The first iPhone hit the market in 2007, just fourteen years ago and a year before most of our eighth graders were born. Our current Allen-Stevenson students have never lived in a time without the internet, smartphones, and social media. Coming to this realization, in 2014, Allen-Stevenson’s Sarah Kresberg and Liz Storch (later joined by Tatyana Dvorkin) proposed that our students needed to learn the critical tools necessary to navigate this new, fast-paced, and often turbulent digital world. And thus, Digital Fluency was born.
Ms. Storch, who is also the Upper Division Librarian, stated, “The reason we call this class Digital Fluency and not digital literacy or something else is that, like with any other language, we want our students to achieve fluency.” Digital Fluency means that students will achieve much more than practical technological skills. Fluency in any language brings a level of self-confidence, deeper understanding, and the ability to cultivate appropriate responses when confronted with new, possibly uncomfortable situations. The internet, which remains primarily unregulated, has much to offer; however, students must learn digital responsibility to avoid potential pitfalls.
Sarah Kresberg, Director of Library Tech Commons, recounted that many of her sixth-grade students admit to having “seen things on the internet they wish they hadn’t seen.” Apparently, this experience is not at all uncommon and further reinforces why it is vital to our students’ well-being that they understand responsible digital citizenship. Knowing what to do when confronted with inappropriate information and how to, when possible, avoid it altogether is something students learn about in class.
Ms. Kresberg’s class was recently introduced to the “Harvard Meme Scandal” where over ten students had their acceptances to the illustrious college rescinded after posting highly offensive memes in a Facebook messaging chat. Our young students were shocked to learn that colleges and potential employers frequently look at prospective students’ or employees’ social media accounts. What an individual posts “privately” or “just for fun” has the potential to jeopardize their chances of getting into the school and/or the professional position of their choosing. “One of my students said, ‘Well, how can people know what we post? It's personal. It’s my private space,” said Ms. Kresberg. The students often experience an essential awakening and engage in thoughtful, conversations about what should and should not be shared through social media. It is vital that students come to the realization that “online” communications, including personal text messages and emails, are anything but private and may even be admissible as evidence in a court of law.
While social media protocol is one of so many important topics covered in Upper Division Digital Fluency classes, students are also taught how to perform fruitful internet searches, learning to parse opinion from factual reporting and advertisements from the news. In a time where misinformation is running rampant through social media, the boys learn that responsible research requires knowing (and citing) your sources and learning what factors make a source a reliable one. Using the RAAAD test (Relevant, Authoritative, Accurate, Appropriate, and Deep) boys determine and discern the veracity and validity of the information they discover. Further understanding how to properly cite sources is a valuable skill that Allen-Stevenson students learn before they graduate from the eighth grade--a skill they will continue to use through college and beyond. Crediting and citing content also applies to images and other information retrieved from the internet. What are copyrights and how do we use content ethically to comply with those rights?
Education Technology Integrator, Ms. Dvorkin explained how her students learn about making “best” choices when communicating digitally. Should something be shared through email, a presentation, a text message, or in person, always with the understanding that digital communications may carry unintended weight. For this reason, it is important to be thoughtful about the words we use and the information we share. This lesson is never more critical than when broaching the sensitive topic of cyberbullying, “The boys wonder what to do if they receive an image or content that is inappropriate or potentially harmful to someone they know,” says Ms. Dvorkin. “It’s so important for them to know how to use this technology with their own safety and that of their friends in mind.”
Our vigilant Digital Fluency team is doing outstanding work to support our boys in understanding how the internet and all its far-reaching applications affect our daily lives in a variety of ways. Many of them are positive. Some of them are not. It is our responsibility as parents and educators to prepare children not only for the road ahead but also for the complex world they are living in presently. Allen-Stevenson’s focus on compassion, empathy, respect, accountability and digital fluency helps ensure that our boys will do their part in paving the way to a more transparent, inclusive, and safer digital world.
