Digital Skills

Enabling & Empowering Staff & Students to Flourish in the Digital Age

to identify the wide range of skills and knowledge that students, and all those who work in higher education, will need to feel confident and creative when learning, working and exploring the digital world 1

Irish Higher Education7 Universities13 Institutes of TechnologyOther specialist (& private) colleges150,000+ students

National Strategy: Operate as a system, with continued autonomybut policy steering

cc: freestock.ca dare to share beauty - https://www.flickr.com/photos/82955120@N05

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System-wide approach to key issuesAwardsResearch ProjectsPolicy papersFramework for CPDEnhancement themesDigital TechnologiesNational capacity: Digital RoadmapSkills & confidenceProjects & Initiatives

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National Digital Skills Framework for HECompetence, confidence & creativityLink with personal, professional development at multiple levelsProduction of learning materialsPiloting Digital Badges in HE

Enabling & Empowering Staff & Students to Flourish in the Digital Age

Funded Project (NUIG, UCD, UL, MIC)

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Digital skills/confidenceStudents:Graduate AttributesInformation literacyEmployabilityCreativityCitizenship & empowerment

Academic Staff (Faculty):Technology Enhanced LearningPedagogyMultimediaBlended, online, flippedAssessment and administration

Other Staff (professional, technical & administrative):Competency FrameworksDefined skillsTraining and CPD

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Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.Arthur C. Clarke

Mystery.7

The Wizard of Oz, Copyright owned by Warner Bros.

Is it not empowering to know and understand??

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Digital Capacity?cc: Martin Pettitt - https://www.flickr.com/photos/95012874@N00

Not just technology & infrastructureNot just academic staff and studentsEveryone who works and studies in all the institutionsCompare with national strategy for citizens, business and other sectorsAlso about empowerment of individuals and groups

Approach

Contrast with traditional approach to skillsParticipation, Open, EncouragingWorking with students on campaigns & festivalsInformal in style, but serious in intent!Sense of engagement and ownershipContributions soughtRe-purposing, re-usebranding neutral not institutions

cc: Haags Uitburo - https://www.flickr.com/photos/8816624@N08

Sense of campaign and involvementCreative, enthusiastic, encouraging, open, collectiveContrast with traditional approaches to skills Formalised syllabus and levels: eg ECDLDe-contextualisedStagnantDeficit modelFlexible, self-drivenFacilitating those who train as well as learnersExploring digital badges/micro-credentials

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Framework

Many existing modelsReviewed ~ 60 examples (including UNESCO, JISC, etc)Identified 16 particularly relevantCommon features identified

Crowd-sourced ideasAt conferences, workshops, eventsOnlinecc: joiseyshowaa - https://www.flickr.com/photos/30201239@N00

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iStockphoto Licence paid

Were surrounded by technology and it has now blended so much into our work, our lives, our study,..

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Weve asked many people for their ideas about what sorts of skills and knowledge they think should be included in a digital skills framework for students and staff (academic and non-academic). Weve taken ideas also from other frameworks and ransacked the literature. These are just some of the suggestions such brainstorming has producedeverything from how to write apps to making podcasts, to preventing cyberbullying and to handling sensitive data.13

Operating SystemsJargon BustingDevices & HardwareDatabasesWord ProcessingSpreadsheetsData StoragePresentation SkillsPresentation ToolsOnline TeachingSimulationsResponse SystemsDigital BadgesLearning DesignSearchBlogsPodcastingDiscussion BoardsOnline IdentityDigital FootprintSocial NetworksMessagingCollaboration ToolsEmailWeb MechanicsBrowsersOnline NavigationEthicsData ProtectionPassword ManagementCollate ContentDigital CopyrightWikisPublication TypesReputationPrivacySafetyTabletsSecurityCodingApp DevelopmentSearch EnginesSourcesMobile TechnologiesSmartphonesOERsWeb ContentE-portfoliosAvoiding PlagiarismSharing DataReferencingMetacognitionAccessibility ToolsTime ManagementDigital CamerasOrganisational ToolsKeywords Critical EvaluationScreencastsJournalsDesign ThinkingRemixing ContentCourse DesignLearning DesignLecture CaptureClassroom TechnologiesInteractive DisplaysFlipped ClassroomFiletypesVLEMind MappingProject ManagementAnimationOnline CommunicationDigital ImagesAccessible ContentVideo ConferencingStreamingAudio ResourcesVideo ResourcesCreative CommonsProducing Content

Weve tried to look at these and cluster them, to try and make sense of this really complex landscape.14

This is one way weve found to be helpful, for us at least, in navigating our way through this space. Different lines corresponding to broad themes, with stations that sometimes cross-over and others which provide interesting stopovers or detours en route.15

Tools & TechnologiesTeach & LearnCreate & InnovateCommunicate & CollaborateFind & UseIdentity & Wellbeing

But we can capture the key themes of our framework in a slightly simpler format which is useful when we think about the higher level objectives and attributes of a digitally confident citizen of the scholarly community. 16

Connecting with each other and sharing ideas, regardless of distance or time.The skills and literacies needed to find relevant information and data and how to apply such information in an effective way and subject it to scrutiny, whether for effective learning or for research, scholarship and professional purposes.The technical and the practical aspects of the range of tools and technologies available and useful in the support of learning, teaching, research, managing and thriving in the digital age.Understanding the nature of your online self, data and information, privacy and protection, and taking care of yourself, others and information, in ways that are ethical and respectfulBeing confident and empowered over the use of technologies to make new resources, express yourself, and take opportunities to develop new approaches and ways of interpreting ideas and the world around us.How to get the most out of technologies and materials to encourage engaged learning and make sense of new knowledge.

Development of resources

Three levels for topicsWhat you really should know (demystifying)Applications/trying it out/ hands onCritical perspectives (strategy, implications, etc)

Using Open Badges to recognise achievementA form of micro-credentialTransferrable Link with e-portfolios, digital CVs, certification

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Visual representation of an achievement or skill

Encoded/encrypted containingWho awarded badgeExactly what the holder had to doExamples of their workStandards compatible with range ofePortfoliosLMS/VLESocial (& Professional) networks (eg LinkedIn)

Increasingly recognised by employers & professional bodies

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CPD in teaching & learningStudent volunteering awardsScience outreach initiativesLinking research, teaching & communityGraduate AttributesSkills for successful study

Badging Examples

Production of multimedia materials (CC licence)Series of workshops & events across the countryMonthly podcastsStudent partnership projects:Digital footprint - privacy, safety, identityMake & Share digital creativityExtend international partnershipsNational model for academic staff professional development

Phase 2

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Key points?

Community-owned framework, active participation & creative approaches

Capacity is about people & organisations not just infrastructure & resources

Digital badges for continuing professional development

Building competence, builds confidence, leads to creativity

National Forum All the project teamAdvice from JISC (UK) Helen BeethamDoug BelshawSarah DaviesBadge AllianceMozilla FoundationDonna Lanclos & Dave White& many others!

AcknowledgementsIain.maclaren@nuigalway.ie

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A project funded by the National forum.for two years.led by NUI Galway and partners in UCD, UL, MIC, working on behalf of the Irish higher education sector24