DIGITAL LITERACIES AND JARGON. WHAT

DO WE REALLY MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT

DIGITAL LITERACIES? FIONA HARVEY, INFORMATION LITERACIES FOR

ONLINE LEARNING, APRIL 2012

This essay will attempt to provide

some clarity for those in higher

education institutions (HEI’s)

grappling with the concept of a

much used term 'digital literacies'.

It will focus on the different

interpretations of the concept of

being digitally literate within higher

education (HE), including some

brief discussion of the new kind of

'student', and how terminology has

helped to provide confusion for

both staff and students across

many disciplines when discussing

and describing skills for education

and research today. It will conclude

with a flexible interpretation of the

terminology used to describe these

kinds of literacies and will discuss

potential approaches to enable

education developers and learning

technologists to encourage a wider

understanding of these skills.

WHAT IS LITERACY?

Before we can explore in detail the concepts of ‘digital literacies’, it would be useful to

understand what is meant by literacy itself. Generally, the idea behind literacy is the

ability to read and write, both for children and for adults, this is a competency standard

that has been universally applied an accepted by most western cultures (Goodfellow

2011) Interestingly, one of the crucial elements of being literate is that it is a social

activity. Literacy is an enabler, allowing people to communicate and collaborate together

is part of being literate (Gee 1987).

‘Digital Literacy’ is a term that has developed as an extension of the traditional notion of

literacy with application to the ‘information age’. It would seem straightforward that by

including the word ‘digital’ the implication is that you would become competent in the

form of reading and writing using technology. However, it is not as simple as that and if

it were, why would we need to define it at all. Digital Literacy is a broad term used to

describe a collection of skills, or competencies [literacies]. The term is so broad, in fact

that by using the term ‘digital literacy’ you are narrowing the definition and there is an

argument for using the plural term ‘literacies’ when referring to the collection that are

‘digital literacies’ (Goodfellow 2011).

Definitions for Digital Literacies cover a range of activities and not just those relating to

education:

‘Digital Literacies are the constantly changing practices through which people make

traceable meanings using digital technologies’ (Barton & Gillen 2009), or,

‘Digital literacy is the ability to locate, organise, understand, evaluate, and analyse

information using digital technology. It involves a working knowledge of current tools

and an understanding of how they can be used’ (Wikipedia 2012). Gilster described it as

"providing internet novices with the basic thinking skills and core competencies they'll

need to thrive in an interactive environment" Gilster 1997). JISC defines it as 'those

capabilities that equip an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society'

(Knight 2011).

Although these definitions seem clear, they are still not covering the range of activities

that might be part of digital literacy. Some of the definitions are very close to

Information Literacy. We have single definitions but these may not be as important as

they initially seem. There certainly is not a ‘one size fits all’ definition that can be

usefully applied to the range of interactions that someone who is digitally literate might

possess. I would argue that it is more important (and useful) to provide a meaningful

definition to the relevant audience. This ensures

that the audience can relate effectively the skills

needed for their own discipline.

One useful set of skills that have been

collectively called ‘digital literacies’ has been

produced by Futurelab (Fig 1). This image

encapsulates nicely the literacies under the

umbrella term of digital literacies. Gilster first

used the term ‘digital literacy’ within his book of

the same name in 1997. Digital literacies cover

a set of skills, including:

MEDIA LITERACY

Media Literacy is developed from web based consumers of information to producers.

Information Literacy does have some similarities but the main difference is the genre of

information and the creators of the media. In the UK, OffCom advocated Media Literacy

and produced a report in 2008 investigating UK adults media literacy. They defined

media literacy as ‘the ability to access, understand and create communications in a

variety of contexts’ (OffCom 2008).

FIGURE 1 DIGITAL LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM (FUTURELAB)

INFORMATION LITERACY

Information Literacy is the ability to analyse,

search for, critically

evaluate information.

This is one of the

founding literacies

within the digital

literacies umbrella and

has been cited as the

backbone of digital literacies (Belshaw 2011). It has

particular relevance to librarians who have traditionally

been involved within HE defining this skill for information

of all kinds, digital or not. Back in the 1980’s the Society

of College, National and University Libraries (SCONUL)

the ‘seven pillars model’(Fig.2). SCONUL have

endeavoured to continually update the model by

applying it through a variety of lenses. They have

developed a useful adaptation for digital literacies.

However, this has its limitations, produced for staff

rather than for use by a student.

TECHNOLOGICAL LITERACY

The idea behind technological literacy was developed in recognition of the need to

participate effectively within an ever shrinking global society, connected by technological

means, which also meant there was greater competition. In around the same time, both

the US and the UK realised that it was playing an increasingly important part in the

business world markets and that it was necessary to ensure their employees were able

to maximise their potential. Notably that it was essential to be able to operate

effectively in the workplace and to trade with the rest of the world (Gilster 1997). In

its simplest form, it was defined as the ‘ability to use, manage and understand

technology’ (International Technology Education Association 2007) this definition was

developed in America and has been used as part of their national education programme.

However, it has been criticised for being too closely linked to business and not being

critical enough.

The Learning Literacies for the Digital Age report (LLiDA) (Beetham, McGill & Littlejohn

2009) references ‘literacies of the digital’ or learning literacies. This focuses the reader

on educational uses of digital literacies, as opposed to all of its aspects. It discusses the

importance of the development of these ‘learning literacies’ to ensure that the Graduates

of today are equipped with the skills that will allow them to become effective within a

global society for the 21st century and that the HEI’s have structures in place to facilitate

this. According to the report, it provided HE and further education with relevant

research on how the learners of the 21st century could be developed.

FIGURE 2 SCONUL 7 PILLARS

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Howard Rheingold (Stamford University) discusses

digital literacies skills. Rheingold describes digital

literacies as being ‘mindful’ in our interactions with

technology and able to deliberately decide how we use

the technology within the digital literacy areas (as per

the Futurelab image for example) (Rheingold 2012).

There has long been a debate about the perceived types

of new skills that students are bringing to education and

the types of students that are part of it. This debate has been called Digital Natives

versus Digital Immigrants (Prensky 2001). Essentially, the theory is that young people

entering education have grown up using technology, for both education and play and do

so as second nature. They are able to use in a more efficient and productive way than

someone from an older generation who may be able to use technology, but would find

ways to adapt its use to fit in with their own former perceptions of how they used to

work, before the technology. For example, using emails but also printing them off to

read them (Tapscott 2009). Although it is true that many adolescents may be using

technology within their studies and also as part of their social life, it is also quite true

that being tech savvy does not correlate to being tech effective (Selwyn, 2009). Those

entering HE have clearly shown that they need direction and scaffolding on the best uses

of technology for their education. Many students feel confused and uncertain about what

they should be using and how to apply it (Schulmeister 2009, Selwyn 2009). This is not

a generational issue as we are ‘all part of the Google Generation now’ (JISC Study

2008).

This concept is an important consideration for

academic staff. Knowing that students may have

an expectation of a high use of technology can be

quite a daunting prospect from educators who may

not have had the need or are unaware of the value

of providing effective teaching and communication

using technology. This can be for a number of

reasons. Some perceive that they are unable to

develop the skills themselves in order to appear

confident in using the technology within the lecture

theatre; others say that they do not have the time

and some do not want to deviate from what they already do.

Many educators at the University of Southampton for example are able to provide a high

quality and effective teaching practice without the use of many of the tools that could be

perceived to add value to the student experience. This could mean using social media

networks, cloud services and web 2.0 applications. Many use the technology that is

available within University systems. For example, module leaders are developing course

materials and adding them to the virtual learning environment (Blackboard). They

create videos, add notes and provide narrated PowerPoint slides. These are all effective

uses of technology and they may meet the needs of the students. Students have the

ability to access the materials, and they may even be encouraged to create their own.

For these students, they can follow the example of their module leaders, who by

demonstrating that they can interact in an educationally effective way are developing

their students’ digital literacy skills.

It is also important to note that being digitally literate is ‘a condition, not a threshold’

(Martin & Madigan 2006) an on-going state to be maintained rather than achieved.

Academic staff and students recognise that digital skills need to be developed in order to

enhance and to make effective use of the resources that are available, both within

University systems and the wider society. This helps the academics to communicate

effectively with their cohorts and it enables the students to prepare themselves for

future careers and interactions with technology, in whatever context they may be (Beer

2010 & Sharpe 2010).

PERSPECTIVES

In order for the concept of digital literacies to be developed effectively, there needs to be

a ‘hook’ or a contextualisation for the academic staff. London Metropolitan University

embedded digital literacies within their staff development programme and adjusted the

perspective to suit the needs of the discipline of the academic (Sharpe 2010). I would

argue that this is essential in gaining acknowledgement within the broad ranges of

subjects being taught at university. To have a broad based view of digital literacies

means that appropriate areas can be addressed accordingly, depending on the area

under discussion. For example, when the Computer Science department teaches digital

literacy their threshold level is higher than those in the Social Sciences but it is the

message of the importance of being digital literate that is the key and should be

addressed appropriately.

CONFUSION

With such a variety for ‘aspects’ of the constituents of digital literacies, is it any wonder

that there is confusion? One obvious barrier to the development of a clear approach to

digital literacies is the confusion over the terminology, especially between information

literacy and digital literacy. Digital literacy includes information literacy. Information

literacy has been a familiar term that has been in use for some time. It doesn’t relate

specifically to the use of online information (and probably shouldn’t). It could be

described as a ‘timeless’ term. Information literacy is ‘the ability to retrieve, analyse

and evaluate information is a key skill in the information age’ (Beetham et al 2010)

However, this is now part of being digitally literate.

Being digitally literate also includes creating content,

making choices about appropriate uses of technology

and extends beyond the classroom to using online

shopping services, and voting online. It also includes

online identity, and safety. This video gives an

example of confusing terminology. It could be because

its presented by a research team for a project

investigating Media Literacies but they refer to similar

terms that are also widely used that relate to the holistic digital literacies definitions.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS IGNORING DIGITAL LITERACIES.

What difference does this make? University administrators are aware that there is an

increasing need to provide the support and meet the needs of graduates entering the

workplace in 21st Century. With fees currently at approximately £9000 per year

(University of Southampton charges are £8500 per year) The standard of education and

research is paramount. Part of this has to be the development of skills. These skills are

not just the historical (and not necessarily technical) traditional based skills, note taking,

time management and text based services in the library (Beetham et al 2009) but also

the skills to make the right choices, create videos and upload them to an appropriate

place, manage your identity and be aware of the implications of the actions that are

taken when posting comments on websites. It is essential that students are made aware

of and shown how to develop their personas online, how they may interact and make

contact with colleagues in other institutions and how they can even network themselves

into a career. Increasingly, academic institutions are interested in developing their

graduates so that they can meet their ‘digital’ needs and have been developing

programmes using sets called ‘Graduate Attributes’ to ensure that programmes are

developed within their institutions with these considerations in mind. Graduate

Attributes are lists of skills that universities have agreed on in order to provide a

framework to meet the expectations of the students and their potential employers. Part

of the JISC ‘Supporting Learners in a Digital Age’ (SLiDA) (Beetham et al 2009) set of

case studies was to provide a framework for developing Graduate Attributes with specific

reference to digital literacies.

SOLUTIONS

The pace of change in HEI’s rarely catches up with the rate of change in technology

(Selwyn 2009). However, there is a clear shift towards the acknowledgement that

digital literacies are an important part of the student experience for the next decade of

the 21st Century. HEI’s need to adapt to the need to address the essential skills that are

part of what it means to be an effective and arguably successful graduate. As more and

more stories of the impact of online interactions are presented in the media, students

and staff alike recognise that the use of technology to communicate, whether it be ideas,

photos, research or on a social level. They recognise that these sets of skills that have

been discussed here are essential to effectively operating in education, research and

society. Arguably, it is now just a matter of progressing change through the slow

process of staff development and awareness raising. Funding needs to be provided by

institutions to embed these skills sets into modules and programmes in order to

introduce concepts. The education model that is commonly used at university has been

slowly changing along with the technology that affords the changes. Being able to use

video has been available for decades, but the options of creating and delivering with

minimal cost and speed are new and, if the skills are developed, will allow for a richer

student (and staff) experience.

The importance of being able to be an active participant in the information age for

education and society is acknowledged. It is necessary to de-jargonise what we mean

when we talk about these ‘new literacies’ and to provide relevant and practical examples

in order to engage with staff and students who can benefit from these skills. It seems

that the contextualisation of the meaning of digital literacies could be the ‘hook’ to

engage with staff (and students) (Belshaw 2011) and that the development of these sets

of competences is not an option but a necessity.

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