Digital literacy was the focus Wednesday for business students at Chippewa, Widdifield and West Ferris.

A ‘cyber day’ event was held at Canadore College with coding and digital labour market demands covered, there was a panel discussion with experts currently working in the Information and Communication Technology sector, plus there was an e-commerce and marketing challenge.

Grade 12 West Ferris Secondary School student Hunter Jeff says students learned there’s a big demand for digital literacy skills at the event.

“You realize maybe this is something I can take an interest in. You never know when I’ll need that skill where that skill is required and I’ll be able to say I have that skill you might need,” she says.

She says students are learning about things like coding and making web sites and are eager to learn and improve their digital literacy.

Nathan Snider is with the Information and Technology Council in Ottawa. He says digital literacy comes up every day and there will be opportunities for students if they develop the skills

“Intelligent Retail, Advanced Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality. They all sound like buzz words in new leading edge technology. The reality is most people don’t realize they end up coming into contact with one of these systems almost on a daily basis,” Snider says.

Filed under: Canadore College, digital literacy, high-school