What is LwICT?
The Literacy with ICT Big Ideas and Guidelines
Your child will develop literacy with ICT in the classroom with his or her own teacher. Literacy with ICT is not a separate subject. Students will develop their literacy with ICT at the same time as they learn how to read, write, calculate, and explore literature, science and social studies.
Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum is built on five Big Ideas and two sets of Guidelines.
- The five Big Ideas focus on critical and creative thinking and the learning process
- The two sets of guidelines focus on health and safety and ethics and responsibilities
The image below shows the relationship between the five big ideas of the learning process
- Question and Plan
- Gather and Make Sense
- Produce to Show Understanding
- Communicate
- Reflect
and the two sets of guidelines. The Health and Safety guidelines are foundational and form the basis upon which learning takes place. The Ethics and Responsibilities guidelines are at the core and are infused throughout the learning process.
Critical and Creative Thinking
The five Big Ideas focused on critical and creative thinking:
- plan and question
- gather and make sense
- produce to show understanding
- communicate
- reflect
are based on a learning process called Inquiry.
Inquiry is a process that we all follow in our daily lives, though we may not even be aware of it. To guide their learning in any subject, students follow this process:
Health and Safety Guidelines and Ethics and Responsibilities Guidelines
Guidelines focus on both Health and Safety and Ethics and Responsibilities and are also an important part of the inquiry process.
Children show us every day that they know how to use ICT. However, they might not always use ICT safely, ethically and responsibly. Being a good 'digital citizen' is vital in the 21st century. Children need to understand copyright, the true costs of downloading "free" music and movies and the far-reaching consequences of what they do and say while using the Internet. They need guidance from teachers and from their parents to be sure that they are always thinking about their own safety, and the safety of others.
Literacy with ICT provides our children with the skills and knowledge they need to take part in inquiry. Children learn to be critical consumers of information and to be creative producers of information in ways that they find relevant and powerful. This motivates them to learn more about the world around them, to share with others and to see different points of view. Children are not limited to collaborating within their own classroom, but can work with others around the world! Of course, we want to ensure that our children use this ability in ways that give them the confidence they need to succeed in life.