The Berkeley Language Center
Cordially Invites You to the Upcoming Meeting of Its
Found in Translation (FIT) Working Group
The Digital Citizenship Education Concept for Teaching English in Elementary Schools: Opportunities and Challenges of Social Media
ANNKRISTIN SCHWALB
Visiting Scholar, Berkeley Language Center
Monday, September 18, 2023
Zoom, 11-12pm
Meeting ID: 995 0192 3672 Passcode: FiTTalk
The Council of Europe and the Standing Conference of Educational Ministers of Germany (KMK) both emphasize the importance of digital education for young children. Factors such as socio economic status, education, place of residence, gender, language – to name a few – dramatically influence participation and reinforce the digital divide (Dudeney, Hockly, Pegrum 2014). The tension that arises between curricular demands and the pressing matter of the participation gap was the starting point for this action research project, which uses social media as an age-appropriate tool to start a conversation about DCE with children. In my work, I address the following questions: How well informed are fourth-grade students about social media? What do fourth grade students already know about being, or becoming positive prosumers (cf. Schröder 2016: 209)? To what extent can a developed teaching sequence initiate an awareness of digital citizenship education (DCE) in children? This study is based on quantitative and qualitative data on students’ use of social media and their experiences and perceptions of these