Embedding critical digital literacies in an online course [18-79] Members : ALT Annual Conference 2018

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Public Group Active 4 years, 6 months ago

Thu, Sep 13 2018, 3:00pm – 4:00pm

Authors: Celeste McLaughlin

Room: Rm 4.206

Theme: Participation through Learning Technology

Type: Short presentation – 20mins

Description

Session Description

Developing a critical understanding of digital literacies is becoming increasingly important when adopting digital approaches to teaching and learning and the Jisc Digital Capabilities Framework serves as a useful model to identify and incorporate appropriate digital literacies during curriculum development.

This session will outline how the framework as been used during a six week online course. One of the objectives for the course is for participants to demonstrate a critical awareness in their use of digital approaches in their teaching and learning practices. A number of individual and collaborative activities were designed to encourage participants to consider and share digital approaches to their practice. The Jisc Digital Capabilities Framework was used to map all course activities to the framework and to the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF), using the Digital lens on the UK Professional Standards Framework (Higher Education Academy and Jisc). The decision to map all course activities was partly to highlight a range of specific digital capabilities to course participants. It was also intended to show that digital capabilities are core to all aspects of teaching and learning as demonstrated by their alignment to the professional standards for those teaching in UK higher education (the UKPSF).

This short presentation will give an overview of the development and delivery of the course, highlighting participants’ critical engagement with identified digital capabilities and literacies. The development of, and engagement with these literacies was captured by participants’ contributions to a number of private blog activities, as well as through their participation in course discussions, formative assessment and peer feedback. This has provided a useful source of material to review development and understanding of participants’ digital capabilities. Although contributions to course activities are private and remain within the walled-garden of the course Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), the general themes identified have been of value. They will inform future iterations of this course and there will be a new structure, which will be based on participant feedback (captured through optional submission to an anonymous open digital document, and an end of course survey).

The session will be of interest to those delegates with a remit for, and interest in developing the digital literacies/capabilities of education professionals. The session aims to share:
– General themes identified during the course;
– Ideas about how developing critical digital literacies could be embedded in professional development programmes and activities;
– How we might help support our students to develop critical digital literacies.

Session content: evaluation and reflection

The presentation is based on embedding critical digital literacies in a 10 credit optional course which is part of a Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PgCAP) programme. The course is delivered entirely online and takes place over a six-week period. The course ran for the first time in 2018 with a diverse cohort of 28 participants from a range of disciplines including medicine, mathematics, clinical psychology, business, law and philosophy. The cohort included PhD students, research fellows, teaching fellows and lecturers.

The session will include reflections from the course leader, based on course feedback, and on participant engagement with the course activities, and with the critical digital capabilities and literacies embedded in the course. Participants’ development of these capabilities and literacies were captured by personal blog reflections, and although these can’t be shared, general themes, as well as the benefits and barriers to developing these critical digital literacies will be explored during the presentation.

References

Building digital capabilities: The six elements defined, Jisc. Available at: http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/6611/1/JFL0066F_DIGIGAP_MOD_IND_FRAME.PDF [accessed 23 March 2018].

UK professional Standards Framework (UKPSF), The Higher Education Academy. Available at: https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ukpsf [accessed 23 March 2018].

Digital lens on the UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF), The Higher Education Academy and Jisc. Available at: http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/6600/1/JD0161_DIGITAL_LENS_ON_UKPSF_MAR17_v2.pdf [accessed 23 March 2018].