Group items tagged

"Do we really need measures of online reputation? Can our worth be measured by the amount of Twitter followers we have or by how many +1s we receive on Google+?   Klout, Peerindex and other social reputation measuring sites are constantly bombarding web users with statistics about their 'true reach', 'amplification' and 'influence'. It all sounds very grand. And yet what is the actual value of these metrics? What does it mean that I currently have a Klout score of 60? This number is calculated among other things, on an analysis of my recent web activity on Twitter, Facebook and Google+ over the last 90 days."   Steve Wheeler

"The 5 Resources Model provides a framework to articulate the scope and dimensions of digital literacies. It is based on an established model of literacy which is underpinned by critical perspectives (the Four Resources Model of Critical Literacy, after Luke & Freebody). It has been adapted for the digital context."

This Digital Literacy Toolkit began with the premise that multimedia authoring, which is happening with the extensive use of PowerPoint in classrooms, must be taught as a skill, just as traditional text-based writing is taught. While teachers and students have become familiar with the technical skills required to use images in multimedia productions, they lack a critical language to determine whether an image or a sound is used appropriately. Images, sounds and animations - like words - are building blocks whose meanings can be changed to suit the communicative purpose of the author. Just as the same words and phrases can be arranged or manipulated to express different meanings depending on the author's intent, so can sounds and images. The advent of multimedia authoring and an almost unlimited variety of images available via the Internet in the classroom, makes understanding this concept, that an image's meaning changes depending on the purpose for which it is used, a new requirement of 21st Century communication.

Summary presentation of a recent Cambridge research project aiming to development an Information Literacy curriculum for undergraduate students. There is also a comprehensive Wiki of resources. The sixth slide is interesting: placing digital literacy as part of the wider information literacy landscape.

Plagiarism is using others' ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of that information. The World Wide Web has become a more popular source of information for student papers, and many questions have arisen about how to avoid plagiarizing these sources.

"digital literacy is not simply about learning from content online this represents a deficit model of education (frequently practiced) rather than skills development. "

"One year on - learning from innovation in digital literacy This Lunchtime Byte is a one-hour session on the hot topic of digital literacy. Participants will hear from two digital literacy projects in Wales, as well as get the chance to share news of any digital literacy developments in their organisations and exchange ideas. "Digital literacy defines those capabilities which fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society.""

Whilst recognising the benefits of technology, it is also important to be aware of the risks and especially to ensure that children and young people know how to use the Internet safely and responsibly.

e-Crime Wales is a partnership of organisations and agencies committed to equipping Welsh businesses with the knowledge and tools to be aware, vigilant, informed and ultimately safe from the destructive effects of e-Crime in all its forms. 

This is very useful for reviewing your online practises and the privacy settings on a range of sites.

High school and college students may be "digital natives," but they're wretched at searching. In a recent experiment at Northwestern, when 102 undergraduates were asked to do some research online, none went to the trouble of checking the authors' credentials. In 1955, we wondered why Johnny can't read. Today the question is, why can't Johnny search?

"The Digilit Leicester project is designed to ensure school staff and learners are getting the most from the significant investment in technology being made across the city, and that schools are able to make best use of technology to meet their aspirations for transforming educational provision" Contains a useful report with framework, results of DL survey of Leicester schools and links to DL resources

At Cardiff University, the Digidol team are investigating how what they call "digital literacy" can be embedded in all staff and students across all levels and areas of the university. The project is one of 12 being funded at different institutions by JISC, an expert on information and digital technologies for education and research, and I interviewed members of the team for one of a series of podcasts for the organisation recently.

The insertion of social media in education has the potential to advance core aims of our society: to teach students how to engage with their families, neighbors, and communities in a new way. The combination of social media and education requires that we teach students how to become literate in a digital world. The skills of literacy are no longer just about reading and writing, but about abilities that surround our responsibilities as authors. In Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action, researcher Renee Hobbs offers that digital and media literacy is constructed of five crucial abilities:

"Our children are surrounded by computers at school and at home. They run their social lives through mobile devices, immerse themselves in video games and get a top-up dose of ICT in the National Curriculum."

The Scottish e-Assessment Forum, which is organised and facilitated by the JISC RSC Scotland, launched on the 24th November 2011. The forum came about due to discussions I had with people from further and higher education institutions across Scotland, where it became clear that there was a need and desire for dedicated time to discuss e-Assessment and share practice.

The Knight Commission recognized that people need tools, skills and understanding to use information effectively, and that successful participation in the digital age entails two kinds of skills sets: digital literacy and media literacy. Digital literacy means learning how to work the information and communication technologies in a networked environment, as well as understanding the social, cultural and ethical issues that go along with the use of these technologies. Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, reflect upon, and act with the information products that media disseminate.

JISC funded project. CASCADE is designed to develop digital capability across the University of Exeter, focusing initially on the experience of postgraduate researchers and on the University's strengths in research-led teaching. Our mode of working is highly collaborative, with 'students as change agents' cascading digital know-how across the five Colleges. We also work in a scholarly way, researching the unique digital literacies of different subject areas and understanding existing practices with digital technology before working with staff and students to enhance them.

Developing student/staff digital capabilities through innovative practices.

Digital Literacy and social media in education is the focus of this blog post.