Digital Content and the Common Core

Common Core Standard 7 says students should be able to "integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words."

Anchor Standard 6 in writing says students should "use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others." And Anchor Standard 8 says students should "gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism."

In writing, even the youngest students are asked to "explore a variety of digital tools." The grade-level standards tend to say "print and digital" sources for writing, rather than giving educators an out by saying "print or digital" as they do in reading.

The speaking and listening standards also refer to digital tools more explicitly. Anchor Standard 5 says students should "make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations." Third graders are asked to "create engaging audio recordings of stories or poems," and high school students are asked to "make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations."