How can we meet the needs of our ‘digital’ students?

Helen Beetham | @helenbeetham

a. General digital skills for C21st employmentb. Specialist digital practices of their subject areac. A well-presented digital portfolio (blog, web site) of their achievementsd. Critical thinking, so they can adopt, adapt or renounce the digital technologies of the futuree. Creative confidence, so they can code, design and make their own digital solutions

What do you think??

What is the most valuable thingwe can offer our ‘digital’ students?

59% students 89% recruiters 7-10

390 seconds 745,000 >400k hours

>98% all information 43.5% graduates About half of all

academic papers

36% UK jobs 70-85% participants 73% students

The story in numbers

Pick a number... any number...

Students’ digital practicesthe story in three projects

Students’ digital practicesthe story in three projects

Students’ digital practicesthe story in three projects

Students’ use of digital media is

constant and ubiquitous‣ connected

‣ intimate

‣ continuous recording

‣ continuous sharing

‣ seamless

‣ ‘content is free’‣ learning situations are ‘porous’ or leaky

‣ learning events leave a persistent trace

‣ learners are simultaneously here and elsewhere...

Students’ use of digital media is

constant and ubiquitous

Nike FuelBand cc. Peter Parkes on Wikimedia Commons

‣ connected

‣ intimate

‣ continuous recording

‣ continuous sharing

‣ seamless

‣ ‘content is free’‣ learning situations are ‘porous’ or leaky

‣ learning events leave a persistent trace

‣ learners are simultaneously here and elsewhere...

phonarnation.org

This generates some tensions

This generates some tensions

‣ using information tactically...‣ but not always understanding

the strategy

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‣ cut and paste‣ frictionless adoption‣ curatorial approach

but not often‣ extensive/intensive

production of ideas‣ originality‣ criticality‣ variety of voice

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This generates some tensions

‣ knowledge-sharing (‘free!’)‣ informal referencing, tagging,

acknowledgement‣ social criteria for judging value

but not always‣ understanding of authorship,

originality, plagiarism‣ formal referencing‣ academic/professional criteria

for judging value

This generates some tensions

‣ engaging with ideas in multiple media

‣ (especially images)but not always

‣ manifesting academic rigour

‣ translating into academically credible forms

This generates some tensions

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‣ engaging with ideas in multiple media

‣ (especially images)but not always

‣ manifesting academic rigour

‣ translating into academically credible forms

This generates some tensions

Radically rethink what it means to study,

learn, know and be an effective scholar/

professional/citizen?

How should we respond?

Use digital practices as bridges to more formal academic/professional practices - which we know are valuable?

Not all students thrive in digital spaces

‣ Digital divide narrower but wider: amplifies other inequalities and cultural differences‣ Learners’ digital skills shallower than we tend to think‣ ‘Digital natives' story hides many contradictions:

learners' engagement w digital world is v differentiated ‣ Learners experience difficulties transposing practice‣ Active knowledge-building, creating, sharing are minority

activities typically introduced by educators (Selwyn). ‣ Consumer practices & populist values dominate in

digital space - many feel excluded or worse

Not all students thrive in digital spaces

Everybody say ‘aahh’...

‣We check our mobiles every 390 seconds on average‣ Constant distraction makes us 20% more stupid

(Carnegie Mellon)‣ Using two screens at once = smoking 1.5 joints (UCal)

(with thanks to Richard Watson for all of these points)‣ Students cite digital distraction and time management

as major concerns (confirmed by Pew Foundation 2015)

cc yo-bro.deviantart.com: any cat picture really

Not all of us thrive in digital spaces

Not all of us thrive in digital spaces

Research outcomes are overwhelmingly produced in the global north...

... so are OERs and MOOCs

Digital students are different

digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.org

What do (digital) students say they want?

‣ Inspiring teachers (perhaps teaching in hybrid spaces)

‣ A chance to explore and project new identities

‣ New ways of belonging (to their course, cohort, institution)

‣ Closed, private → open, public spaces(‘walled garden : paths out’) ‣ Credibility

(established norms) but also distinctiveness (‘make me stand out’) and resilience (norms will change)

What do students say they wantfrom their digital experience?

Transactional Transformational

Accessing networksAccessing hardware and software

Accessing general and course-related informationSigning on to university systems

Booking appointmentsSubmitting work, receiving grades

Sharing ideas, engaging in dialogue

Encountering difficult concepts and practicesDeveloping independent study habits

Collaborating on projectsProducing new digital artefacts, especially e-portfolio, blogReflecting, reviewing, revising

Specialist practices: reference management, data analysis, e-journals, specialist tools...

Expectations largely established in advance by transactions with other service providers

Expectations established in the course of study through comparison with other students’ experiences, tutor example, and evidence of learning gains

What do students say they wantfrom their digital experience?

'it is not the technology in itself that is transforming education and society; it is, rather, the creative ways in which people are using technology to educate and drive change'Radical interventions in learning and teaching, NUS 2014

Questions, comments, contributions

a. General digital skills for C21st employmentb. Specialist digital practices of their subject areac. A well-presented digital portfolio (blog, web site) of their achievementsd. Critical thinking, so they can adopt, adapt or renounce the digital technologies of the futuree. Creative confidence, so they can code, design and make their own digital solutions

How do we go about any of this?

Activity: what is the most valuable thingwe can offer our ‘digital’ students?

What will you do as a result of this webinar?write in the chat window

What would you like the university to do?write in the chat window

Next steps:

digitalstudent.jiscinvolve.orgfindings | challenges | exemplars | resources

bit.ly/DLcurriculummaterials for embedding digital literacies into

the curriculum

Resources: