Literacy with Information and Communications Technology (LWICT)

LWICT Curriculum Information and Documents

The GNWT is committed to providing guidelines for infusing technology across the NWT curriculum. This includes cooperation with education bodies to support teachers and students in the use of the continuum called, "Literacy with Information and Communication Technology" (LWICT).

Today, technology is a part of almost every aspect of life and learning. Technology enables work and communication for business and pleasure often with a strong emphasis on hardware, software, portable devices and apps. However, it is not enough for students to be merely "ICT literate." Twenty-first century citizens need a broader literacy that guides the use of these tools and applications. This "literacy with ICT" includes "learning about and choosing ICT to critically, creatively, and ethically use, produce, and communicate meaning."

ICT is best infused into inquiry processes across the K to 12 curriculum such as:

  • planning and questioning;
  • gathering and making sense;
  • producing to show understanding; and
  • communicating and reflecting.

These critical and creative acts will be strongly influenced by affective considerations of ethical and responsible use, implications for society, collaboration, and personal metacognition, motivation, and confidence.

While this K-12 perspective of ICT-supported inquiry de-emphasizes the teaching of ICT merely as a set of skills, it does not in any way minimize the need for more technically oriented Career and Technology Studies (CTS) at the high school level. Neither does this perspective minimize the need for "good technique" and facility that yields greater clarity and artistry.

Through education and practice, students will learn:

  • how to critically, creatively, and ethically use a variety of information and communication technologies to problem solve, make decisions, inquire, collaborate, demonstrate, and communicate;
  • how technology applications and systems often have similar designs and functions that can be learned and the knowledge transferred to new devices and contexts;
  • how ICT can positively impact relationships; and
  • how to determine which processes, tools and techniques are appropriate for various contexts.

Curriculum Documents: