Designing Digital Literacy Activities: An Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Approach

Abstract

This WIP presents an innovative collaborative and interdisciplinary approach integrating computer science literacy and digital media literacy to build a critical citizenship-oriented digital education. This approach is inspired by design-oriented research methodology. Designing an activity aimed at digital education has four stages: appropriating of the subject matter, stepping back oneself from the expert knowledge, defining the sequence of the activity, and creating educational materials. It is carried out collaboratively between researchers (activity designers), practitioners (teachers and children), and experts in media and computer science. This approach takes shape through two research projects aimed at 10 to 15-year-old children: a first project targeting artificial intelligence literacy and a second one, Internet security literacy. The AI literacy project is tested with 75 teachers-in-training, five teachers, and 85 children aged 10 to 15. The critical analysis of the approach is at interdisciplinarity and collaboration levels. The alliance of computer science education and digital media education makes it possible to give meaning to educational activities. Turnkey educational materials corresponding to the expectations of teachers, and the reality of a classroom, are created. However, the balance between the two axes is difficult to find. Moreover, this approach takes time and makes project management difficult.