We explored digital fluency this week, and the skills needed to participate in the digital world. What does digital fluency mean? What skills do I and my students need to become confident users of digital technologies?
Scratch (Colville, 2014)
Despite considering myself to be digitally fluent, I found creating a Scratch animation challenging. The code writing was a source of frustration. Perseverance resulted in a “light bulb” moment that enabled me to see the potential of integrating Scratch in the classroom.
Scratch could be easily used by students who have already had exposure to gaming through simpler programs such as Sploder. The intricacies of Scratch provide a rich learning experience for students to become confident users of digital technologies. Students can engage in critical thinking and use problem solving skills to create games. They could work in groups, using and improving their collaborative and communication skills, to develop story lines for their games. Integrating programs such as Scratch in the classroom enables students to be creative whilst developing the critical thinking skills required for life outside the classroom.
I am loving discovering new elements of the digital world and working out how they can be used in the classroom!
Further information on Digital Fluency can be found @
ACER and The Guardian
Teaching in a Digital World 