It was great to see you all yesterday in our second class of the term and thank you for your interesting comments and discussions during the Zoom session. Moving into our second week, we’ll move into some organizational planning. Please complete the following steps in the next couple of weeks. The links are available in our social spaces.

Organizational Tasks

  • Book a 15-minute meeting with Valerie to plan your topic/problem/purpose/question for your paper. This can also roll out into your Master’s project.
  • Enter into the pair/pod sign-up to meet for an hour during the week with your pod (or pair at minimum). Together you will:
    • discuss class, readings
    • discuss your topic, problem, purpose, question
    • review each other’s blog posts and provide feedback
    • discuss assignments and clarify any questions you come up with together
  • Past EdTech MEd Projects (some PhD and MA in this list). Review projects and compare and contrast three. Two should be related to online and open education and digital literacy, but feel free to add one based on interest as well.
  • The slides from last week are now available on the Week 1 blog post. Slide from this week are below!

Considering Digital Literacy 

This week we also began our discussion of digital literacy and digital literacy frameworks.  While there is no singular definition of digital literacy, it can defined as a person’s knowledge, skills, and abilities for using digital tools ethically, effectively, and within a variety of contexts in order to access, interpret, and evaluate information, as well as to create, construct new knowledge, and communicate with others. There are many frameworks that operationalize this broad set of competencies, but we focused in particular on the BC Digital Literacy Framework, which aims to help educators integrate technology and digital literacy-related activities into practice, focusing on six key competencies students need to be successful in today’s technological world.

Competencies in the BC Digital Literacy Framework include: 

  • Research and Information Literacy: applying digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information
  • Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making: using critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources
  • Creativity and Innovation: demonstrating creative thinking, constructing knowledge, and developing innovative products and processes using technology
  • Digital Citizenship: understanding human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practicing legal and ethical behaviour
  • Communication and Collaboration: using digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others
  • Technology Operations and Concepts: demonstrating a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations.

After discussing its practical applications in the classroom, we also critically examined the framework to identify any gaps or missing elements. Some key areas for future development we identified included a focus on digital well-being, lifelong learning, critical digital practices / critical engagement with digital systems and resources, more responsiveness to rapid technological change (AI anyone?), addressing issues related to the digital divide, and educator preparedness. Indigenous digital literacy competencies are also something included in the more recent post-secondary digital literacy framework. 

We ended our class with some considerations around the broader context of online and open education, considering how digital literacies support learning in K-12 curriculum and how they intersect with key issues and challenges in open and online education in particular.

 

Questions for Consideration

  • How do we balance the need to protect young learners from the adverse effects of technology while also teaching digital literacy?
  • How might emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and augmented reality) impact the competencies outlined in the BC Digital Literacy Framework? Should the framework be adapted to account for these advancements, and if so, how?
  • Are educators adequately equipped to support learners’ development of essential competences for digital literacy? What do educators need?

 

Additional Resources 


BC Campus Indigenous Digital Literacies

BC Post Secondary Digital Literacies 

ISTE Digital Literacy in the Classroom

UNESCO 2021 Digital Skills in Education

 


Photo by Compare Fibre on Unsplash