top of page

What is Digital Destiny? 

Digital Destiny provides a knowledge basis about how to work with societal issues in the classroom. Digital Destiny introduces a set of learning tools and methods to use with students between the age of 6-10 in a blended learning environment, offering a connection between school and home that focuses on the integration of societal issues in the classroom. 

The online learning platform consists of 5 modules. Each module explains a principle through an introductory paragraph, a short video where you learn more about the principle, some reflection exercises, a list of teaching materials and additional information on the topic.

The video below explains the basic concepts of Digital Destiny with additional information below the video.

Top overview

The framework

 

The Digital Destiny Framework provides a basis for teachers to integrate societal issues into their existing curriculum, by using a set of pedagogical principles as a basis for learning. This set of principles in the framework will support teachers in thinking about, developing and creating thoughtful and carefully designed learning experiences for their students in an open and safe classroom environment.  

 

In this learning environment teachers offer learners opportunities to develop the competence to act as resilient and conscious citizens. Digital Destiny supports educators to create this ESD-experimental environment’ where learners learn from experiences with societal issues and mistakes are understood as opportunities from which to learn. 

Sustainable development 

 

Sustainable development is a concept that focuses on meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It involves balancing social, economic, and environmental considerations to ensure that development is sustainable over the long term. 

To make sustainable development concrete, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They are a set of 17 goals for humanity that address a range of challenges related to sustainable development, including poverty, inequality, climate change, and environmental degradation. 

The SDGs cover a wide range of issues and are intended to be universal, meaning that they apply to everyone. They are interconnected and interdependent to each other, which means that one SDG can support the progress of another. 

Overall, sustainable development and the SDGs are closely related. Sustainable development is the broader concept, while the SDGs are a specific set of goals that aim to promote sustainable development around the world. By working towards the SDGs, countries and individuals can contribute to the broader goal of sustainable development. 

Education for Sustainable Development 

 

Sustainable development makes its way into the classroom through Education for Sustainable Development. Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is an approach to education that focuses on promoting the knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that are necessary to create a sustainable world and empower students to make that choice. This includes understanding the environmental, social, and economic challenges facing the world today and developing the skills and knowledge needed to address these challenges. 

 

Blended learning 

 

Blended learning is an approach to education that combines online learning with traditional face-to-face instruction. In the context of education for sustainable development, blended learning can be an effective way to engage students and provide them with the knowledge and skills they need to become responsible global citizens. 

Some examples: 

  • A quiz tool in your classroom to check the opinions and knowledge of your students. 

  • A collaborative digital whiteboard to let students work together in groups in the classroom and share it with the home. 

  • A digital spinning wheel to choose a topic to work on.

  • ...

Blended learning can be a valuable tool for promoting ESD. By combining online learning with traditional instruction, blended learning can provide students with a more flexible and personalized learning experience. This can be particularly effective for ESD, as it allows students to learn at their own pace, work closely together and to focus on the topics and issues that are most relevant to them. 

How to make things blended?

 

A great way to know which digital tool you can integrate in your daily class practice, is the SAMR-model. The SAMR model is a four-level taxonomy for selecting, using and evaluating technology in education. When using a digital tool in the classroom, try describing and categorising the tool using the SAMR model.  

These four levels are:  

  • Substitution: the technology is a direct substitute for a traditional method, without a functional change.  

  • Augmentation: the technology is a direct substitute for a traditional method, but with a functional change. 

  • Modification: the technology allows for a significant task redesign that goes beyond the traditional classroom methods.  

  • Redefinition: the technology allows for creating new tasks, previously inconceivable to make entirely new learning opportunities possible. 

Keep in mind, you don't always need to redefine your students' learning. You might only need to make a few minor technological adjustments to an already successful teaching strategy to see a change!  

  • What do you hope to accomplish by utilizing this technology? 

  • What impact will it have on my students' learning? 

  • Are my students capable of working with this technology?  

  • How much time will I need to devote to making it function? 

Digital Inclusion and Digital Destiny 

 

In Digital Destiny, we also pay attention to digital inclusive work, which refers to actions and solutions needed to prevent digital exclusion so that everyone can fully participate in the digital society. With the focus on low threshold blended learning tools, children get acquainted with the digital tools at an early age. We focus on collaborative learning in the working methods, students learn from each other to work with those digital tools. Access in schools to digital materials isn’t enough. There are three other conditions to be met, where we work on their skills in Digital Destiny, try to promote a supportive network in the school and beyond and create learning materials with focus on inclusion by design.  

Some tips to work on digital inclusion

  • Use straightforward language: make sure your message is immediately clear both offline and online every time.   

  • Offer help: when students or parents don’t know how certain online tools work, install a quick and easy workshop. Use a buddy system where possible to let peers help each other.  

  • Think about the smartphone: vulnerable groups are more likely to have a smartphone than a computer. When you’re doing an exercise outside the classroom, focus on the smartphone.

 

More resources

bottom of page