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"Digital native' is a term increasingly used in public discourse to describe the generations of young people who grow up surrounded by digital technologies. The term suggests that young people intuitively know how to use technology and hence have no need for digital education or training. This paper outlines the issues connected with this assumption and provides evidence to demonstrate that it is a dangerous fallacy. Young people do not inherently possess the skills for safe and effective use of technologies, and skills acquired informally are likely to be incomplete. The failure to provide youth with a complete set of skills in a formal manner leads to a new digital divide between digital lifestyle skills and digital workplace skills. The lack of proficiency in the tools needed for today's workforce contributes to an increasingly lost generation, who are unable to realise their full potential as learners, employees, entrepreneurs or citizens using digital technologies."

Students need literacy skills to match their knowledge environments. UNESCO (2003) framed its Literacy Decade positioning literacy as a freedom beyond reading and writing, to include capacities for communication and equal participation in the world. This recognizes multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996) and a knowledge paradigm of multi-modal, constantly shifting, non-linear communication, especially in digital form, that has shifted how we understand literacy.

From Canada: Use, Understand & Create: A Digital Literacy Framework for Canadian Schools. Frameworks for K-3, 4-6, 7-8. Lesson plans are provided to support the learning outcomes or each year level. Lots of support information on digital and media literacy, teacher resources and research data are available under the tabs.

Storytelling in any format is about making meaning. While the essence of the stories we tell may remain the same, the ways in which we can now share these stories have changed dramatically with the development of digital communication technologies. Access to simple, easy to use media production tools and resources in conjunction with the potential for immediate and universal online publication has significant implications for literacy thinking and practice.

Storytelling in any format is about making meaning. While the essence of the stories we tell may remain the same, the ways in which we can now share these stories have changed dramatically with the development of digital communication technologies. Access to simple, easy to use media production tools and resources in conjunction with the potential for immediate and universal online publication has significant implications for literacy thinking and practice.

"When educators teach media literacy, they provide students with crucial skills to become knowledgeable and active participants in the media surrounding them. Additionally, when given the skills to understand the media surrounding them, students become more aware of their consumption of it and can critically evaluate content they usually only consume in passing on their phones, in print, or on television."

"we have the capacity to create our future, and our actions - and particularly our actions as educators - inform the type of future we are heading towards. It is not enough to view digital literacies as forms of technical competence, and to embrace protectionist models of digital citizenship which emphasise frameworks focused only on personal responsibility."

"This report explores the role that digital tools and resources can play in addressing the gender and disadvantage gap in young people's literacy attitudes and outcomes. It combines insights from a review of the literature related to supporting teenage boys' reading with new information gathered from interviews, focus groups and surveys of teachers, librarians, academics and young people from schools across the UK in 2019."

Edutopia's collection of articles, videos, and other resources on internet safety, cyberbullying, digital responsibility, and media and digital literacy.

Just because young people are functionally very capable, doesn't mean they always have the criticality to appraise the wealth of information available. English teacher Jennifer Wilson discusses how critical thinking and digital literacy need to go hand-in-hand.

"The change over the last 20 years in what and how students read has emphasised the importance not only of assessing students' capacity to read, but also what they have learned about the credibility of what they read. For example, how well are they able to distinguish fact from opinion, or detect biased information or malicious content such as phishing or fake news - skills essential in a world flooded by information from a variety of sources."

"Growing Up Digital Australia is a ground-breaking research project by the Gonski Institute for Education (UNSW) designed to change the status quo and understand how the widespread use of technology is impacting Australian children. Growing Up Digital Australia builds on the research methodology that has been developed by Harvard Medical School and the University of Alberta. In this Australian study, we seek to answer questions around how digital technologies are being used, the benefits and distractions they pose to students and whether they are bridging the divide of equity, or widening it."

In our technologically-driven culture, we engage with digital media content many times each day. Copyright law isn't something that everyone has always needed to take into consideration in their daily lives, but that has changed in recent years. This video explains how we behave safely and ethically as consumers and creators of digital content.

What does it mean to be a reader in the 21st century? Many studies indicate that reading print offers increased metacognition and comprehension over online reading. However, is this truly the case or is it simply the result of studying students that have not had explicit instruction in how to read online? Although many of us use online and digital text formats, how much instruction have we had in how to navigate and comprehend it? Do these studies illuminate the reality that we need to learn how to be both an effective reader of digital AND print texts?

"Literacy is NOT Enough: 21st Century Fluencies for the Digital Age - Lee Crockett"

"Despite mounting attention to the threat of "fake news" on the internet and efforts nationwide to improve digital media literacy, high school students still have difficulty discerning fact from fiction online, according to new research from scholars at Stanford Graduate School of Education."

"Empowering students to make positive decisions online is critical to their development. To support this I display the 5 P's for a Positive Digital Footprint image I created in my class, referring to this regularly during the school year. Displaying this image is a great first step to drive discussion and support the digital citizenship program in our schools. To further students understanding of these 5 key messages I created the following board game focusing on each of these areas with practical examples related to the world our students live in."

This post features some useful digital citizenship resources that cover these important categories: Digital Footprints/People Searching | Citing Sources | Cyberbullying | Detecting Plagiarism | Personal Responsibility | Global and Cultural Awareness

"Here are six handpicked examples of digital storytelling where we believe great writing is combined with great imagery to create authentic content, and a brilliant digital story." A selection of interactive documentaries that reflect literary non-fiction. Target audience is adult and senior secondary.

How can we, as parents, educators and leaders, prepare our children for the digital age? Without a doubt, it is critical for us to equip them with digital intelligence.