TechSheCan – Resources and Industry Partners
Category: Learner Digital Literacy
the skills and knowledge taught to learners
Finding and checking – learner digital skills toolkit
Learners should know how web browsers and search engines work and how this might affect their search results. They should also understand that anyone can publish anything on the internet and that they should check the reliability and integrity of any information they find.
They should be able to use ‘common apps’, such as Edge, Chrome or Safari browsers and be able to use the search bar, or a search site, to find information using search phrases and controls to make the results more accurate.
This learning covers Experience and Outcome x-02a.
Browsing the web and finding information
BBC Bitesize has useful information on how technology can be used to find information.
This section focuses on the basic knowledge and skills required to use the most common devices and software to access, browse and search the web.
Starting to think about online information
GCF Global has a range of tutorials on information and media literacy.
Project Real is a free resources for educators to teach information and media literacy.
Project Real also makes use of the SHARE checklist for learners to consider before sharing any online information:
- Source
- Headline
- Analyse
- Retouched
- Error
What next? (for learners)
The Ferret Fact Service is a Scottish fact-checking service and accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network.
Project Real is a series of lesson plans and resources for six lessons, each focussed on the government SHARE guidelines and covering a different element of online misinformation.
Microsoft Teams Search Coach is useful to help learners evaluate the reliability of search results.
Making and sharing – learner digital skills toolkit
Learners should understand how computers store and are able to share content.
They should be able to use ‘common apps’, such as O365 or Adobe Express to create documents, edit media and share this content in class.
This learning covers Experience and Outcome x-01a.
Where to start
BBC Bitesize has useful information on how technology can be used to create media and how the computer stores this, making it easy to edit and share.
This section focuses on the basic knowledge and skills required to use the most common office productivity and collaboration software.
GCF Global has a range of tutorials on using the Microsoft O365 and Google Workspace productivity suites which can be used to create a range of documents.
Adobe Express can be used to create and edit images, videos and PDFs.
Although not digital, Daydream Believers’ projects provide relevant and engaging design briefs that learners can tackle with their digital skills.
Learning with Digital – learner digital literacy theme
This page outlines some of the key digital literacy skills and knowledge that learners could make effective use of in the classroom. This ranges from being able to upload, share and collaborate on platforms like Teams and Classroom to using platforms like SeeSaw and Showbie to journal and share their learning.
Communication
The first aspect to consider is how learners can use Glow and other online platforms to connect, contact and communicate with each other. Are they using email, direct messaging or video calls? How are these skills useful in learning, life and work?
What are digital communication systems? – BBC Bitesize
go to Cyber Toolkit for advice and guidance on communication
Collaboration
Using cloud drives, such as OneDrive (Microsoft) and Drive (Google), learners can create and share content with peers, teachers and even learners in other schools or countries. Not only can they be shared, they can be co-created and edited at the same time on multiple computers at once! How is this useful for life, learning and work?
Collaborating using IT – BBC Bitesize
Tech She Can has a short video explaining how cloud computing works for younger learners:
Literacy & English
When planning learning around the functional tools in Glow, it is worth considering their purpose and application. Text-based documents, such as Word, Docs, PowerPoint and Slides might lend themselves to Literacy & English Es and Os:
- When creating documents (writing a text) consider the impact of layout and presentation
- Make use of lettering, graphics and other features to engage readers
Typing is a useful, but not essential, skill in modern digital literacy. Teachers might plan some typing practice as part of this functional suite of learning in order to enable learners to use them more effectively:
Dance Mat Typing for 7 – 11 year olds – BBC Bitesize
go to the Literacy Trust website for more examples and information
Numeracy & mathematics
When planning learning around the functional tools in Glow, it is worth considering their purpose and application. Text-based documents, such as Excel and Sheets might lend themselves to numeracy & Mathematics:
- When displaying data, consider the use of spreadsheets, graphs or tables to create clear visual representations
Creating and understanding charts and graphs – BBC Bitesize
go to the Joint Mathematical Council report on digital tools for maths
Microsoft and Google app tutorials
These two collections of tutorials may support teachers develop skills with the Microsoft and Google suites of apps:
go to the free Microsoft Office Tutorials at GCFGlobal
Navigating devices and apps – learner digital skills toolkit
Learners should understand how computers and apps work, how to control them and solutions to simple issues, like resetting them.
They should be able to use common inputs, such as keyboards, mice and touchscreens, to find their way around the device, including opening and using apps and changing settings to make it easier to use.
This learning covers Experience and Outcome x-01a.
Where to start
This section focuses on the knowledge and skills that learners need to use devices and apps.
BBC Bitesize has useful information on how computers work, including how to categorise inputs and outputs.
This section focuses on the basic knowledge and skills required to use the most common devices and software.
GCF Global has a range of tutorials on using the Microsoft O365 and Google Workspace productivity suites.
After learning about what computers and digital technology is, and how they work, learners could investigate how technology is used in a range of industries. These resources from Tech She Can are free to use and easily adapted to suit different ages and stages:
CALL Scotland has resources and information to support accessibility and how to use a device’s settings to make it easier to use.
11 May 16:00, Developing Your Learners’ Digital ‘Pencil Case’
This professional learning will help teachers identify the Learning with Digital skills and knowledge of functional apps that learners will use to access, undertake and evidence learning. Having the skills and confidence to use these apps regularly will empower learners to apply this learning across other curricular areas.
Sign up with this link to EventBrite: Sign up now!
Attendees will get an overview of the revised digital literacy planning support and its themes and focusing on the Learning with Digital theme. They will identify the digital literacy skills, and the corresponding apps, that they will require learners to use across the school year.
As a result teachers will have a clear picture of the skills they will require learners to have, examples of planning and resources for teaching these skills and then be able to embed these across the curriculum.
Digital Xtra Fund
The goal of Digital Xtra Fund is for every young person in Scotland to have access to innovative and digitally creative activities regardless of their gender, background, or where they live. Through supported initiatives, the Fund aims to inspire young people to understand and create with technology, not simply use it. Schools and educational organisations positively engaging young people in tech can apply for up to £5,000 to support an extracurricular activity which focusses on digital tech, especially initiatives that also provide opportunities for young people to informally engage with industry and learn more about how digital skills and tech are relevant in the ‘real-world’.
Find out more about Digital Xtra Fund with this link: https://www.digitalxtrafund.scot/
Since its inception in 2016, Digital Xtra Fund has awarded £875,000 in grants to 137 exciting and meaningful extracurricular computing and digital technologies initiatives across Scotland. This funding has helped grant recipients engage nearly 45,000 young people in tech. For the current academic year, Digital Xtra Fund has recently awarded 35 grants to schools and educational organisations which are projected to engage another 7,500 young people (including 3,800 girls and young women) and show them the breadth of opportunities these skills can provide.
View the 20/21 impact report with this link: https://www.digitalxtrafund.scot/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Digital-Xtra-Fund-2020.21-Impact-Report.pdf
Applications for next round of grant awards (Round VIII) will open in January 2023 for activities delivered during the 2023/24 academic year. However, now is the perfect time to think about what you would do with the funding and who you could work with to better engage more young people!
Find out more about the latest recipients and their projects using this link: Digital Xtra Fund awards 35 grants to drive digital skills.
Please follow Digital Xtra Fund on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for future updates.
Quick Links for Digital Xtra Fund
Round VII (2022/2023) initiatives supported by Digital Xtra Fund
Digital Literacy Planning Support Document
This webinar will provide first access to the brand-new Digital Literacy Planning Support document (currently for first and second level) from Education Scotland. This document is designed to support educators plan, resource and assess digital literacy in a range of contexts with distinct themes, example activities and skills and knowledge identified for each distinct context
ON DEMAND DigiLearnScot: Developing ideas using animations (Keynote & iPad)
In this lesson from DigiLearn learners will go through a step-by-step tutorial to create an animation using the Keynote app on iPad.
Animating ideas is an excellent way for pupils to visualise and share their knowledge. From animations describing the journey of Jacobite soldiers, to story boarding ideas for a creative writing project. Using out of the box tools and features, pupils can easily visualise the story they wish to tell and share their understanding in a modern and exciting way.
Whilst this lesson will use the magic move component on Keynote and iPad, the methods and techniques are transferable to a number of curricular areas and apps.
It is advised that if you attend this session, you have access to an iPad and Keynote. The step by step instructions and hands on will use the features inherent to this app – we appreciate that not all pupils will have access to this.
If you wish to attend and use another tool such as PowerPoint, you are welcome to do so but please note that you will not be able to replicate in exactly the same manner
DigiLearnScot: Keeping my devices and accounts more secure (Cyber Resilience and Internet Safety) lesson
Learners will explore how their devices store data, how they connect to the internet, and how to keep them more secure
Learners will:
- identify the things (data) that they value on their device, and why it is valuable
- explore how to keep their device and data more secure, including passwords and other security features
- earn how their device connects to the internet and web services, how this changes how data is stored and secured, and why this should be considered when sharing content
d
Resources required:
Just something to make notes, share ideas or draw on
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