A ground-breaking educational program for Australian students to build digital skills and competencies has been launched by national children’s not-for-profit, The Alannah & Madeline Foundation, in partnership with international digital intelligence think tank, The DQ Institute, and supported by global technology leader, Accenture Australia.
The eSmart Digital Licence+ offers an exciting learning experience for students aged 10-14 years to explore an interactive story world and engage with learning material, relatable scenarios and guided reflections of the students’ own experiences with technology to build digital intelligence. The rollout of the program is timely, with the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) announcing the inclusion of digital literacy to the general capabilities under the Australian curriculum.
This is in addition to Reforms to NAPLAN assessments, which will see Year 6 and Year 10 students in Australia being tested on digital literacy from 2024, if the school opts in. Aligned to the Australian curriculum and the DQ Global Standards for Digital Intelligence, the Digital Licence+ is designed to build the knowledge and skills of students across the following areas:
• balanced technology use
• cyber risk management
• cyber security
• digital emotional intelligence
With a modern learning approach, the Digital Licence+ supports the development of important social and emotional skills in the middle years and assists educators to cater for different learning levels. The Foundation’s CEO, Ms Sarah Davies AM, says the partnership with Accenture and the DQ Institute enables the Foundation to harness the power of the DQ Global Standards and deliver world class digital intelligence education. “The support from Accenture and DQ Institute will enable us to bridge the digital divide which contributes to inequity in education and limits future opportunities for so many children,” Davies says.
“This ground-breaking partnership will ensure the next generation will be able to be part of the global economy. The Digital Licence+ addresses the digital skills gap.” A targeted rollout offering access to Digital Licence+ at no cost to select schools aims to address the digital divide in regions with low socio-economic status and low levels of digital inclusion, based on the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII).
“The eSmart Digital Licence+ program offers students the opportunity to grow. It delivers real- time data analytics and reports their results,” Davies says. “It also offers educators insight into student performance, providing a dashboard and reports for easy tracking of student progress and caters for different learning levels. Students are offered the opportunity to progress through learning materials at their own pace, with access to a toolkit of recourse to support their journey and educators are supported with a suite of resources to enhance learning outcomes.” The Digital Licence+ applies best practice in achieving student learning outcomes, drawing on the strengths of students, teachers and parents to create a triad of learning. Digital Licence+ is part of the Foundation’s eSmart suite of programs that helps schools maintain a supportive and connected community to reduce online and offline harms, including bullying, and increase wellbeing.
For more information about the Digital Licence+ program, or to see if your school is eligible to receive Digital Licence+ at no cost, visit digitallicenceplus.org.