After five fascinating years, we are closing our doors. Here are some things we've learnt... Since 2017, we at The Digital Life Skills Company CIC have been researching and teaching Digital Information Literacy (DIL) skills to children, young people and - more recently - adults. Through interactive workshops and webinars we’ve shown pupils, parents, adult [...]
The misinformation myths every school needs to bust In the five years we’ve been teaching children and teens how to evaluate digital information, we have found pupils using a variety of evaluation techniques that simply don't work. Some of this is down to our very human biases and some down to misguided approaches being used [...]
In the lead up to an election political misinformation and disinformation are widespread online. What advice can we give young people - soon to be voters - about accessing reliable information? These tips will help equip them - and all of us - to make informed decisions. Find the source Don’t trust something just because [...]
In the summer term The Digital Life Skills Company ran 10 'Digital Thinking Skills' workshops in primary and secondary schools across the region, supported by an RSA Catalyst grant. Feedback from schools in Manchester, Stockport, Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent showed online skills had improved after just one session. There was a high level of appreciation and [...]
Childhood has become increasingly commercialised as young people spend more time online, inside and outside school. The average person is estimated to see a whopping 5,000 adverts every day. These activities will help your students develop a healthy scepticism towards the marketing content that permeates their online world. Invite your class to share examples of [...]
Games, videos, news stories, social media posts and memes. Online advertisers often disguise their marketing messages as entertainment or information. You may know the difference, but do children? Online advertisers are using increasingly sophisticated marketing techniques, making it harder for young people to recognise when they are being sold to. The Advertising Standards Authority currently [...]
Advertising online is often disguised, making it tricky for young people to recognise when they are being sold to. Promotions often appear in the form of a game, quiz, competition, video, social media post or news story. Here are the tell-tale signs to help you and your kids detect adverts online. 1. Ad labels which [...]
Our children are “the most marketed to generation in history”, but they can develop a critical eye for commercial content. Here's how: Talk about the adverts they have spotted online. Find out which adverts your child has seen online. Which do they like? Which don’t they like, and why? Point out the various places that [...]
This Safer Internet Day, the best thing you can do it to get curious about your child's digital life. The single, most important thing you can do is to talk - and to listen - to them. As they go online, they may well be exposed to unkind behaviour, inappropriate content, or contact with people they [...]
One of the questions we hear most often from parents is "what is the right age for a child to get their first smartphone"? The truth is, there is no "right" age to give a child a smartphone. There is, however, plenty that can be done to help your child avoid the potential pitfalls when [...]