Topic 1: Online participation & digital literacies

So, this weeks topic has been about putting myself and my own experiences into the context, for example a framework such as DigComp 2.1. In my work as a teaching librarian I´m familiar with different kinds of frameworks and we use them regularly. But one day as I looked on the picture on the door to my office it became clear that although I use them professionally I have never really reflected on myself and my digital identities/skills in relation to the framework.

Initially, my first take on this weeks scenario was to investigate the aspect of privacy on the web. This is a question that I find very important, and something that I have been working with in different ways:

• How can we create a safe and supportive digital environment for our users
• How can we contribute to making “people” aware of different kind of privacy issues
• How can we support our users both in the struggle to become aware but also give them tools to handle the situation
• How do we approach this topic without adding to users anxiety but make them feel safe and empowered

My aim was to search for best practices and I started to search the Internet for good examples. I found a lot of interesting texts but not so many explicit examples of how teachers/educators were designing their courses in order to create safe learning places. But as I browsed away on the web it was comforting to see that the things mentioned as important features in a successful elearning course was things that our ONL organisers certainly have been thinking of (see for example the blogpost from Pappas 2016 and Thormann, Fidalgo 2014).

In my PBL-group it was obvious that we all could relate to the scenario in many ways and our discussions gradually started to be more about our own digital identities. We used the Visitor-Resident scale to reflect on our own digital identities and the diversity in the group.

Initially I struggled a bit with the concepts but finally I decided to use the distinction between Visitor and Resident that is explained by White and Le Cornu (2011): “/…/Visitors understand the Web as akin to an untidy garden tool shed. They have defined a goal or task and go into the shed to select an appropriate tool which they use to attain their goal. Task over, the tool is returned to the shed” while “Residents, on the other hand, see the Web as a place, perhaps like a park or a building in which there are clusters of friends and colleagues whom they can approach and with whom they can share information about their life and work.”

I´m not sure that I fully have grasped the typology or continuum but I have enjoyed using it as a kind of compass in this rather untidy jungle and I am looking forward to also put it in the context of different frameworks as we go along.

Reflections in bullets:

• I certainly use a lot of different tools, some of them are so “basic” that I dont even think of them as something that is adding to a digital identity (online banking could go here)
• I use them for personal things but I dont think of them as “private”
• I use the same tool for different purposes, it can be work related or private
• They differ over time, I often use and test different things, most of them for short periods
• I´m not only managing a digital identity of my own, I also manage the library digital identity (that is in social media channels, on the web, different platforms etc)
• When using this amount of tools and services – is it even possible to protect your digital persona? Since I am really interested in different kinds of privacy issues this is a question that I will continue to explore.

Finally I have been thinking about the term “digital citizenship” and as it happened the last episode of the podcast Note to self (“the tech show about being human”) that I listened to on my way home yesterday were about just this: How to create good digital citizens . In the episode they identify five core competencies that any digital citizen should have. The first competence, and one that is relatable to this weeks scenario, they call ALERT (I am aware of my online actions and know how to be safe and create safe spaces for others online).

The episode focuses on teaching children but I found it interesting nonetheless, feel free to listen and explore the four other competencies (link below)!

 

Some of the things I have read/used during this topic:

Carretero, S., Vuorikari, R., & Punie, Y. (2017). DigComp 2.1: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens with eight proficiency levels and examples of use (No. JRC106281). Joint Research Centre (Seville site).

Developing digital literacies, a guide from JISC (2014): https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/developing-digital-literacies

Lillejord, S., Børte, K., Nesje, K., & Ruud, E. (2018). Learning and teaching with technology in higher education–a systematic review. Oslo: Knowledge Center for Education. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Solvi_Lilllejord/publication/327057633_Learning_and_Teaching_With_Technology_in_Higher_Education_-_a_systematic_review/links/5b7588eb92851ca65064b3d6/Learning-and-Teaching-With-Technology-in-Higher-Education-a-systematic-review.pdf?origin=publication_detail

Note to self [podcast].  https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/notetoself/episodes/how-create-good-digital-citizens

Pappas, C. (2016). 8 Tips To Build An Online Learning Community. https://elearningindustry.com/tips-build-online-learning-community [2019-10-08]

Thormann, J. & Fidalgo, P. (2014). Guidelines for Online Course Moderation and Community Building from a Student’s Perspective. MERLOT Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 10(3), 374-388.

White, D.S. & Le Cornu, A. (2011). Visitors and Residents: A new typology for online engagement. First Monday, 16(9).

Översättning av ACRL:s ramverk för informationskompetens för högre utbildning. https://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1318445/FULLTEXT01.pdf