Emerging issues in digital literacy
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This year’s Shock of the Old symposium on digital literacy hosted by Oxford University Computing at the Saïd Business School, was attempting to engage with issues around understandings of the term “digital literacy” and user experiences. The symposium responded to the EDUCAUSE Horizon Report, 2009. The report has identified six emerging technologies over the next five years—mobile devices, cloud computing, geotagging, the personal web, semantic-aware applications, and smart objects.
Difficulties in defining "digitial literacy"
Regarding the term “digital literacy” there was no agreement because the term is still evolving. Dr.Tabetha Newman, Timmus Ltd, presented an interesting literature review. Arising from this session, digital literacy now appears to be understood as an umbrella term currently used to describe knowledge of digital tools, critical thinking skills and social awareness (or the representation of self online). Interestingly, the social representation aspect of learning technologies was a theme emerging from last September’s Digital Resources in the Humanities and the Arts conference at Cambridge. Representation of the social self in an online context merged into discussions of e-safety, intellectual property and ethical issues. Arising from these discussions were questions: how can information professionals and academics promote this awareness both within and across disciplines? How can they assess risk factors, yet support opportunities for innovation?
Charting user behaviours
Dr. Chris Davies, who is a researcher in Education at Oxford, gave an interesting overview of a current Oxford survey of the information literacy patterns of use in a cohort student body (15-24yrs). This presentation concluded that British students sampled displayed patterns of information literacy awareness which relied on peer-to-peer collaboration, drew on the collective knowledge of online networks and had a strategic approach to information seeking. However, these patterns were not uniform and some members of the sample surveyed felt digitally excluded or were indifferent to technology. Arising from discussions there was agreement that there is a need to foster greater emphasis on knowledge application rather than skills transfer across teaching and research environments.
What roles do we play in a new knowledge society?
A major shift in ideas about knowledge-building is currently taking place in society. The divisions between different forms of knowledge -- expert or lay -- are rapidly dissolving (Delanty, 2001, 2003). Delegates advocated embedding learning technologies for disciplinary understanding. Some interesting educational tools examined included Video Paper Maker and DIVER at Stanford. Public Learning Environments (like Google and Facebook) were seen as having rich potential as these tools mirrored users social selves. Interestingly, digital penetration was perceived as not being as far-reaching or as pervasive in higher education as had previously been assumed. Delegates concluded that there is still a need to foster information literacy skills in higher education.
Bridging the 'Digital Divide'
More adult learners will be returning to work due to global recession. How can their needs be met? Technology increasingly has a social mission in potentially bridging the ‘digital divide’. Information technology changes rapidly and the time-scale is narrowing. Unless a person is directly engaging with these changes they can be rapidly excluded. Broadly speaking, the ‘digital divide’ is the gap between those with regular, effective access to digital technologies and those without. This is defined by a number of criteria: technical; gender; political; self-direction; linguistic and literacy (Gurstein: 2003). Advocates of the free software, and open access movements, like Richard Stallman, hope that the outcome of their activities will help or has already helped decrease the digital divide. Education has a considerable role to play in bridging the digital divide. In the case of adult learners returning to education after a long absence, technology, if properly integrated with face-to-face contact, can develop transferable skills improving quality of life or facilitating a return to work.
References
Delanty, G. (2001) Challenging knowledge: The University in the knowledge society. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Delanty, G. (2003) Ideologies of the knowledge society and the cultural contradictions of higher education policy Futures in Education 1 (1), 71-82.
Gurstein, M. (2003). Effective use: A community informatics strategy beyond the digital divide. First Monday, 8 (12). Retrived on 6 April 2009 from http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_12/gurstein/index.html
This year’s Shock of the Old symposium on digital literacy hosted by Oxford University Computing at the Saïd Business School, was attempting to engage with issues around understandings of the term “digital literacy” and user experiences. The symposium responded to the EDUCAUSE Horizon Report, 2009. The report has identified six emerging technologies over the next five years—mobile devices, cloud computing, geotagging, the personal web, semantic-aware applications, and smart objects.
Difficulties in defining "digitial literacy"
Regarding the term “digital literacy” there was no agreement because the term is still evolving. Dr.Tabetha Newman, Timmus Ltd, presented an interesting literature review. Arising from this session, digital literacy now appears to be understood as an umbrella term currently used to describe knowledge of digital tools, critical thinking skills and social awareness (or the representation of self online). Interestingly, the social representation aspect of learning technologies was a theme emerging from last September’s Digital Resources in the Humanities and the Arts conference at Cambridge. Representation of the social self in an online context merged into discussions of e-safety, intellectual property and ethical issues. Arising from these discussions were questions: how can information professionals and academics promote this awareness both within and across disciplines? How can they assess risk factors, yet support opportunities for innovation?
Charting user behaviours
Dr. Chris Davies, who is a researcher in Education at Oxford, gave an interesting overview of a current Oxford survey of the information literacy patterns of use in a cohort student body (15-24yrs). This presentation concluded that British students sampled displayed patterns of information literacy awareness which relied on peer-to-peer collaboration, drew on the collective knowledge of online networks and had a strategic approach to information seeking. However, these patterns were not uniform and some members of the sample surveyed felt digitally excluded or were indifferent to technology. Arising from discussions there was agreement that there is a need to foster greater emphasis on knowledge application rather than skills transfer across teaching and research environments.
What roles do we play in a new knowledge society?
A major shift in ideas about knowledge-building is currently taking place in society. The divisions between different forms of knowledge -- expert or lay -- are rapidly dissolving (Delanty, 2001, 2003). Delegates advocated embedding learning technologies for disciplinary understanding. Some interesting educational tools examined included Video Paper Maker and DIVER at Stanford. Public Learning Environments (like Google and Facebook) were seen as having rich potential as these tools mirrored users social selves. Interestingly, digital penetration was perceived as not being as far-reaching or as pervasive in higher education as had previously been assumed. Delegates concluded that there is still a need to foster information literacy skills in higher education.
Bridging the 'Digital Divide'
More adult learners will be returning to work due to global recession. How can their needs be met? Technology increasingly has a social mission in potentially bridging the ‘digital divide’. Information technology changes rapidly and the time-scale is narrowing. Unless a person is directly engaging with these changes they can be rapidly excluded. Broadly speaking, the ‘digital divide’ is the gap between those with regular, effective access to digital technologies and those without. This is defined by a number of criteria: technical; gender; political; self-direction; linguistic and literacy (Gurstein: 2003). Advocates of the free software, and open access movements, like Richard Stallman, hope that the outcome of their activities will help or has already helped decrease the digital divide. Education has a considerable role to play in bridging the digital divide. In the case of adult learners returning to education after a long absence, technology, if properly integrated with face-to-face contact, can develop transferable skills improving quality of life or facilitating a return to work.
References
Delanty, G. (2001) Challenging knowledge: The University in the knowledge society. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Delanty, G. (2003) Ideologies of the knowledge society and the cultural contradictions of higher education policy Futures in Education 1 (1), 71-82.
Gurstein, M. (2003). Effective use: A community informatics strategy beyond the digital divide. First Monday, 8 (12). Retrived on 6 April 2009 from http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_12/gurstein/index.html
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