Challenge: Digital Literacies

Sonja Strydom and Daniela Gachago

New generation of students…• My computer is the nucleus of my workspace • When I need information I go online • Besides IM or email my cell phone is my primary method of

communication • I’m usually juggling five things at once• My attention span is very small• I want instant gratification• I get bored very easily

Oblinger 2008

Harold Rheingold

• Five fundamental digital literacies, online skills:– attention, – participation, – collaboration, – critical consumption of

information (or "crap detection"),

– and network smarts

Chal

leng

es

Hor

izon

repo

rt

Digital storytelling at CPUT

Daniela Gachago

Cont

ext

Esta

blis

hed

prac

tice• Paper based portfolio

• Collection of evidence• Individual work• Feedback from tutor

Inte

nded

ou

tcom

es• Deepen student reflection• Increase student engagement• Address issues of diversity

in the classroom• Develop digital literacies

• DST facilitates the development of a full range of digital literacies, necessary for 21st century graduates (Hull, 2003)

• as and when required, so that they are using (and learning) the tools to achieve a real purpose rather than as skills that can be checked off as completed (Olney, Herrington, & Verenikina, 2009). Lite

ratu

re re

view

• Social cohesion• Critical reflection• Motivation / student

engagement• Director’s chair - pride• Authentic audience• Transfer of academic content

into community• Development of various

literacies

Bene

fits

• Diverse literacy skills levels to start with

• Access to Technology• Time• Trusting students• Adapting model to specific

discipline• Process vs product• Assessment• Dissemination of stories (access,

copyright)

Chal

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Mobile learning and digital stories

Mobile learning and digital stories

Key

poin

ts fo

r eff

ectiv

e pr

actic

e

• Thorough step by step planning• Involvement of inter-disciplinary team with

various skills• Provision of access to infrastructure and

resources• Scheduled time in computer lab• Step by step guidance for students

(scaffolding)• Student assistants/support (especially

when dealing with large classes)• Use of software that is freely available on

the Web• Virus management • Research on practice / design based model • Trust students’ resourcefulness and

creativity!

Any questions?

• www.cput.ac.za/blogs/edutech• http://www.cput.ac.za/blogs/edutech/digital-s

torytelling-resources/

• YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/CPUTstories

• gachagod@cput.ac.za or barnesv@cput.ac.za

e-Portfolios

Inte

nded

ou

tcom

es• Deepen student reflection• Increase student engagement• Embed graduate attributes• Evidence for assessment /

accreditation• Develop digital literacies

‘A digital collection of authentic and diverse evidence (e-portfolio) drawn from a larger archive (PLE) that represents what a person has learned over time, on which a person has reflected, designed for presentation to one or more audiences for a particular rhetorical purpose’ (NLII, 2003)

Defining e-portfoliosDefining e-portfolios

e-Portfolio Processe-Portfolio Process

‘…it is argued that the real value of e-portfolios are not necessarily in the showcasing of the product, but rather in the process of learning and reflection taking place in collecting evidence and reflecting on experiences…’ (Barrett, 2011)

‘…e-portfolio practices require meta cognitive skills of students since they are required to ‘construct’ and ‘integrate’, combined with the expectation of ‘making sense’ of their learning (Dalton, 2007, p. 101)

Lite

ratu

re re

view

• Development of own learning goals

• Collaboration• Deeper levels of learning by

means of critical reflection• Motivation / student

engagement / student-centered

• Authentic audience• Development of various

literacies

Bene

fits

• Institutional control vs student ownership

• E-portfolio platform• Diverse literacy skills• Expected support• Process vs product• Student motivation /

incentives Chal

leng

es

Example: English Major Example: English Major

Example: Leadership and lifelong learningExample: Leadership and lifelong learning