{"id":580,"date":"2014-10-23T09:25:19","date_gmt":"2014-10-23T09:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/eltt\/?p=580"},"modified":"2022-04-13T15:46:58","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T15:46:58","slug":"digital-literacy-responsibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/LTAcademy\/digital-literacy-responsibility\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital literacy – who’s responsible?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Catherine Emmett and Joe Nicholls<\/a> (guest blogger)<\/p>\n

Over a coffee with colleagues last\u00a0week, discussion turned to digital literacy in learning and teaching. A question was asked – who is responsible for our students’ digital literacies?\u00a0The answer’s pretty simply really. You.\u00a0And that’s really to say, all of us!<\/p>\n

To understand\u00a0why that is, let’s first answer the question ‘what is digital literacy anyway?’<\/p>\n

JISC defines digital literacy as \u201cthose capabilities which fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society\u201d (JISC, 2011<\/a>). Digital literacies should build upon\u00a0core IT skills, and they are best developed in combination with other kinds of learning literacies, such as information, academic, social and media literacies. These are most effectively\u00a0learned in ways that are meaningful and relevant to student learning, ideally integrated with the academic subject the student is studying.<\/p>\n

We are at a point in society where we know, without question, that people need digital literacies for all areas of life – in learning, in work, in our social life – because our world is digital. So it’s critical that we\u00a0develop “students who can learn and thrive in a digital society” (JISC, 2014<\/a>).\u00a0But we also need to recognise that, “it takes time and patience to develop digital literacies… [and it’s] as much about cultural change as it is about technology.” (Nicholls, 2012<\/a>).<\/p>\n

What we’re\u00a0describing here is a process of change and adaptation in the way we educate. We need to provide support and guidance through integrated learning and teaching, as well as the means and mechanisms (safe spaces<\/a>), which allow failure to happen in a constructive way, a way that allows people to make mistakes and learn from them. And we have to work together to do it. A key part of that means giving our staff\u00a0opportunities to develop their digital literacies, just as much as students. If staff aren’t up to speed in using digital tools effectively, how can we expect the design of appropriate learning opportunities for students?<\/p>\n

We need to use\u00a0any and all opportunities to help students in learning about digital literacies. This means fully\u00a0integrating\u00a0digital opportunities in assessment, in skills development, in employability strategies, into any learning opportunity where\u00a0we can use feedback mechanisms to guide students in their development. This approach can\u00a0help students to develop these skills\u00a0in context<\/em>, rather than as an afterthought or as standalone training and teaching activities. And this is\u00a0essentially the fundamental cultural shift described in the quote above.<\/p>\n

And why do we need to facilitate\u00a0this?\u00a0Because there isn’t the luxury of hoping our students can figure it out and catch up by themselves; the world is digital and we need digital survival skills (Hicks and Turner, 2013<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Some useful links:<\/p>\n