SteamHead has been accepted to the Digital Learning Accelerator which is supported by the US Department of Education. It is a 4 month program, and we have three educators that will share and develop the MakeFashion Edu program’s focus on advocacy. In a MakeFashion Edu season, students identify issues that they personally care about, research them, and then build fashion tech outfits to represent and call attention to their causes.
This research, which occurs primarily online, of varied topics within a single classroom, is of particular interest to the Department of Education. SteamHead is joined by 9 other organizations that are approaching the issue of digital literacy from different angles for individuals from primary school to adult ages.
The recent propagation of digital sources of information as primary motivator for the opinions and actions of American citizens has gained attention during the COVID pandemic, and SteamHead is proud to researching and developing proposals, and sharing our experience in the arena of digital literacy.
From the U.S. Office of Educational Technology
Goals of the Digital Literacy Accelerator
The Digital Literacy Accelerator has one overarching goal — to identify interventions that have a pathway for improvement and success in the school driven digital literacy space. The interventions should target one of three user groups: Grades 6-9; Grades 9-12; and Adult Learners.
The Digital Literacy Accelerator hopes to accomplish this goal through these specific aims:
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Surface innovative ideas and strategies that support learners in evaluating and combating misinformation and promoting civil discourse in digital spaces, while allowing the most innovative ideas to start a path to success beyond the Digital Literacy Accelerator.
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Provide diverse teams with an opportunity to develop and demonstrate a “proof of concept” of these ideas, by providing teams with access to convenings, experts, and resources to strengthen their skills in design thinking and early phase development.
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Provide tangible early proof points of success in either of two forms: 1) either showing signs of promise for school-driven (in-school, after-school, or at-home) interventions or tools that can move the needle on learners’ digital literacy or 2) key learnings for future iterations for improving skills related to digital literacy.
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Engage and motivate a diverse cadre of postsecondary students and young professionals to address issues related to digital literacy and pursue work in educational technology.