From Digital Na(t)ive to Digital Navigator

Topic(s) addressed

To enable students and teachers to understand how digital medias function and to apply them in appropriate, sensible ways (navigators), including their application by students in learning and work environments. Specifically, the project’s focus was on: using digital media, producing digital content, consuming digital media, and being a responsible digital media user for education, work and personal purposes. Moreover, in 2018, partnering institutions had also explicitly indicated their goal of ensuring that their students became responsible users of social media platforms.

Target groups

Pupils involved consisted of 13-15 year-olds from Norway, and 11-18 year-olds from Austria, France, Germany, and Romania. It was not possible to determine the number of students who were involved in the project.

Methodologies

Designed in 2017/2018 and launched in 2018, the partnership was visionary in its aim of digitally educating participating students. Furthermore, despite the young age group of Norwegian pupils, several outcomes and activities were successfully accomplished.

Teachers

Teachers selected the themes that were addressed and assisted students throughout the project to transform them into responsible producers and consumers of digital media.

Impact

As noted by a project partner, “An important result of the project was the increased awareness of how digital media influences us, as well as how they may also be used to influence society when used by active and media-literate citizens in Europe.” Pupils from participating schools were also involved in creating sample guidelines and checklists on fake news, privacy issues, and cyber-bullying. Additionally, they participated in the Digital Detox and edited “simple rules” that were distributed across all participating schools. This document is publicly available in the Digital Toolbox that was developed by pupils for both pupils and teachers.