, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by ICT Texts The literacy and English framework reflects the increased use of multimodal texts, digital communication, social networking and the other forms… Read more

Create-A-Long Activities – Create a custom comic book
Communicate visually wit colourful graphics to tell a story, explain a concept, summarise a plot, or show how a pattern can be represented visually.
Comics can be a great way for learners to showcase their storytelling skills, explain concepts, and visually represent a concept. For learners with limited or no communication skills, this can be an excellent way to have them contribute to the wider conversation in class.
For this activity we have used a modified version of the Create a Comic Activity from the Everyone Can Create Apple Teacher Learning Centre section.

For this activity we used
We used an iPad, an Apple Pencil, Pages, and Adobe Express using our Glow Scotland credentials. Whilst these are very specific examples we appreciate that not every school has access to these resources. An alternative might be to use a web based tool such as Book Creator which has excellent comic book templates and Pixabay which has free to download graphics.
Step 1: Create-a-long: Download the Activity

Step 2: Create-a-long: Create Your Characters

Step 3: Create-a-long: Put your comic book together

Now that you have tried all of the steps and put the comic together, you have developed the skills in your learners to apply this knowledge in different situations. Using comic book style activities can be a great way to Visualise concepts, retell failure Argos from history with custom characters, or even explaining concepts like the water cycle in new and engaging ways.
Try it yourself and feel free to share your stories of success with us via social media:
Bluesky: @digilearnscot.bsky.social

#SDLW24 Video Recap series
Below is a playlist that shows the Curriculum Live Lessons, Professional Learning, and sharing practice sessions that were delivered as part of Scottish Digital Literacy week 2024.
Continue to share the amazing work that is taking place in your settings and be sure to mention us @digilearnscot using #SDLW24












Digital Literacy projects and resources

Cyber resilience – learner digital skills toolkit
Where to start
BBC Bitesize has useful information on how computers and the internet work.

Visit the Barclays Digital Wings site to view tutorials and learning resources for fundamental digital skills. This requires a login with email, name and password – teachers should check their data protection policy before registering learners.
Learn My Way is a website of free online learning for beginners, helping you develop digital skills to make the most of the online world. Some aspects of this page may require a login – teachers should check their data protection policy before registering learners.
CyberFirst is the national cyber security education programme from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Their CyberSprinters game and teaching resources is an easy place to get started with cyber.
Go to CyberSprinters
Our Cyber Toolkit provides more practical advice on teaching learners about staying safe and secure when online.
Every secondary school has copies of Your Money Matters textbooks and resources:
Go to Your Money Matters Scotland

Explore Winter Sounds inside and out (early level)

Creative activities for the classroom

This is… What Digital Literacy Might Look Like (Developing Your Curriculum)
Webinars
Sign up for sessions using the Eventbrite links below:
This is… What Digital Literacy Might Look Like intro session 05 September
This is… What Digital Literacy Might Look Like intro session [repeat] 12 September
This is WDLMLL: living with digital 26 September
This is WDLMLL: learning with digital 31 October
This is WDLMLL: creativity with digital 14 November
This is WDLMLL: finding information with digital 28 November
This is WDLMLL: being safe and secure with digital 05 December
SIgnups for 2024 are not available yet

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