Digital knowledge and skills.

The world is becoming more digital. It is more important that children handle this digital change well. Schools also face this. Tests are digital, a laptop or tablet is needed more often, and there is debate about phone use in class. What role does the school have in teaching media skills to students?

Information everywhere

Children today grow up with digital tools like tablets, laptops, and smartphones. They have easier access to many types of information. Many children find it hard to handle this information. This involves much. Which information is trustworthy? How can you see that? What do you do if you find strange information on the school computer? How do you handle peer pressure in a whatsapp group with class children? How does the school deal with online bullying?

Digital skills

We call the digital knowledge and skills of a student digital skills. So: what do your children know and can do about digitalization and its devices? These skills can be split into parts:

Basic ICT skills: for example, how a laptop, tablet, or smartphone works, how to use it, and how to keep a safe digital space.
Information skills: like saying what you want to know and then searching, judging, choosing, and using information.
Media literacy: what you need to handle information well.
Digital thinking: thinking and explaining how you can solve a problem using the digital world.

Role of the school

There is much debate about the digital world in school. Is it better to ban smartphones? Or is it the school’s job to teach students how to use them? How far does the school’s responsibility go? There is no national rule yet about digital knowledge and skills in education.

The school is not required yet to do anything about this. Lately, there is more attention to this topic. If you want to know what schools can do about digital skills, you can find much information on the Kennisnet website.

Danger or chance?

The digital world can be used in many ways. Is a student on social media during the lesson? Or uses the tablet to search deeper study material? It is important to understand how a school wants to handle the digital world. Is it to support learning? Is it an interactive tool to make lessons lively? Or do students mostly use the tablet to relax? It is useful to ask these questions also at home. Talk about this with your child.

Phone ban

From 1 January 2024, a new national rule takes effect: the phone ban. Secondary students may no longer use mobile phones in class. Tablets and smartwatches are also not allowed during lessons.

More about the phone ban

Media education

It is important to handle media well not only at school but also in raising children. Each year, digital skills are a focus during the week of media literacy. Across the country, you can join meetings, activities, and talks. Want to know more about media literacy in raising children? Visit the websites Mediawijzer or Media literacy.