8 Ways to Help English Learners Improve Their Digital Fluency

Digital fluency is a skill that some people don’t realize they possess. It’s the recognition that different software applications share the same functions but not always in the same format. It’s an unseen language that exists when we use an app to write, edit a photo, or create a chart.

Digital fluency has a “look,” too: At the most basic level, it includes functions such as open, new, save, copy, and paste. By middle school, students are often familiar with these functions and many more. Ideally, they’re able to type up an essay and use programs to create dynamic presentations with premade templates and curated images.

But that’s not always the case. Digital fluency is an equity issue, especially among English language learners (ELLs), who sometimes face hurdles around language and inexperience with technology. Understanding English helps users grasp what a specific button or selection does. To identify how an ELL might feel when they’re navigating a web browser, change your browser settings to an unfamiliar language and see what you can accomplish.

The same applies to digital arts tools, which have complicated interfaces and can be intimidating for anyone, let alone ELLs. Providing scaffolding to ELLs when they work through an Adobe product, for instance, breaks down the complexity of a robust application, allowing students to use the software and express themselves creatively.

As a high school digital arts teacher, I’m able to impart digital fluency in subtle ways. My goal is for students to learn the workflows that enable them to be creative digital artists. I want them to utilize artistic concepts to express who they are—and along the way, unknowingly familiarize themselves with a universal digital “language.” Here’s how I guide them.

scaffolds and resources that promote digital fluency

Students should begin developing foundational digital literacy skills as early as middle school. In practice, that means possessing the ability to navigate one or two crucial applications. By the time students begin high school, they should ideally be approaching digital fluency. ELLs sometimes face more barriers to achieving the same skill set, and they might begin high school with a digital knowledge deficit.

It helps to remind students that some of their peers might have more experience with, or innate knowledge about, computers and digital arts. Messing up is part of how learning and creativity happen, as are the moments when students get lost in the software and discover a new workflow. Personalized instructions and scaffolds are other important aspects of the learning process, and I utilize both to further assist my ELLs. Try out these strategies when you’re giving a tutorial or assignment presentation to a classroom of digital artists:

1. Display both languages together. Use two languages on the same slide to clarify how something works, while also surfacing more opportunities to refer to English translations. Depending on the placement of graphics, the languages might be side-by-side or top and bottom.
2. Distinguish languages through the use of color. Put Spanish text (or another language) in blue, and English text in black. Otherwise, it’s harder for students to decipher where the translation begins and ends.
3. Break down instructions into small steps. Be visual and literal. Each slide focuses on a specific action. Take a strategic screenshot of a panel, toolbar, or other necessary area. Use labels. Identify what needs to be clicked on or changed. Include a few bullet points or sentences to clarify the action.
4. Don’t translate certain English words. ELLs encounter various interfaces where specific terms reappear, like file, view, format, select all, and so on. These terms need to be part of a student’s vocabulary—once they’re understood, they shouldn’t be translated.
5. Create analog analogies. That teeny triangle next to a button on a toolbar is like a drawer knob: Clicking on it opens up more possibilities related to a particular tool. Similar to a sock drawer, the triangle provides different options: long socks, short socks, thick socks, etc.
6. Create 30-second “how it’s done” micro videos. Show how to do one or two things, such as how to select a layer and how to move it up or down in the layers panel. You don’t need to narrate these videos in your presentations, but do include text in both languages to explain what’s happening.
7. Find explanatory videos on YouTube. There are lots of video tutorials that fit seamlessly into an assignment presentation. Simon Sez IT is one of my favorite resources because it features short, easy-to-follow video series on Google Slides. YouTube also has the ability to turn on subtitles for many languages.
8. Use templates. Lastly, remember that students don’t have to start a project from scratch. Even after they’ve gone over a tutorial, you can point them toward templates within Google, for instance, that populate content into themed looks. By integrating a template, students are still building digital skills, and they’re producing a project that looks more professional.

Why digital fluency opens up opportunities

When ELLs are aided by digital scaffolds and other resources, they gain confidence in their technological abilities. They can attain a level of understanding about the universality of software. This fine-tuned knowledge and digital fluency reduces learning curves and increases adaptability; it helps ELLs navigate an ever-evolving technological world.

The benefits of digital fluency can’t be overstated: Those who are digitally fluent have easier entry points into professional careers. They’re able to harness a powerful tool that transcends any language. In fact, digital fluency is a language in itself. The more that teachers can convey as much, the better.