NCTE 2021

Digital literacies are the technical skills and social practices needed to effectively interact with digital technologies; as such, they are key 21st century skills. As English language teachers, we are helping our students to communicate in a global lingua franca in an increasingly wired world. We need to ensure that they are given not just the linguistic tools to do so, but an awareness of the wider social practices surrounding the appropriate use of language which is increasingly being mediated by technology.
It is imperative for teachers to not only understand and develop their own digital literacy skills, but to help students develop theirs. This workshop looks at some of the theory underpinning digital literacies, and explores how teacher training courses can address them. We also consider the challenges involved in operationalising digital literacies in the classroom, and what this means for teaching in the 21st century.