The references below were used in the writing of the reflection posts and digital teaching resources. Posted as an image to preserve the formatting for APA 6th Referencing style.
Images were sourced from FreeDigitalPhotos.net or the respective social media websites.
This post has a link to a spreadsheet that has been set up as a quiz for junior primary students. Apart from testing their knowledge, it is also a tool that will help them practise their typing and mouse skills.
ACHGK001 Australian Capital Cities
An “Evaluation Matrix” is attached, which provides some quick guidance on how the tool could be used.
This post has a link to an online survey, which is an example of survey that could be used to obtain feedback from parents.
An “Evaluation Matrix” is attached, which provides some quick guidance on how the tool could be used.
“We’ve all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.” Robert Wilensky (Goodreads, n.d.)
The internet and the ability of digital technology to produce, copy, transfer and store data, means that there is an incredible volume of information available at the click of a mouse. With the volume of this data growing exponentially, the challenge is how do we find anything useful? How do we know that it is current? How do we know that it is correct?
“Digital curation involves maintaining, preserving and adding value to digital research data throughout its lifecycle.” (DCC, 2015), as described by the Digital Curation Centre at the University of Edinburgh.
While this definition relates to research data, it is equally applicable to all digital of data and is particularly relevant to the use of digital data assets in education. The effective curation of data enables not only the reuse of digital data assets, but also allows for their continual enhancement and improvement. Maintaining, reusing and sharing digital assets helps keep them current and relevant, and also reduces the need to develop new digital data assets from scratch.
While there are lots of tools available to assist with the task of digital curation it is important to first consider what and why we curate.
Curation must also involve the judicious selection of artefacts to store and also the rigorous retirement of artefacts as they are superseded. Digital assets must be critically assessed to determine their relevance and currency, along with the value that they have both now and in the future.
There is a massive amount of useful information and tools that are available for use in education; digital curation, where performed deliberately and effectively, can have a positive impact on our ability to use the best available material for the particular teaching situation.
Images courtesy of nuttakit and Giovanni Sades at FreeDigital Photos.net
As someone who has worked in the IT industry for many years, my initial reaction to the term “Digitally Fluent’ was that it is just an updated version of the phrase “IT literate”. However, on thinking back to my own introduction to IT, me being someone who could be described as a “digital immigrant” (Prensky, 2001), I recall my excitement in learning to use a green text screen PC (pre-DOS) at my father’s office when I was a child. When comparing this time with my recent attempts to learn another language, the difference between literacy and fluency became quite clear.
Clark Barnett describes it very well in his blog post.
The ability for people to be able to learn new skills, and then be able to apply and combine them in new situations is essential for being able to thrive in a digital world, where new technology and applications are being developed and used at an ever increasing pace. Being digitally fluent is being able to adjust to these new aspects of the digital world with ease, in an almost unthinking manner –building on past experience with confidence and with a degree of comfort in trying new things.
So when do we know that we are digitally fluent? There is no clear point of arrival because technology is changing so frequently, but the checklist below (Howell, 2012, p. 139) is a good place to start
With the digital world being such an integral component of the ‘real’ world, it is essential that we develop digital fluency within our students throughout their education journey. It is important that we do not just aim to achieve a basic degree of digital ‘literacy’ in knowing how to use specific tools or applications; digital fluency will come about as a result of regular exposure to digital technology and using this as part of everyday learning, in conjunction with broader topics and not just as a ‘subject’ in itself.
The term ‘Digital Divide’ is widely used but with multiple definitions, many of these referring to the inequality in access to the digital world. When described in this way, the digital divide can be viewed as being the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ in respect to access to the digital world, whether that being the physical ICT devices themselves (e.g. the ability to obtain them) or the ability to connect (e.g. internet access for remote communities). As digital technology becomes more affordable and connectivity more widespread, it could be argued that the digital divide is narrowing, but it is not that simple.
The concept of ‘Digital Expectancy’ (Howell, 2012) refers to the attitudes relevant to engaging with and participating in the digital world. This expectancy is held by all stakeholders in society to varying degrees; a key aspect relevant to education is how we can prepare students to participate fully in the wider community where the use of digital technology is becoming more widespread and in many cases, essential. It is clear that it is not enough to just have access to digital technology, but also to be able to use and engage with it, to be comfortable with it and to maximise its potential.
Rob Mancabelli describes the ‘New Digital Divide’ this short presentation:
We cannot just provide digital assets and hope for the best, we need to make sure that we use digital technology in an exciting and appropriate way. While the Australian Curriculum specifies ICT as a general competency (ACARA 2015), it is not enough to just become competent in key skills, we have to inspire confidence and develop a positive attitude towards the digital world, so that we can equip our students so that they can bridge the digital divide in whatever form it takes.
Image courtesy of cooldesign at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
EDC101 Teaching and Learning in the Digital World 