Developing Digital Literacy: 5 Ps for online learners

Robert Gordon

University

9 May 2014

Rhona Sharpe

@rjsharpe

DEVELOPING DIGITAL LITERACY: 5 P’S FOR ONLINE LEARNERS

We live in a world that is

open

networked

Where technology is

ubiquitous

familiar

Where learning environments are…

social

personal

mobile

with cats

How are learners operating in this open, networked,

digital world?

Participatory

Iterative

A shared, collective inquiry

A tool for positive change

Changes our relations with students

Learner experience research

TRUE OR FALSE?

Q1. Learners of the same generation share similar approaches, attitudes and skills with regards to technology use

Q2. Learners’ transfer their ways of using technology from social to educational contexts

TRUE OR FALSE?

Q3. Learners think they are digitally literate

Q4. Learners are digitally literate

Q5. Incoming students expect teaching staff to have a good grasp of how to use established digital technology.

TRUE OR FALSE?

Q1. Learners of the same generation share similar approaches, attitudes and skills with regards to technology use

Q2. Learners’ transfer their ways of using technology from social to educational contexts

Q1: The Digital Native Myth

Rosen (2012).

TRUE OR FALSE?

Q1. Learners of the same generation share similar approaches, attitudes and skills with regards to technology use

Q2. Learners’ transfer their ways of using technology from social to educational contexts

Q2: Tech savvy students

“I just click here and oops that isn’t what I wanted, so I do a lot of that and I find it quite helpful. You learn something every time you go around and around the menus”

Jeffrey et al. (2011, p.403)

Q2: New literacy practices

Gourlay, L. & Oliver, M. (2014)

TRUE OR FALSE?

Q3. Learners think they are digitally literate

Q4. Learners are digitally literate

Q5. Incoming students expect teaching staff to have a good grasp of how to use established digital technology.

Q3: Confident technology users

81% believe they are digitally literate

88% love digital technology.

1.6% use their smartphone for study

In general, students believe they are more digitally literate than their peers and staff.

Emma Woods, Westminster University, JISC Transformation project

TRUE OR FALSE?

Q3. Learners think they are digitally literate

Q4. Learners are digitally literate

Q5. Incoming students expect teaching staff to have a good grasp of how to use established digital technology.

The functional access, skills and practices necessary to become a confident, agile adopter of a range of technologies for personal, academic and professional use

Oxford Brookes University (2010) Strategy for Enhancing the Student Experience.

Q4: Defining digital literacy

dlf.brookesblogs.net

‘Literacy’ implies socially and culturally situated practices, often highly dependent on the context in which they are carried out.

Beetham & Oliver (2010)

TRUE OR FALSE?

Q3. Learners think they are digitally literate

Q4. Learners are digitally literate

Q5. Incoming students expect teaching staff to have a good grasp of how to use established digital technology.

Incoming students expect

Teaching staff have a good grasp of how to use established digital technology and incorporate technology into their teaching in an appropriate manner.

Ubiquitous free-at-the-point-of-use access will be provided to the all of the Web.

A VLE populated with comprehensive organisational information and course related materials.

It will be possible to easily connect any number of personal devices to the network

White, Beetham & Wild (2013)http://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org

Q5: High expectations of tutors

OVERVIEW

Incoming students have high expectations1. of institutions to provide robust and accessible

technology2. of teachers to incorporate technology into their

teaching in an appropriate manner

Incoming students3. often do not have the access or skills to use

technology to support their study4. sometimes demonstrate highly personalised,

contextualised practices we can learn from.

What activities help develop effective practices for online learning?

prioritise

personalise

participate

present

progress

1. PRIORITISE

I got behind and it was too hard to catch up

What unsuccessful online students want us to know

19.7% I got behind and it was too hard to catch up

14.2% I had personal problems

13.7% I couldn't handle combined study plus work/family

7.3% I didn't like the online format

7.3% I didn't like the instructor's teaching style

6.8% I experienced too many technical difficulties

Fetzner (2013)

1. PRIORITISE: IDEAS TO TRY

Learner readiness quiz

Shared calendar

Twitter chat

Watching events

Virtual office hours

#phdchat#wenurses

2. PERSONALISE

“No, of course I do not have my computer on when I am trying to learn because sometimes it distracts me because I have the Messenger on or I will read the newspapers and I don’t like that if I am trying to learn”.

(Winter et al, 2010, p.78)

2. PERSONALISE: IDEAS TO TRY

Improve onscreen reading. Readability.com

Genius hour for content curation e.g. Pinterest, Lessonpaths, Live Binders

Disconnecting e.g. Stayfocussed.com, Getpocket.com

Getpocket.com

3. PARTICIPATE

“Log into Facebook and Skype to see what others are doing – we have a quiz for one of the units that we decide that we’ll try and do together this afternoon..”

Andrews & Tynan (2012, p. 574)

3. PARTICIPATE: IDEAS TO TRY

Window shots

Course glossary

Annotated bibliography

Blogging rubric

Edit Wikipedia entries

Crowdsource maps

REFERENCE ME

4. PRESENT: IDEAS TO TRY

Repositories

Infographics

Online posters

Virtual conference

Daily create Follow @ds106dc

H818: THE NETWORKED PRACTITIONER

Open Studio, multimedia posters, virtual conference, badges, Cloudworks . . . beyond

5. PROGRESS: IDEAS TO TRY

Charting toolkit

Badges

Learning analytics

Activities that help to develop effective practices for online learning:

1. Are based on our understanding of how learners experience online learning

2. Encourage the development of personalised practices which meet each learners’ needs

3. Engage learners as active participants4. Provide opportunities for learners to

present themselves and their work5. Give feedback and reward for progress

SEND ME YOUR IDEAS

rsharpe@brookes.ac.uk

@rjsharpe

REFERENCESAndrews, T., & Tynan, B. (2012). Distance learner : connected, mobile and

resourceful individuals. Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 28(4), 565-579.

Beetham, H. & Oliver, M. (2010) The changing practices of knowledge and learning, in R. Sharpe, H. Beetham & S. de Freitas, Rethinking Learning for a Digital Age, Routledge. London & New York.

Benfield, G. (2012) InstePP Evaluation report. Oxford Brookes Unversity. Oxford.Fetzner, M. (2013). What do unsuccessful online students want us to know?

Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 17(1). Gourlay, L. & Oliver, M. (2014) Learner experiences vs the learner experience:

visual and ethnographic methodologies, ELESIG webinar http://elesig.ning.com/page/webinars

Jeffrey, L., Bronwyn, H., Oriel, K., Merrolee, P., Coburn, D., & McDonald, J. (2011). Developing digital information literacy in higher education: obstacles and supports. Journal of Information Technology Education, 10, 383-413.

Rosen, L. (2012) iDisorder. Understanding our obsession with technology and overcoming its hold on us. Palgrave MacMillan.

Weller, M. (2011) The digital scholar: how technology is transforming scholarly practice. Bloomsbury. London.

White, Beetham & Wild (2013) Students' expectations and experiences of the digital environment Literature review. http://digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org