So today is the last day of topic one, and tomorrow the scenario for the next topic will be posted on the main website. During the last two weeks we have been discussing and working on digital literacies. In this topic we mostly focused on sharing our own experiences and best tips within certain areas of digital literacies, such as browsing, searching and filtering information or collaborating through digital channels. Digital literacy was a new concept to me, but the content and what it means was not new or surprising. If we look at the developing digital literacies (2014) JISC guide   it is described as having more than just functional IT skills and it has more to do with developing a digital behaviour, a way of going about doing things and using certain practices, resulting in developing identities. Developing an identity is about using certain language and practices, and with time these develops into proficiency as one gets more familiar and gains more expertise in the area. It basically becomes a type of fluency, like a language (Developing digital literacies (2014) JISC guide).  It’s like any type of profession, with time as one become familiar with language and customs a shared identity can develop. Beetham and Sharpe (2010) explain digital literacy as a process,  in which the individual can travel from basic skill to expert capabilities (in Developing digital literacies (2014) JISC guide) and Sharpe and Benfield (2012) extends this work by discussing effective learning in a digital age and the role of the institution.  My own experience in this two weeks have been finding myself in the middle of the process and finding my way around. For example, I find it challenging to work in zoom meetings, first I thought one hour meetings were plenty of time. But now it feels short. It feels short because lots of things needs to be discussed and agreed upon. I think reaching a decision sometimes can take more time in this zoom setting than in a meeting. Maybe because here we are not yet familiar with this way of working, or it is because of turn taking and sometimes difficult to hear. Also realized it is easy to loose focus if I am in my office and other things are going on at the same time. I can see the benefits of Zoom meetings, but I can also see the value of meeting face to face. 

References 

Developing digital literacies (2014) JISC guide. 
http://web.archive.org/web/20141011143516/http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/digital-literacies/ 

Sharpe and Benfield (2012) Institutional strategies for supporting learners in a digital age. The higher education academy: https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/file/46a19142-e5e8-788d-bb38-2883041f93d3/1/Paper040203.pdf