Dan Misener: Merit badges for online privacy? Mozilla soon might give you one

Online Privacy

Growing up, I was never a Scout.

I never earned merit badges for canoeing, or pioneering, or fire safety.

But soon, I may be able to earn badges for "web mechanics" or "online privacy." Not from Scouts Canada, but through a series of projects by Mozilla, makers of the open-source Firefox web browser.

This Friday, the Mozilla Foundation plans to unveil a beta version of its Web Literacy Standard.

Basically, it's a list of skills and competencies they believe are important for anyone who wants to read, write and interact with others on the web.

We often talk about "digital literacy" or "web literacy" -- especially in the context of children and formal education -- but it's not always clear exactly what those terms mean. Mozilla wants to clarify.

According to project lead Doug Belshaw, there's great work going on in the field of web literacy. He points to online tools, programs in libraries and schools, and informal education through non-profit groups.

"There's so many fantastic groups doing some awesome work," he says, "but it's all in silos and it's not joined up."

Dan Misener: Merit badges for online privacy? Mozilla soon might give you one | CBC News