Media literacy in primary school: new challenges in the digital age

Abstract

There are heated debates occurring around the world about the big changes and huge advances which technology has performed in our society. Digital divide, digital skills, knowledge and network society, unequal resources... These are all concepts we all have in mind when we think about what is happening in our environment with developments in technology. Even more so when we consider thoroughly what is happening in the education of our offspring.Although the new digital environment offers great opportunities and possibilities of constructing knowledge, our society urgently needs different strategies in the educational system to ensure a comprehensive training in the digital age.This essay will deal with the aspects of this new emerging society emphasizing that finding, evaluating and using information will be crucial for our children´s future. The key aspect of this paper is how to empower children in their daily Internet browsing by introducing media literacy at primary school.To this end this paper will present the results of a media literacy project named “Conectados” which introduces media literacy in the classroom using one specific tool: the iPad. With this new device the project tries to enhance the instruction of children between 7-8 years of age, who are in fact daily users of the Internet.