Digital empowerment: teaching and learning digital capabilities is essential to development, participation and wellbeing [1835] Members : Annual Conference 2017

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Thu, Sep 7 2017, 10:45am – 12:00pm

Authors: Susan Kennedy, and Richard Price

Room: Mandela Rm (2)

Theme: Empowerment in Learning Technology

Type: Lightning Talk

Description

It’s no longer possible to think about digital literacy as either purely about technical proficiency or as the preserve of only a few. With regard to health and social care particularly, the workforce must have sound digital skills in order to provide the best care and to ensure effective personal and professional development.

Healthcare has traditionally been slow to adopt new digital tools and technologies. By building excellent digital skills and the right attitudes and behaviours, the up-take and adoption of new digital tools and technologies can be dramatically improved.

The digital literacy work by Health Education England (HEE) is supporting building awareness about those capabilities that make up sound digital literacy, increasing motivation to further develop those capabilities and to support people in accessing and using tools and resources that can help.

We believe that digital literacies, across all sectors, are those capabilities that fit us for working, living, learning, participating and thriving in a digital society[1] and we have described six key domains of distinct digital capabilities[2].Being digitally literate is a developmental and empowering process, moving through different levels of expertise.

Whether we are a teacher, learner, student, patient, a carer, a currently well person, a member of the health or social care, or indeed any, workforce, we are all far more likely to lead healthier, happier, more productive and empowered lives if we are truly digital citizens who are confident and competent in the widest range of digital capabilities.[3]

[1] HEE’s definition builds on work by Beetham, H. (2010) Review and Scoping Study for a cross-Jisc Learning and Digital Literacies Programme: Sept 2010 [online]. Jisc. http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20140614144922/http://www.jisc.ac.uk/media/documents/programmes/elearning/DigitalLiteraciesReview.pdf (Accessed: 06 June 2017)

[2] Jisc (2015) Building digital capability. [Online] Available from: https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/developing-students-digital-literacy (Accessed: 06 June 2017)

[3] Ferrari, A. (2013) DIGICOMP: A Framework for Developing and Understanding Digital Competence in Europe. JRC Scientific and Policy Reports. European Commission. (Accessed: 06 June 2017).

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