The objective of this research on digital needs, curated by Rai, T6 Ecosystems and Tim, in collaboration with Luiss and with the institutional support of the Ministry of Education and Merit, Directorate-General for Structural Funds for Education, School Building and Digital School, was to investigate, with the support of a field survey aimed at the world of school (Survey), the needs and needs of teachers and students in terms of Media Literacy in order to provide useful recommendations for school educational paths and a wide-ranging educational offer. The need for a targeted survey rests on the fact that, at least in its most advanced form, Media Literacy is a subject of teaching still young, mostly included in the amount of teaching reserved for civic education (digital citizenship), recently reintroduced in schools. Therefore, it is quite natural that there is not yet a consolidated literature on the subject, although many and meritorious are the initiatives developed at academic level and by qualified associations of teachers and trainers to promote and spread digital culture and Media Literacy throughout the national territory, within the framework of actions for digital citizenship. When we talk about digital innovation within the school, therefore, we have to think of a real change of programs and methodologies that call at stake the digital skills of teachers and learners, listening to the voices of the protagonists in order to know the needs and needs of those who work and live in the world of school. Hence the need to develop a Survey based on a questionnaire to be distributed in schools. The Digital Media Literacy gaps and needs (Digital Media Literacy gaps and needs) is the natural complement to Media Literacy versus Fake News Research (MLvFN)1 which provided, among other things, the definition framework of reference, outlining the areas of in-depth study covered by this Report and, in particular, the questionnaire used for the survey. Compared to a functionalist vision of Media Literacy, the definition taken up in MLvFN Research and which here is proposed, in line with the approach adopted by the European Commission in 2007 (Communication 2007/883/EC), sees Media Literacy as a key factor in digital citizenship, that is, as “the ability of an individual to consciously and responsibly make use of virtual media” and with the ability to develop a critical sense of the information received, transforming itself from a passive receptor of information into an active subject. It is in this key of reading that Media Literacy is combined with Media Education, becoming a fundamental prerequisite for countering the risks of disinformation. From this analysis it emerges that the digital skills gap can only be overcome through actions of Media Education that go beyond some limits of Media Literacy, which risks downloading some system responsibilities on the subject. This is because digital skills require cultural, political and social contextualisation, for “the exercise of full, active and informed citizenship”. The importance of standardisation of educational pathways for both Digital Literacy and, in an even more urgent way, for the teaching of Media Literacy also emerges. The complexity of a knowledge survey carried out by subjects outside the school world, well present to the authors of this Research, and the difficulties encountered, are an integral part of the knowledge process and analysis and are useful lessons for the purposes of similar future initiatives. Original article and downloadable paper published on the website idmo.it on 14.12.2023
Source : European Digital Skills & Jobs Platform
