Next year, secondary schools across the whole of the Valencian Community will offer the new optional subject of Digital Culture. The subject will be taught in English and will focus on promoting “the conscious and safe use of social networks among students” in order to combat incidents such as cyberbullying
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports said on Monday that it is preparing the content for this new subject as an optional subject in the ESO stage starting next year. The syllabus will include the whole range of social networks including Instagram. There will also be elements of graphic design in the syllabus and design aids including pre-made layouts featuring graphics and text like the instagram template
A spokesperson from the Ministry said “It is important to promote this subject because we live in a digital world in which technologies have modified our way of relating and communicating, with each other of accessing new opportunities and, of course, of training professionally.”
Likewise, they continue, it is a subject in which it is intended to give “special emphasis to the training of students in regard to the prevention of school cyberbullying, as well to the knowledge of security strategies”.
It will be a subject that will emphasise the “conscious, safe and responsible use of social networks by students and in the prevention of addictive behaviours in their use”. It will also be used to develop capacities for the future of the world of work in the digital age, as well as learning to detect false content and fake news.
As the contents have a direct relationship with the proliferation of information from a global world in which the use of English is dominant, the subject will be taught in that language to ensure contact by students in an established way due to the large proliferation of English content in digital environments.
Therefore, this subject will be taught by teachers who hold a specialty in English in Valencian institutes who may collaborate with the teaching staff of other subjects, such as Graphic design, Technology or Computer Science. Students will work on projects, which will include research, creativity, decision making, the use of strategies and communication in different formats.
There will also be collaboration by an expert research team in transmedia content and digital identity, as well as the advice of experts from the National Police on issues related to cyberbullying and technological crimes, added the Department in it’s statement.
Social Media, Technology, English, Education, Graphic Design, Instagram, News, Spain, Internatuional
