Cartoon representation of four people using social media tools to communicate.
Image by Joseph Mucira from Pixabay

Digital Literacy

Newsletter Writing and Yearbook Publication

Technology and Writing at YouthBuild McLean County

In Illinois, students graduating from high school are required to complete one year of courses that provide intensive instruction in digital literacy skills (See Illinois State Board of Education Secondary Education Requirements).  To ensure every YouthBuild student has an opportunity to meet this requirement, two English courses (1 credit total) will provide two sememsters of online composition.

Newsletter and Yearbook Courses

Cartoon images of newsletter, e-mail on a laptop screen, a magnifying glass, and a smartphone.
Image by talha khalil from Pixabay 

In the Newsletter Writing Course, students learn to create collaborative online projects using Google Docs, Slides, and Sites.  This is designed as an introductory digital literacy course for those students who want to better understand how to use core Google applications in order to share topics of interest.

Twelve hand-drawn cartoon cameras in various styles and colors.
Image by Jozef Mikulcik from Pixabay

In the Yearbook Publishing Course, students go into deeper depth with Google apps, with a focus on researching and sharing the daily activities taking place at YouthBuild.  In addition to collaborating with Docs, Slides, and Sites, students will also learn to use Forms and Sheets to collect information and analyze data to better engage with a community.