All the media animals in the digital forrest

Now that you know your own animal, maybe you are curious about the other animals? 

The squirrel is an acrobat and has few problems with digital media.

The badger is thorough with digital media and smoothly finds his way in the digital world.

The boar is a digital omnivore, but a creature of habit and likes to keep things simple.

The fox is a true opportunist in the digital world, being purposeful and aware of the dangers of digital media, yet unafraid of them.

The cat has its own perspective on digital things, leaning more towards a negative and critical stance on everything digital.

The rabbit is quite scared of the digital world and uses as little as possible.

The deer lurks on digital networks but shies away from online visibility and digital content creation.

The hedgehog feels overwhelmed and threatened by the fast-paced digital world, using minimal digital media due to lacking skills and knowledge.

The bear has the essential competences and is highly motivated to use digital media, though cautiously, feeling the new things can sometimes be overwhelming.

The wolf is digitally savvy and intelligent but is occasionally misunderstood due to occasional communication gaps.

All animals are different and have their own strenghts and weaknesses. Only by working together in the digital forrest, they can learn from one another and help each other to become more media literate.

We linked the animals to 6 levels of competence of the Digital Competence Framework for Educators (DigCompEdu*).

*DigCompEdu is a framework developed by the European Commission, designed to assess and enhance digital competences among educators by categorizing skills into specific proficiency levels. It serves as a comprehensive guide for educators to navigate the digital landscape and effectively incorporate technology into educational practices.

Punie, Y., editor(s), Redecker, C., European Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators: DigCompEdu , EUR 28775 EN, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2017, ISBN 978-92-79-73718-3 (print),978-92-79-73494-6 (pdf), doi:10.2760/178382 (print),10.2760/159770 (online), JRC107466.

Should I wait until I'm the perfect media literacy teacher?

No matter which animal you are, it's not too late to become more media literate! You don't need to wait until you're an expert in media literacy to get to work in your class. Use the competences you already possess to get media literacy in the classroom! You're more media literate than you think.

As a teacher, there are probably numerous things you’re already doing in your practice about media literacy, but you don’t mark them as such. That's why we want to give you an overview of all topics that can consist of Media literacy (based on DigcompEDU). 

Why media literacy in education?

Media is present in every aspect of our lives. As young people are immersed in a media-saturated environment from an early age, it is important to integrate media literacy into the curriculum. It is not only the responsibility of educators to teach students how to effectively engage with media but also to educate critical thinking skills that are essential for navigating their daily online digital experiences. In this digital age, fostering media literacy gives students the necessary tools to use and understand in a well thought manner.