INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Facebook this morning announced the launch of a new set of educational resources focused on helping young people think critically and
behave thoughtfully online
The Digital Literacy Library, as the new site is being called, is aimed at educators of children aged 11 to 18, and address topics like
privacy, reputation, identity exploration, security, safety, wellbeing and more.
There are 830 million young people online, the company
notes, which is why digital literacy is necessary
We&ve seen the results what can happen when people are lacking in digital literacy & they&re susceptible to believing hoaxes, propaganda and
fake news is true; they risk their personal data by using insecure apps; they become addicted to social media and its feedback loop of
likes; they bully and/or are bullied; and they don''t take steps to protect their online reputation which can have real-world consequences,
to name a few things.
However, many teachers today lack the educational resources that would allow them to teach a digital literacy program
in their classroom, or in other less formal environments.
Facebook says the lesson plans in the new library were drawn from theYouth and
Media team at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet Society at Harvard University, where they were released under aCreative Commons license
In other words, the company itself did not design the lessons, it only making them more broadly available by placing them on Facebook where
they can be more easily discovered and used.
The lessons themselves are based onover 10 years of academic research from the Youth and Media
team, who also took care to reflect the voices of young people from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, ethnicities, geographies, and
educational levels, Facebook says
Initially, the 18 lessons are launching in English, but they&ll be soon available in 45 additional languages.
For educators, the lessons are
ready-to-use as free downloads, and state how long each lesson will take
Outside the classroom, parents could use them to teach children at home, or they could be used in after-school programs
Teachers can also modify the lessons& content to meet their own needs, if they choose.
The courses will be made available in Facebook Safety
Center and Berkman Klein Digital Literacy Resource Platform for the time being
Facebook says it also working with other non-profits worldwide to adapt the lessons and create new ones.
This isn''t the first time Facebook
has offered educational resources aimed at young people.
The company also recently launched itsYouth Portal, which provides educational
material directly to teens, not their teachers
However, those resources are focused more on Facebook itself, providing guidance on things like how to navigate the service, how to stay
secure, and how to understand how people data is used
(Arguably, this sort of information is something a large number of adults could use a refresher on, as well.)
In addition, Facebook has
begun to roll out educational guidance into its new app, Messenger Kids, aimed at the under-13 crowd
The app encourages children to be kind and respectful online, by promoting empathy and positive messaging through things like the &Messenger
Kids Pledge,& kindness stickers, and other in-app challenges.
At the root of all this is the fact that Facebook, along with most social
media, has corrupted the way people interact and navigate the online world
And it is now belatedly is waking up to its role and its responsibilities on that front
These large platforms were built by optimistic engineers who for years only saw the positive side of connecting the online world, and not
the potentially negative outcomes & like data theft and misuse, fake news, hacking, attempts to disrupt democracy, bullying, targeted
harassment, and even genocide.A literacy program could help the next generation of users, but it has arrived too late for many of Facebook
users.
Below, are the lesson plans& description, for reference:
View this document on Scribd
