Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

I predict that, when the discourse about youth & new media is less about fear and control and more about literacy, a learning renaissance will be unleashed.

We all – young people and everybody who works with them – are learning what that looks like: skilled navigation of a networked world. We’re also working out what the skills are, how to teach them and what kind of environment (home, school and media environment) support that learning.

As a society, we’ve only just begun working the problem. The first 15 or so years of the public discussion about youth Internet safety has been much more about protecting children from new media than about helping them learn to navigate it successfully (including safely).