DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION 1

Digital Literacy in Child Education

Jazmin Regalado

South Texas College

ORGL-4342-VF1-Organizational Change

Dr. Robert Acosta

October 2, 2022
DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION 2

Abstract

This study examined digital literacy in the classroom for elementary students and the

effectiveness it has had on teachers and students. It provides three articles related to this topic:

case studies on online learning environments during the COVID pandemic, the effect of digital

materials on listening comprehension, and digital tools in child education. By the end of this

research, there will be a better understanding of how the start of COVID had a tremendous effect

on remote learning and the struggles encountered along the process. In addition, it will mention

digital tools that were used in the classroom and what type of work the students had to get done,

as well as the reactions to new digital learning and its motivation on students.
DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION 3

Digital Literacy in Children's Education

Organizational change is a continuous motion where significant components are shifted

as time progresses. The organization needs to adapt to change to grow the workplace and

community around it. Organizational change involves new technology, ways of communicating,

and the preparation it has for children's future learning. With technology becoming more

integrated into today's classrooms, we introduce "digital literacy, " which is now an expectation.

It is the ability to interact, communicate, and create with technology. This paper will explain the

online learning environment during COVID, the effect of digital materials on listening

comprehension skills, and what programs and resources students use starting in kindergarten to

get familiar with digital literacy. This topic is important to discuss because think about how ten

years ago, children's way of knowledge and the resources provided were drastically different

than how it is now. It is interesting to learn what has changed over time and how the

administration expects children to comprehend such advanced technology at a young age.

Education innovation brings changes that improve learning techniques and advance knowledge

within the classroom. In the end, it will go over the findings for each case study that was

researched and opinions on what can be changed for future research.

Literature Review

Online Learning Environments During COVID

The current COVID pandemic going on worldwide has not only affected people's health

but is also changing how students get their education. This article discussed students' learning

progress having a decline in success while being in an online learning environment for the first

time with less supervision. Teachers are motivated to enhance their students' online learning

motivational levels. (Zhonggen. Page 1). Student roles and online learning achievements will be
DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION 4
examined in this study, as well as ways to improve digital literacy and motivation for online

learning. (Zhonggen. Page 2). Digital learning through the beginning of COVID was crucial for

students to learn because they still needed to receive an education. However, since this was such

a drastic change for parents, teachers, and students, it led to students feeling unmotivated and

feeling that they could not achieve learning through these online methods. This led educators to a

research question asking, "How to improve online learning through COVID?" (Zhonggen. Page

4). Researchers did a study by researching databases to look at the usage of digital learning and

the success rate in the last few decades. From what came up, it started in 1999 and up until 2022.

It shows a steady level between 1999 through 2019, but once COVID came about, the years 2020

through 2021 skyrocketed to the top, then in 2022 dropped again. (See Figure 1). As a result of

this trend, the importance of student roles, learning achievements, digital literacy, and motivation

for online learning is highlighted. In Figure 1, the vertical axis (y) indicates the number of

publications in the databases, while the horizontal axis (x) represents the publication years.

(Zhonggen. Page 4).

Effect of Digital Materials on Listening Comprehension

This research was based on a case study of 50 students in 2nd grade at an elementary

school in Turkey. Lessons by teachers were given by digital material in the experimental group

and non-digital material in the control group. (Gezer. Page 1). Listening is a mental activity and

is an innate skill that begins as early as in the womb; of course, as students grow, it progresses. A

way to raise students' motivation in listening education is through technological and digital

materials that must play a part in that process. The research began because the administration

wanted to know if digital materials had a positive effect on students' achievements and whether

they change their interests or motivation. (Gezer. Page 2). Each group had 25 students and was
DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION 5
chosen at random. The data has been collected, diversified, supported, compared, integrated,

generalized, and explained using different quantitative and qualitative data collection tools.

(Gezer. Page 5). Before the study was done, each student was given a personal information form

where it asked personal questions. (See Figure 2). It was revealed that students who were taught

with digital materials had a positive effect, and it seemed to grab their attention more than the

control group. In the digital materials, the students were more engaged because the images and

videos used were based on the student's interests and likes. Two responses we got from the

experimental group were, "I liked the video very much. I was never bored in the lesson. The

lesson was outstanding." and "I would like other lessons to be like that. Because we understood it

better and it would be better." (Gezer. Page 9).

Digital Tools in Childhood Education

This article discussed what digital tools are provided to Kindergarten students in the

classroom and how they put them to use. In addition to expecting students to take ownership of

their learning, tablets also provided an engaging experience that allowed them to explore print

through touch. (Moore. Page 4). A study was done in Adger county by administration and staff

in an area that was secluded from busy cities. It seemed to be an issue with teachers introducing

new technology in the classroom because they were unfamiliar with how it worked. The staff

was men and women ages 40-60, and they tended to want to stick to the old school book and

paper. (Moore. Page 6). Meetings occurred, and they agreed that they needed to educate

themselves more on the advancement of technology and the resources the school would provide

for them to do so. Staff was also given some training on what tools to use with the students and

how to introduce them. IPads were the start of tools installed with learning programs for the

students to use during class time. A project was given and tested out by staff to the students to
DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION 6
create their own digital stories using the digital camera on the iPad and writing through an app

called “Book Creator .”(Moore. Page7). This allowed the students to get creative, and each had a

unique story to tell, all while using technology. Kindergarten children primarily learn through

play, and children now have laptops/Ipad used daily in class. Although these young students may

not have mastered writing skills, they can dive into typing and touch. The keyboards contain all

the alphabet, and in the study that was researched in this article, students would not type in

sentences, but an example used in the article was a student typing ”hggsjeii” (Moore. Page8).

That gives them practice creating complete sentences and constantly viewing the alphabet on the

keyboard or screen.

Findings

The findings of this case study demonstrate that getting your students introduced to

technology at a young age can be a positive turnout. Educators are encouraged to motivate and

encourage their students to an all-digital learning environment. During the COVID-19 pandemic,

digital technology has become a popular tool in and outside of the classroom, which can

gradually improve students' digital literacy. (Zhonggen. 2022). In my classroom setting, I have in

my workplace; there is a large flatscreen T.V that teachers are required to use to show work,

videos, and other important information. That was a massive shock to me because it was written

on the board and in books when I was in school. In the research, it was terrific to see how

preschoolers ages 4-5 were introduced to Ipads and asked to create digital stories. It gave them

the chance to navigate apps and learn words with the touch of a hand. (Moore. 2021). From

experience being a co-teacher for Kindergarten through 3rd grade, students get creative and use

technical thinking skills to create their own stories. When asked to either draw or create on the

Ipads that are provided for them, they become more engaged with each other. The case study of
DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION 7
the digital material with the experimental and control groups concluded that digital materials

positively affect students' understanding of what they listened to and increased their attention and

motivation, which increased their listening skills. In that case study, it was fascinating to see the

results with a more significant attraction to digital learning because it can make the classroom

environment more fun and exciting rather than just sitting in a class for seven hours having a

paper and book lecture. Since the book discusses organizational capacity for change (OCC),

these findings relate to organizational change. Organizational capacity for change can be

conceptualized as an organization's ability to prepare for or respond to increasingly volatile and

unpredictable environmental conditions. (Saylor. Page 19). COVID was the main factor to cause

organizational change that affected educators' teaching and students' learning styles. From one

school year to the next, all students had to shift from in-class lectures to online remote learning,

which was expected from students ages four and up. Teachers were unfamiliar with technology

and how to teach remotely; it was something that teachers had to learn and adjust to because this

was going to be our new reality. Going back to having experience with elementary students, it is

a good feeling to hear your students get excited over lectures because you use videos or have

them log into the laptops to do work. Students will come into class saying, "Ms, can I get my

laptop already?" It is already implemented in their minds that technology is used every day in the

classroom, and they get to learn something new each day. With this device, they are also given

headphone sets where they have to speak for the laptop or Ipad to hear them. It is used when a

student wants to search for something, or specific programs ask the students to answer a

question, but instead of typing it, they have to verbally say it, which is then documented on the

screen.

Conclusion and Future Research

DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION 8
Globally, digital literacy is being considered a mandatory tool for learning in the

classroom for all grade levels. Whether teachers know the technology tools or not they are now

required to learn and adapt to this change of instructing. Digital learning environments open up

new opportunities for learning and ways to communicate with one another. Devices like smart

boards, Ipads, laptops, and audio enhancements are now used daily in the classroom and students

have come to enjoy it very much. For future research it is recommended that teachers all get

required to have more training on staying up to date with classroom technology so that when

students ask for help the teacher knows how to help guide properly. After conducting that

research it is possible to do a study on how well student growth development in technology is

with more advanced teachers who know about digital learning compared to teachers over the age

of 50 who still have trouble understanding change. Other future research can be personalized

learning approaches, because although digital learning is all on devices, some students may learn

better with hands-on learning or even just by reading a book or listening to a lecture. Each child

has their own unique way of grasping information, but with the younger students it is more

popular to use Ipads and laptops because of the learning fun games and apps that are installed. It

is great to see the growth and advancement that technology has had in the classroom and the

outside world, organizational change is a recurring thing that takes place and keeping up with it

is the only way for success. In the future, online learning models can be examined in an

interdisciplinary context during or after pandemics.

DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION 9

References

Drivenes Moore, H. T., & Trysnes, I. (2021). Kindergarteners building a library of their own:
Using apps to make digital stories and work towards lifelong learning in information literacy.
Journal of Information Literacy, 15(3), 4–19. https://doi.org/10.11645/15.3.2825

Gezer, B., & Anilan, H. (2021). The Effect of Digital Materials on Listening Comprehension
Levels of Second Grade Elementary Students. Acta Didactica Napocensia, 14(1), 127–141.

Focusing on Organizational Change. (2012). OER Commons. Retrieved from

http://saylordotorg.github.io/text_focusing-on-organizational-change

Yu, Z. (2022). Sustaining Student Roles, Digital Literacy, Learning Achievements, and
Motivation in Online Learning Environments during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainability
(2071-1050), 14(8), N.PAG. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084388
DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION
10

Figure 1.

The vertical axis (y) indicates the number of publications in the databases, while the

horizontal axis (x) represents the publication years.

DIGITAL LITERACY IN CHILD EDUCATION
11

Figure 2.

This data chart shows the 2nd grade students who were given a personal information

form sheet of questions to answer before the experiment was conducted.