JISC Workshop Developing Digital Literacy 4 th

JISC Workshop : Developing Digital Literacy 4 th November 2011 What are Welsh institutions doing to support the development of learners for a digital age? Digidol Project team: Joy Head Cathie Jackson Joe Nicholls Sarah Williamson Simon Wood http: //digidol. cardiff. ac. uk/

Learning Literacy as a driver for organisational change Learning Literacy is viewed as both a means and a goal

Whose responsibility is it to develop Learning Literacies? • The simple answer. . . – – but it depends on our awareness and understanding – • it’s everyone’s responsibility – we are all capable of helping each other It starts with the recognition that we have a need for these literacies Conversations are required to help people to understand what the various literacies mean to them in their situation and circumstance

Whose responsibility is it to develop Learning Literacies? • In an organisation – there will always be some people who are better placed to create learning opportunities for others – – – sustainable institution-wide change starts in the hearts and minds of those who own and control the means for training and educating others raise awareness and understanding in ways that are meaningful and relevant to those who have power to influence and make decisions senior managers need to be convinced of the value of developing learning literacies - the contribution it can make to achieving strategic aims has to be acknowledged – to get buy in that dependency has to be obvious to all concerned

Institutional drivers for change • • Exploit top-down and bottom-up drivers that determine or impact on educational practice Top-down: – – respond to strategic aims, actions plans and policies – • respond to and inform (educate) senior managers work in conjunction with established formal business processes Bottom-up: – identify and build on existing successful initiatives – disseminate and link-up pockets of good practice

Strategic Drivers : Education Strategy http: //learning. cf. ac. uk/strategies/

Partnership with students

Where to focus time and effort? • • First identify existing provision across the institution for the development of staff and students Centralised (under the control of the Directorates: HR, IT, Library, Registry) versus decentralised (e. g. , under the control of Schools, Student’s Union) Official (endorsed by a governing body) versus unofficial (standalone) educational processes and practices For sustainable change target processes that are already established and officially recognised - and which ideally have impact across the institution – work with those who own and control them – n. b. people are protective of their patch, so dance to their tune!

Learning Literacy Bridging the knowledge gap between tasks and services Staff and Students Service Providers Digidol Project Developing Digital Literacy

PALET Project : The Programme Approval Lean Electronic Toolkit http: //blogs. cf. ac. uk/palet/

Curriculum Design: controlling context • • Discipline/subject knowledge is what people are really interested in and it is what motivates and sustains learning Learning literacies are a means to an end – a socially grounded cognitive toolset – and thus has to be nurtured through ways that are context appropriate and fit for purpose

Information Literacy at Cardiff University Library based initiative running for many years • • Subject Librarians work with academics University Information Literacy Group Significant impact and success across the institution • • Embedded in undergraduate and postgraduate courses, Postgraduate Certificate for University Learning and Teaching - Information Literacy resource Bank – open access resources - Host the Welsh Information Literacy Project - Much already achieved for the Digidol project to build upon - Exploring unified approach to information and digital literacy

Decentralised initiatives Student Union - run course for Certificate of Professional Development Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning - Wide range of learning to learn courses School of Biosciences - ‘Shadow Modules’ run by students School of Social Sciences - CPD managed by students

The challenge. . . • Of all the potential points of intervention, where is time and effort best placed to bring about sustainable change for the development of learning literacy in staff, and in students?

Digital Literacy Workshops How are institutions implementing strategies and policies for developing learners for a digital age? Recommendations from the SLi. LDA case studies Available under a Creative Commons license from the JISC Design Studio http: //bit. ly/jiscdiglit