Digilit strategic paper for ALT-C12
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Transcript of Digilit strategic paper for ALT-C12
Digital literacies in UK Universities: the state of playHelen BeethamDeveloping Digital Literacies programme consultant
Why is digital literacy an issue just now?
Capacity buildingNew local and global markets
Borderless institutionsDifferentiation, unique brand
Perceived vfm
EmployabilityGraduate attributes
Digital reputation/capitalResilience
New social practicesDigital media and file sharingUbiquitous connectivityMass customisationContractual relationships online
Digital scholarship/researchOpen publishing/open dataDigital learning/teaching mediaUbiquitous knowledge/dataMethodological revolution
Organisational futuresEducational digital practices
Personal digital practices Personal aspirations
How are Universities defining digital literacy?
Ensuring students are prepared for study and employment in the digital age, with a range of Learning Literacies embedded into the curriculum in addition to the subject knowledge
Consider the potential of technology to promote knowledge building and reflective, student-centred, creative and collaborative learning;
[develop] self-regulating citizens in a globally connected society, able to handle multiple, diverse information sources and media, proficiently mediating their interactions with social and professional groups using an ever-changing and expanding range of technologies and able confidently to use digital technologies to reflect on, record and manage their lifelong learning;
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Baselining the state of play
What does a 'digital literacies' agenda look like at the level of the curriculum, institutional infrastructure, policies, academic cultures, professional services?
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Baselining the state of play
Organizational factors:
Policy and strategy, including 'offer' and 'brand' issues
Technical infrastructure (e.g. supporting use of personal devices and services)
Professional and support services
Rich evidence from sample stakeholders about their:
Personal/professional digital skills and practices
Personal/professional development
Attitudes and beliefs about digital technology
What is the strategic environment?
Average = 6-10 strategies
Focus on responding to crisis/change
The diversity of documents covering... digital matters for staff and students means there are few members of the University aware of it all – and policies may be devised and revised without much engagement across departments...
Traditional mechanisms for developing and agreeing strategies lack sufficient agility.
Learning and Teaching | e-learning | IS/ICT Library and Information Management
Research and Knowledge Transfer | EstatesStudent Experience | Student Charter | HR
Strategic issues
Increasingly persuasive digital 'offer' to prospective students
Strategic aspirations may not be enacted in departments and programmes of study
Few opportunities for digital issues to be discussed across strategic territories
Momentum lost between change initiatives, change weariness
Lack of senior management vision BUT requires people with vision and commitment in all roles
Infrastructural issues
BYODevice/BYOService/BYOSkills Data/information environment that is platform, device,
and application agnostic Providing an equivalent infrastructure across distributed
sites of learning How borderless?
– public pedagogies
– public scholarship
– new partnerships
– students and staff building independent digital reputations and careers
Organisational/cultural issues
Are digital capabilities a pre-requisite for access to higher education in the UK?
If so, how do universities support students who are otherwise capable of benefiting from HE?
How do universities ensure digital capital does not become another barrier or structural inequality (is it our responsibility)?
What uniquely does higher education offer, in a digital age, that is not available through informal opportunities to learn?
Digital practices
Hybrid practices: informal/formal contexts, insitutional/personal/public technologies, academic/digital know-howwork/home life
Hidden practices: personal study habits; the outsourced curriculum
Students’ digital literacy practices are predominantly contextualised within their programmes of study
Personal/professional development
Self-reliance for adoption of generic technologies e.g. apps, web services, devices
Structured development to introduce complex systems that support complex practices
– e.g. data analysis, reference management, institutional business systems, editing software, design systems
Local peer or mentor support for advanced and contextualised use
Perceived lack of relevant, timely, local training/support
Attitudes and cultures
Students' digital capability still regarded with more fear than excitement
Culture clash more evident where
– students/staff successful with 'traditional' modes of study
– Wide 'academic generation gap' Experience with technology leads to a more critical and
discriminating attitude Wholesale shift of focus from teaching staff using
technologies to use by students is still to happen
Conclusion
A digital University is not simply one that provides up-to-date facilities but one that prepares students
to live and work in a digital society, and fosters digital scholarship as a mainstream activity.
Baselining tools, resources and findings are available here:
http://bit.ly/baseliningDL