Digital Literacy and STEM Activities

What is Digital Literacy and STEM?

Technology advancements are revolutionizing every aspect of our lives. To thrive, people must understand how to use various technologies effectively to acquire, analyze, communicate, and create information. The collection of TechnoKids technology projects is designed to develop the skills students need today and provide a solid foundation that will guide them to future success. To make learning meaningful, TechnoKids uses a project based framework to integrate digital literacy skills and STEM education into curriculum.

What is Digital Literacy?

Digital literacy is the ability to find, evaluate, create, and communicate information in a digital format. As educators, we have always focused on building literacy in reading and writing. Digital literacy builds on these foundational skills. It is a combination of cognitive skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, and problem solving, and technical skills, such as the use of digital tools, software, and computer systems. Students need this broad collection of competencies to succeed.

What is STEM?

STEM Education is an interdisciplinary approach to learning that combines Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics to solve problems using real-world applications. It is important, not only because STEM careers are growing, and these skills are in demand. But also because the next generation of innovators must be able to combine knowledge from multiple disciplines.

STEM Education

Prepare Your Students for the Future

TechnoKids uses project-based learning to promote scientific inquiry, mastery of technology tools, advancement of computer engineering, and the application of mathematical reasoning. Interwoven throughout each project is an emphasis on creative artistic expression.


Scientists, technology experts, engineers, and mathematical thinkers will shape the products and services of tomorrow. STEM education places a focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The primary goal of blending these disciplines into curriculum is to provide students with the knowledge and skills required to pursue STEM related careers. TechnoKids supports STEM education. Here's how...

  1. Establish an awareness of STEM related careers:
    Through role play, students assume professions such as game designer, web developer, statistician, database administrator, financial analyst, or computer support specialist. These real-world learning opportunities encourage the pursuit of STEM occupations.

  2. Form a diverse skill set required to succeed in a complex workplace:
    Using an interdisciplinary approach, students blend learning from multiple subject areas to manage projects, synthesize vast amounts of information, collaborate with others, and disseminate information effectively. The ability to combine concepts and skills is essential for success in STEM careers.

  3. Combine technology with professional skills:
    Computer-based tasks include opportunities for students to enhance communication, leadership, teamwork, time management, goal setting, and self-monitoring skills. These are life skills that are necessary to compete in the workplace.

  4. Prepare students for the workplace of tomorrow:
    Project-based activities encourage the transfer of learning. The ability to adapt existing knowledge and skills to new situations is key to thriving in STEM jobs that have not yet been invented.

TechnoKids Supports STEM Education

Science
The S in STEM stands for Science. It is the cornerstone of STEM education. This is because the scientific method is a logical way to solve problems and can be applied to most learning experiences.

TechnoKids interdisciplinary projects includes lessons that support inquiry-based skill development. Our instructional materials:

  • Promote scientific inquiry:
    Thought provoking challenges invite students to ask questions, formulate a plan to guide inquiry, collect data, interpret findings, and present conclusions. This process develops the analytical skills needed to excel in STEM careers.

  • Improve research skills:
    Meaningful tasks encourage students to conduct primary research by recording first-hand experiences or secondary research by reviewing the work and findings of others. Being able to investigate a topic efficiently and critically is necessary for future endeavors.

  • Apply technological problem solving:
    Open-ended activities empower students to tackle real world problems. They create tools, test the design, modify the process, communicate the outcome, and make recommendations for improvements. The capacity to invent creative solutions is required in STEM occupations.

  • Expand scientific knowledge:
    Personalized learning allows students to pursue an area of interest. They develop a deeper understanding of science concepts by investigating environmental issues, timeline of significant scientific findings, or the interconnectedness of human activity. This inquiry can jumpstart the pursuit of careers in STEM-related industries.
Technology

The T in STEM stands for Technology. Technology is the software application or programming language used to complete a task.

TechnoKids projects include lessons that develop digital literacy and coding skills. Students learn how to apply Google Docs and Microsoft Office applications to solve a problem. They also gain programming expertise by designing websites, games, and animations using ScratchJr, Scratch, Python, and HTML. Our curriculum helps students:

Engineering
The E in STEM stands for Engineering. Engineers invent. They solve real world problems, improve everyday systems, and think outside the box to make innovative devices. When students engage in hands-on learning to design, analyze, build, and test their ideas, they are developing foundational engineering skills.

TechnoKids projects target different types of engineers. Our instructional materials:

Arts

Some educators say STEM, while others say STEAM. The A in STEAM stands for Arts. At TechnoKids, we think the Arts are a critical part of STEM education. This is because creative thinking is the spark required to discover novel solutions, propose original ideas, or improve processes. Plus, artistic design is interwoven throughout most STEM projects.

TechnoKids tasks apply students' creativity. The fun activities:

Mathematics
The M in STEM stands for Mathematics. This includes mathematical practices such as analyzing, calculating, and manipulating data. Moreover, it extends to logical and computational thinking skills.

TechnoKids cross-curricular projects introduce students to digital tools such as spreadsheets and databases for data analysis. Our instructional materials also include programming tasks. The detailed lessons: