Cetic.br Debate Reflects on Skills for ICT Usage

Panel featured Divina Frau-Meigs, Ellen Helsper, and Regina de Assis, moderated by Juliana Doretto

The launch of the 2015 editions of the publications ICT Households, ICT Education, and ICT Kids Online Brazil by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) was accompanied last Thursday (3) by a debate with renowned experts on a challenging theme: how children and adolescents can consume and appropriate media and informational content. Organized by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br) of the Brazilian Network Information Center (NIC.br), the meeting was part of the program for the event Media and Information Literacy Week 2016, promoted by UNESCO.

At the opening of the meeting, the counselor of the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br) Luiz Fernando Martins Castro emphasized the relevance of the indicators produced by the surveys of Cetic.br to support public policies. “The work of Cetic.br, recognized by UNESCO, has the fundamental role of collecting and presenting data that will guide actions and propose new work fronts for the Internet in Brazil.”

Alexandre Barbosa, manager of Cetic.br, also highlighted the importance of collecting and producing high-quality, internationally comparable statistics that enable the emergence of more effective public policies based on evidence. “We have demonstrated a persistent scenario of inequality in Brazil in access to ICT, and through the results of the ICT Households, ICT Education, and ICT Kids surveys, highlighted the urgent demand for children and adolescents to develop digital skills,” he said.

By citing some indicators that demonstrate the digital exclusion of children and adolescents in the country, Barbosa pointed out that “in Brazil, 30 million class C, D, and E households are disconnected, and 6 million children and adolescents are not Internet users, with more than 3.5 million never having accessed the Internet.” Regarding access in schools, he mentioned that although 70% of them have Wi-Fi, network access is password-protected for students. For the manager of Cetic.br, given the latent needs, school managers should make a new observation about digital media as well as encourage effective use and appropriation of these technologies.

During the panel, Divina Frau-Meigs (Sorbonne Nouvelle), Ellen Helsper (London School of Economics and Political Science), and Regina de Assis (Ministry of Education), moderated by Juliana Doretto (Cetic.br), addressed crucial issues for media and informational consumption, such as the development of skills, the challenges of their measurement, international experiences and studies, and the formulation of public policies.

Digital skills

According to Ellen Helsper, policies and interventions focus on access to ICT and its infrastructure, but it is necessary to invest in digital skills. More than that, it is also necessary to measure the benefits of ICT for the life and well-being of individuals. “We measure ICT usage instead of skills. We do not know, for example, if someone who searched the Internet found the correct information or ended up on the wrong path.” Helsper highlighted that social inequalities are accentuated in the digital environment, with smartphones as the only Internet access device for a significant part of the population. Social skills and content creation skills are differentials that impact well-being. “We need to discuss what benefits ICT brings and what outcomes are important to us.”

Agreeing, Divina Frau-Meigs stated that “emphasis should not be placed on ICT infrastructure, but on people, learning, and values behind it.” Media and information literacy, in her opinion, is related to human rights, under the umbrella of freedom of expression and the right to privacy, education, and participation. It emerged in a multilateral manner, involving NGOs, educators, companies, and public administration, among other actors. Frau-Meigs also criticized the lack of coordination and dialogue between institutions and governments.

Brazilian scenario

The modest results obtained in the last 20 years of public resource investment in school equipment, teacher training courses, and tablet distribution projects were recalled during the debate by Regina de Assis. Similar to other speakers, she reflected on paradigm shifts. “We have to work on skills, but we also have to work on values. What ethical, political, and aesthetic values do we want to develop with our children and youth? We must adopt paradigm shifts for education, but we also need to work on various fronts.”

Juliana Doretto summarized the participation of the three guests, concluding that: “We still have access issues to be solved, but we should not wait for the resolution of this problem. We need to work on competences, skills, and technical use of ICT, transforming them into tangible results, in well-being, and better working and living conditions. Challenges need to be overcome together,” she emphasized.

Indicators and analysis

Launched during the event, the 2015 survey publications of ICT Households, ICT Education, and ICT Kids Online Brazil are available for download. The books offer analysis and articles on digital exclusion and inequalities in digital literacy; privacy; online risks; ICT adoption in schools; and public policies of ICT and education, among other topics. The debate held to mark the launch of the publications can also be accessed in full at: https://www.youtube.com/NICbrvideos/videos.

This content was automatically translated with the support of artificial intelligence.