A Parent Handbook on Learning

with Information and Communication Technology

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth
Cataloguing in Publication Data
371.334 Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!:
a parent handbook on learning
with Information and Communication Technology

Includes webography.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7711-4035-8

1. Information technology—Study and teaching.

2. Information technology—Study and teaching—Manitoba.
3. Literacy.
4. Education—Parent participation—Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Manitoba.
Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth.

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth

School Programs Division
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Schools are encouraged to share this document with parents, guardians and communities,
as appropriate.

Any websites referenced in this document are subject to change. Educators are advised to preview
and evaluate websites and online resources before recommending them for student use.

Print copies of this resource can be purchased from the Manitoba Text Book Bureau
(stock number 80549). Order online at <www.mtbb.ca>.

This resource is also available on the Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth
website at <www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/index.html>.

Ce document est disponible en français.

Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!

 Dear Parents/Guardians:
This Handbook provides you with information about new ways your child
is learning in today’s classroom.

Children today live and learn in a world that is different from the world
in which we grew up. Information grows so quickly that the amount of
information in the world is said to double every two years. At this rate,
textbooks, maps, encyclopedias and most printed material can be
outdated by the time they reach our children’s hands.

At the same time, today’s students communicate using technology like

websites, texting, chat, email and blogs.

Even the meaning of literacy has changed. Literacy is not only about reading,
writing, listening, speaking, viewing and representing. It is also about
developing literacy with information and communication technology
(ICT). Our children face an exciting but challenging future. How do we
prepare them to succeed in a world that changes so quickly?

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth has created a developmental

continuum, an assessment tool used by teachers, called Literacy with
Information and Communication Technology Across the Curriculum
to set a path for teachers and students to follow.

Inside this handbook you will see what Literacy with ICT might look like
in your child’s classroom. You will also discover ways that you, as a parent
or guardian can support your child’s use of ICT at home in safe and
responsible ways. By working together, we can all help prepare our children
for the world in which they live.

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1
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
 What Is Literacy
What Is Literacy?
Literacy is being able to read, write, listen, speak, view and represent while thinking critically
and creatively about ideas and information. Literacy enables us to understand ourselves and
the world around us, to interact with others and to share thinking.

What Is ICT?
ICT is more than just computers and keyboarding. ICT is
any Information and Communication Technology that
helps us to find, process and communicate information.
ICT tools include the Internet, cell phones, global positioning systems (GPS),
texting, video games, digital cameras, MP3 players, wikis, blogs and
more. Some of these tools are being used
today in classrooms all over Manitoba,
and will be used even more in the
future to support learning.

2
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
with ICT?
Literacy with ICT
Literacy with ICT consists of critical and creative thinking, ethics and responsibility and
ICT literacy. Literacy with ICT is the ability to find, evaluate, use and share information
by thinking critically, creatively and ethically. It is also about when, why and
how to use ICT in responsible ways.

Literacy with ICT is like a puzzle with three pieces that fit together. All the pieces are
needed to create the whole picture.

Literacy with ICT

Critical
Ethics
and ICT
and
Creative Literacy
Responsibility
Thinking

What Are Critical and Creative Thinking?

- - x
Critical thinking means developing good judgment and making smart
Critical
choices. Creative thinking means being inventive, thinking innovatively
Thinkers
and using imagination.
plan, sort
and organize
information
Why Are Ethics and Responsibility Important?
Our children are citizens of a digital world. Citizenship involves
- - x
responsibilities as well as rights. Our young citizens need to learn how
to use ICT in a safe and responsible way, so that they and our society Creative
won’t be at risk. Thinkers
produce and share
new ideas in
What Is ICT Literacy? new ways

ICT literacy, one component of Literacy with ICT, is the ability to

demonstrate ICT skills such as managing electronic files and folders.

3
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
 Why does my child need to develop
Literacy with ICT?
The world is not the same place it was a generation ago. Students today
routinely use ICT that we only dreamed of back then. Using these tools
under teacher supervision, students in Manitoba have access to much
of the information that exists in the world today! While that sounds
fantastic (and it is), it does create some challenges. How do students
sort through what is good information and
what is not? How do they figure out whether
the information they find is current, accurate
and fair? How can they make sense of it all?
These are key questions we ask ourselves while
living in an information age.

Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum provides

a framework for teachers to follow when planning
learning and when assessing student literacy with ICT.
Students are also taught how to self-assess their own literacy
with ICT.

It is predicted that most people will have 10 to 14 jobs by the time they are 40 years old. So,
we need to be sure that children are prepared to learn new skills as they move through life.
As children increase their literacy with ICT, they learn how to learn.

Why do
volcanoes
erupt?

4
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
What does Literacy with ICT
look like?
Here are some examples of what you might see children do as they develop their
literacy with ICT from Kindergarten through Grade 12.

Critical and Ethics and ICT

Creative Thinking Responsibility Literacy

▲ ask ‘how’ and ‘why’ ■ show respect as they ● insert and edit words,
questions work with others to numbers, pictures, sound
gather information or to and movies
▲ make a plan to find create electronic work
answers to their ● find efficient ways
questions ■ follow guidelines that through websites
help keep them safe
▲ know how to find while communicating ● manage electronic files
information to answer electronically and folders
their questions
■ ask permission and give ● select and use digital
▲ figure out if the credit to authors when cameras and other ICT
information they find they want to use their
is true and trustworthy work

▲ choose the best tools ■ use ICT only at the right

to create their electronic times and in the right
work places

▲ communicate with others ■ show confidence and

electronically interest in learning
with ICT
▲ seek and share feedback
about their learning

5
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
 How will my child develop
Your child will develop literacy with ICT in the classroom with his or her own teacher.
Literacy with ICT is not a separate subject. Students will develop their literacy
with ICT at the same time as they learn how to read, write, calculate, and explore
literature, science and social studies.

ra c y
t e
L i Reflect

Communicate

Produce
to Show
Understanding

Gather and
Make Sense

Plan and
Question
Critical and
Creative Thinking

6
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
Literacy with ICT?
Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum is built on nine Big Ideas. There are
five Big Ideas focused on critical and creative thinking. There are four Big Ideas
focused on ethics and responsibility.

with
IC
Ethics and
Responsibility
T
Social
Implications

Motivation and
Confidence

Collaboration

Ethics and
Responsibility

7
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
 Critical and Creative Thinking
The five Big Ideas focused on critical and creative thinking are based on a learning process
called Inquiry. Inquiry is a process that we all follow in our daily lives, though we may not even
be aware of it. To guide their learning in any subject, students follow this process:

What does Inquiry look like?

What
should I make
for supper?
Plan and
Question

I won’t put 1 we have a question that we

tomatoes in want answered and we create
a plan for how we are going
the salad to find an answer
next time!
Gather and
Reflect Make Sense
Inquiry
5 we make changes after we 2 we research and gather
consider feedback from others
a process for learning information, decide if what
where students investigate we find fits and then
real world questions organize it
and construct their own
understanding of how
the world works

Communicate
Produce to Show
4 we share our product with others Understanding
to get their feedback
3 we use our information
to produce something
that shows we have
found our answer

8
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
Ethics and Responsibility
The four Big Ideas focused on Ethics and Responsibility are also an
- - x
important part of the inquiry process.
Digital
Children show us every day that they know how to use ICT. However, Citizenship
they might not always use ICT responsibly and safely. Being a good using ICT safely
‘digital citizen’ is vital in the 21st century. Children need to understand and responsibly
copyright, the true costs of downloading “free” music and movies and
the far-reaching consequences of what they do and say while using the
Internet. They need guidance from teachers and from their parents
to be sure that they are always thinking about their own safety, and the
safety of others.

Literacy with ICT provides our children with the skills and knowledge they
need to take part in inquiry. Children learn to be critical consumers of
information and to be creative producers of information in ways that
they find relevant and powerful. This motivates them to learn more about
the world around them, to share with others and to see different points of
view. Children are not limited to collaborating within their own classroom,
but can work with others around the world! Of course, we want to ensure
that our children use this ability in ways that give them the confidence
they need to succeed in life.

N
Ethics & Responsibility

Motivation &
Confidence

W E
Social
Implications

Collaboration
S

9
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
 How will I find out about my child’s
Literacy with ICT?
Manitoba schools are beginning to report on student literacy with ICT. Your child’s school
will report to you about three aspects of his or her literacy with ICT:

● demonstrates critical thinking with ICT to plan and gather information

● demonstrates creative thinking with ICT to produce and communicate information

● demonstrates ethics and responsibility with ICT

Each school or division creates report cards that meet the needs of its community. This
means that the method of reporting a student’s literacy with ICT may look different from
school to school. No matter what the format, Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum will
be part of your child’s report card in Grades 2, 4, 6 and 8. If your school/school division
chooses, you may see reporting at other grades as well. The information on the report
card is only a small part of how a teacher assesses your child’s literacy with ICT. Some of
the important aspects of classroom-based assessment that support student learning are
shown below.

Criteria Descriptive Reflection

together, teachers Feedback students think
and students students receive information about what and
describe what about what they need to how they
high quality work do more of, and less of, learn
looks like to produce quality work

10
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
Ways Teachers Assess
Literacy with ICT
There are three important ways to assess students’ literacy with ICT:
observations, conversations and portfolios.

Observations

Throughout the school year, teachers use

inquiry to focus their observations of how
your child is learning. This helps both the
teacher and child set goals for further
learning that can be shared with you.

Assessment:
Gathering information about
what a student knows,
is able to do and
is learning to do

Conversations Portfolios

Assessing literacy with ICT involves A portfolio shows evidence of your child’s
setting learning goals, building criteria learning within each subject. At the same
and giving and getting feedback. time, your child can identify samples of
These conversations may be shared work that demonstrate literacy with ICT.
between students, between teacher Items selected may contain text, audio,
and student or be self-reflective. They video, data and graphics. Items can be
may also be student-led conferences accompanied by self-reflection. When
involving parents. This last type of your child shows you samples of work,
conversation is an important part of you can celebrate what he or she knows
reporting to you about your child’s and is able to do responsibly with ICT,
literacy with ICT. as a critical and creative thinker.

11
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
 SUPPORT my child’s
How can I
Literacy with ICT at home?
When your child uses ICT at school, he or she is supervised by teachers. However, it’s up to you
to supervise your child’s use of ICT in your home or in the community. Start by talking with
your child about what learning is taking place in school and about how he or she can use ICT
to think critically, creatively and ethically during learning.

Encourage your child to think critically by providing a wide variety of information sources,
such as websites, television documentaries, interviewing Elders/local experts and trips to the
library. Ask questions! For example, you may ask

● how many different sources of information did you find?

● where did you find the information?

● how do you know the information is reliable?

These conversations will help your child to develop critical thinking skills.

Encourage your child to think creatively about innovative ways to share his or her knowledge
with others. With ICT, your child can produce animations, videos, photos, pictures, text and
audio recordings to name but a few!

How many
different sources Where
of information did you find
did you find? the information?

How do you
know the
information
is reliable?

12
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
How can I keep my child
SAFE when using ICT?
Talk with your child about your expectations around the use of ICT at your home, at friends’
homes, or with mobile devices, such as cell phones and MP3 players. Just as you watch
television with your child, spend time surfing the Internet with your child. The more you
learn about what your child is doing with these tools, the better you will be able to keep
him or her safe.

Be sure that your child is comfortable in coming and talking with you about any problems
experienced online without having to worry about losing access to these tools. Fear of
losing access to ICT may prevent children from sharing what is really going on in
their ‘digital’ lives.

It is important to remember that the Internet can be a safe place for children to learn and
play. Following the guidelines below and using common sense will keep your child safer
during travels along the information highway.

● If you have a computer, keep it in

a high traffic area of your home.
Children at any age should never have
access to the Internet in their bedrooms.

● Information shared online may not remain private.

Be sure that your child is not sharing personal
information, such as his/her full name, address or
phone number with others online.

● Children should never agree to meet

someone in person with whom they have
only “met” or talked with online.

● Ask your child to tell you about any online

conversations with others that made him or
her feel uncomfortable or frightened.

13
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
 SAFETY and ICT continued…

● Ask your child to tell you if he or she is

being bullied. Bullying, whether online
or in person, is unacceptable.

● Have your child sign an agreement about your expectations for

using the Internet. This agreement should set out clear rules
for behaviour and consequences of not living up to those rules.

● Set limits to how much time your child

spends on the Internet, television and
video games. It is important to stay
physically active to be healthy!

● Remind your child that what is done on the Internet

does not disappear after logging off. Photos, videos,
texting and email can be reproduced and cannot be
erased once shared with others.

● Always have updated anti-virus software

active on your computer. Tell your child to be
wary of accepting files through texting and
email. Never open unexpected attachments.
These can contain viruses that will allow
others to access your computer.

Turn to the “Helpful Resources” page to find out where to get more
information about online safety.

14
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
What is online
SOCIAL NETWORKING?
Do you know if your child participates in social networking online?
- - x
Social networks such as MySpace, Piczo, Bebo, Facebook, Friendster
and Webkinz are the places where many tweens and teens spend Social
a lot of their free time online. Networking
websites allow
Why are social networking websites attractive? They provide a free place users to create their
to quickly set up a simple web page to share with others. Members have own profiles and
to communicate
the ability to share a little or a lot about themselves on their page, with others who
including pictures and video. They can then ‘network’ with their friends use the same tool
through texting and can leave comments on their friends’ pages.

Young people use online social networks to talk with their friends and,
unfortunately, sometimes with strangers. Ask your child about these sites
and you may be surprised to hear that he or she has already created
a profile on one or more of these social networking sites.

For more information, visit <www.internet101.ca/>

15
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
 What is TEXTING?
Children often communicate through text messaging using what may appear to be
a foreign language! Texting is a type of shorthand used with such programs as MSN, Gtalk
and Yahoo Chat, as well as through cell phones. How can you decode this ‘language’?
Here is a guide to some common abbreviations that you may see when your child talks
with others online.

CU
2NITE?

ILL CHK
W MY
MOM

LOL laugh out loud A/S/L age/sex/location

IDK I don’t know RUMORF are you male or female?
IDC I don’t care AFK away from keyboard
ROFL rolling on the floor laughing CU see you
BTW by the way BBL be back later
BRB be right back WTG way to go
POS parent over shoulder P911 parents in the room,
watch what you say

16
Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!
Helpful Resources
Talk with your child’s teacher or principal if you need more information about
Literacy with ICT. Below are some other resources that can answer your questions
and help you participate in developing your child’s literacy with ICT.

Canadian Centre for Child Protection. CyberTip.ca; Canada’s National Tipline.

http://cybertip.ca/en/cybertip/information_for_parents/
The parents’ page offers a discussion of cybersafety issues and a list of resources.
Phone: 204-945-5735

Child Find Ontario. Stay Alert, Stay Safe.

www.sass.ca/resparen.htm
A list of resources for parents can be viewed online, or downloaded and printed.
Phone: 866-543-8477

Hoffer, Eric. Reflections on the Human Condition.

1st ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1973.

Manitoba Association of Parent Councils (MAPC)

www.mapc.mb.ca/
MAPC offers parent seminars on Parenting the Net Generation.
Phone: 204-956-1770

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth.

Literacy with ICT Across the Curriculum. Winnipeg, 2004-7.
www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/tech/lict/index.html
This is the official website of the Literacy with ICT initiative.
Phone: 866-626-4862

Media Awareness Network. Be Web Aware.

www.bewebaware.ca/english/default.aspx
Offers general information about the Internet, safety tips by age and more.
Phone: 800-896-3342

RCMP. Internet 101.

www.internet101.ca/en/parents.php
The “Tools for Parents” section of this site contains basic information and
videos that can be viewed online or downloaded (very large files).
Phone: 800-896-3342

For more text messaging abbreviations, visit:

Chat Translator - Teen Angels site - www.teenangels.org/

Alphabetical guide to IM Lingo - Webopedia -

www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp

Net Lingo - www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm

Literacy with ICT IS FOR ME!

 Produced by
Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth
2008