Formative Findings Have Been Collated by the Projects Under Six Themes

Findings

Formative findings have been collated by the projects under six themes:

Digital literacy as developing academic practice and identity

How students and staff move beyond adopting technologies or acquiring skills to integrating technology into the activities of study, research and teaching.

Digital literacy as developing professional practice and identity

How individuals in different professional roles integrate digital technologies into their practice. How students develop professional identities as an aspect of employability.

Assessing and progressing digital literacy

How support of various kinds – formal and informal - is helping individuals to assess and progress their digital capabilities.

Bring your own skills

How digital environments can be supportive of self- and peer-development of digital skills. How the 'Bring Your Own Device' agenda is working in practice.

Students as digital pioneers

How students are being engaged as digital pioneers and partners in the process of change, and the benefits of this approach.

Digitally literate strategic management

What capabilities and ideas are needed at the top tier in our universities and colleges to develop digital capacity, and how digital pioneers can have influence at the strategic level.

Evaluating the development of digital literacies

Recognising the challenges in assessing personal development and complex institutional changes, this draws together guidance, reflections and practical tools that have been explored through the programme.

General high-level lessons from the digital literacies programme

'Digital literacy' is a set of situated practices: it cannot be reduced to a checklist of specific skills or the use of specific technologies. However, basic access and capability are still critical to effective practice.

A useful starting point can be the process of defining practices characteristic of a 'digitally literate' person in a specific role (U/G, P/G, researcher, lecturer, professional/administrative staff member etc) or subject area, but the process is often more useful than the outcomes.

What it means to be digitally literate changes over time and across contexts. The emphasis should be on the academic or professional practice and how it can be supported by (diverse, changing) technologies.

The JISC definition of digital literacy has proved general enough to organise diverse actors around a common agenda. It is not specific enough to support action at the level of courses of study or specific professional services.

The JISC 'pyramid model' of digital literacy development has been influential, but other models have been developed to meet the requirements of different institutions or to reflect the ideas of different project teams

Digital literacy work is best approached around an open model or general vision which is then adapted, instantiated and implemented in specific local contexts. Examples and case studies are valuable in supporting that local embedding.

Digital literacy work takes place across a number of institutional settings which require coordination. It seems to matter little where coordination is located, and whether on a hub-spoke model along organisational lines or as a a looser aggregation of projects, interest groups, communities of practice.

Even within one practice area, different people find different ways of locating themselves in the digital/academic space, use different tools, and have different beliefs about/experiences of technology.

Individuals (staff students) need support to reflect on their own practices, to assess what works for them in different settings, to adopt and adapt new technologies as they become available, and to plan their own development. Informed peer support is often the most effective.

Developing digital literacy is identity work. Building a positive digital identity/profile is an important motivation for engaging, a useful testing ground for new practices, and a highly valued outcome of development.

Digital literacies trouble the traditional relationship between students and teaching staff. Staff are often more knowledgeable than students about how digital technologies support the specialised practices of the subject, but students are often more innovative in their use of digital media and of digital environments for collaboration. Staff and students working in partnership is an ideal scenario, but not an easy one.

'Do it yourself' development has become the norm for staff and students. This works for time-poor individuals who are already reasonably confident users of technology, in contexts where a step-change in practice is not required. Disadvantages are: inequalities of confidence/capability are enhanced; existing habits and attitudes can be reinforced; DIY fails when the context changes too fast, or familiar approaches/systems fall down. As an alternative the programme suggests 'Do it together' – staff and students learning from one another in authentic task settings where different capabilities can come to the fore.

Lessons on developing digital literacy policy and process / Evidence
Digital issues should be 'normalised' through inclusion in relevant strategies e.g. Learning Teaching and Assessment, e-learning, Student Experience, Access and WP, Research and KT, University Mission. / Baseline reports
Plymouth
Digital issues should be included where possible in key areas of organisational activity: curriculum design and review, staff development and review, quality processes / Final programme meeting
Plymouth
Strategies must be appropriately costed and resourced if they are to be effective / Cardiff, Plymouth
Genuine senior sponsorship is required for strategic priorities to be supported through resource allocation, and championed widely. 'Influencing strategy is impossible unless senior managers can be convinced that your vision has merit' (Plymouth) / Cardiff, Plymouth, Reading
Be wary of imposing a rigid definition or process: an institutional vision with local (departmental/faculty/college) implementation plans, examples and case studies may be the ideal / Bath
Final programme meeting
Institutional IT investments or roll-outs can be the catalyst for stakeholders coming together and for digital literacy to rise up the agenda – return on investment argument / Final programme meeting
Lessons on developing organisational cultures and attitudes / Evidence
Senior managers are influenced by short briefings and hard evidence – especially of efficiencies, cost savings, enhanced student satisfaction / Final programme meeting
Plymouth
Cardiff
Exeter
Academic and professional staff are influenced by relevant examples of good practice and by peer behaviour
Students are influenced by academic tasks (especially assessed tasks), academic modelling and peer behaviour
Everyone is motivated by opportunities to develop a positive online identity
Organisational change can create opportunities by freeing up established roles and systems.... / Plymouth
Reading
… but is more likely to lead to risk-averse behaviour, crisis management, and staff having less time to invest in new roles/ practices. / Other projects
Some projects have achieved success by developing a general model of digital literacy development – evidence based and graphically appealing – that achieves consensus for action. / Exeter
Cardiff
Bath
Greenwich
However, most projects have not pursued a consensus around DL but worked DL into other change agendas, e.g. professional practice, transition, placements, employability, scholarship, student partnerships, graduate attributes, the introduction of new hardware/systems
'Organisational change can be seen as a "middle out" activity that involves the enrolment of strategically important groups in support of competing policies or projects' (IoE) / Other projects
Let the medium be the message – use video evidence to build a case, social media for communication, collaborative environments to develop deliverables, apps to support individual engagement with DL
Communities of practice – especially already formed/emergent - are critical for adopting, shaping and sustaining the agenda, but require support to develop resources, build links, access budgets
'DIAL’s participative, forward-looking and integratedperspective has highlighted the important areas of staff/ student collaboration, harnessing the power of mutually supportive practice communities and the merits of embedding relevant technology in purpose/subject-specific contexts.' Vic Boyd – Glasgow School of Art / UAL
Greenwich
PADDLE
Cardiff
Networks of professional staff distributed in academic units, or a hub-spoke model of interaction between prof services and depts, both support the kind of distributed change required by DL. / UCL
Exeter
Reading
Projects/networks need to be semi-autonomous to flourish, but with regular sharing of expertise and the ability to act collectively in face of new opportunities/risks. / UAL
Partnerships with students are highly productive (see 'students as change agents' but intense on both sides. Be prepared to invest time, energy and resource. A short-term fix can be to recruit student 'consultants' for specific pieces of work.
Involve as wide a range of stakeholder groups as possible and work 'with the grain' of existing trust, goodwill, enthusiasm. Sometimes overlooked: Students' Union/Guild, HR, External Relations, Research/KT, Employers (though with many caveats about the difficulty of engaging with them) / Ox Brookes
Greenwich
Exeter
UAL
Various final reports

.A variety of organisational strategies (not exclusive – most successful institutions were pursuing at least two in parallel)

Support and amplify the impact of communities of practice, either role-based (e.g. teaching administrators, e-learning staff) or interest-based (e.g. assessment SIG, iPad users)

Develop the roles of professional staff (e.g. careers advisers, learning developers, librarians, e-learning staff) to explicitly encompass support for the digital literacies of others

Recruit and work with students as agents of change (as co-researchers, student representatives, developers, departmental champions, peer coaches and mentors, etc)

Fund mini-projects in departments and professional services – local champions identify needs and negotiate solutions

Embed DLs into the curriculum by mapping graduate attributes and providing curriculum teams with relevant guidance, examples, workshop opportunities

Focus on raising student awareness of and confidence in digital academic practices at key stages: pre-induction, induction, first assessment, transition

Bring Your Own Device/Service strategy e.g. provide robust wifi, a variety of appropriate learning/socialising spaces, secure storage, help desks and workshops focused on own devices/services

Lessons on developing a supportive infrastructure / Evidence
We have shown that personal devices/services can be used effectively for educational ends, including in FE settings... / Wordle
PADDLE
Plymouth
Greenwich
… but there is some way to go before BYOD is fully supported in terms of infrastructure:
device-neutral data environment
robust networks across campus(es)
secure storage
variety of learning spaces with plug points, suitable furniture
ongoing desktop provision for those who need or prefer it
... / Final programme meeting
Reading
Plymouth
...and even further to go in terms of culture:
communicating with staff/students about effective digital practice
developing consensual policies on acceptable use e.g. of social media, third party software
support for use of personal devices and services including 'when things go wrong'
measures to minimise disadvantage
curriculum change around assumptions of BYOD/S
valuing and rewarding digital know-how / Final programme meeting
Developing an equivalent digital environment for all students is increasingly challenging as students are learning in different locations (e.g. work-based, field-based, years abroad, on overseas campuses, at home) / Plymouth
Students have significantly different access needs, digital practices and identities: the environment needs to be flexible and agile to accommodate these (requires ongoing dialogue with a wide range of students) / Final programme meeting
IoE
Map the digital resources and data services required for core academic tasks, assuming that a variety of devices and interfaces will be used to access them. / Cardiff
Provide a flexible infrastructure within which institutional and third party tools can meet – but note that full-scale integration with single sign-on (e.g. via Google) is not universally desired. / UCL
Cardiff
Link to digital student work
F2F remains a key selling point: ensure the digital technology students are required to use is clearly relevant to their educational goals and enhances their overall experience. / UAL
Students often don't find out about ICT support, training, software, resources and services until late in their studies. They need signposting at times these are relevant and useful to them (which means making academic staff more aware). / UAL
Exeter
ICT teams need a dialogue with digital pioneers (in research, learning/teaching, prof services, and student body) to find out how the environment is inhibiting or supporting innovation / Final programme meeting
Reading
Plymouth
Lessons on developing professional services and student support / Evidence
Awareness of digital tools and practices needs to be raised across professional services, and the relevant staff need time for professional development and networking / Reading
Exeter
UCL
A strong professional identity and existing network are important to working successfully with professional staff / UCL
Recognise the role professional staff play in supporting institutional priorities e.g. by including a relevant category in teaching and learning awards / UCL
Some projects found it helpful to develop an integrated Digital Literacies model or framework as a focus for discussions with professional services staff / Cardiff
Exeter
Professional accreditation or recognition is a strong motivation for this group of staff / UCL
Worcester
Better signpost the support available to students (most students don't know or quickly forget), and ensure it is well integrated at the point of use / Plymouth
Lessons on developing digital practices in the curriculum / Evidence
Digital practices for academic success are subject specific: a repertoire that makes sense in a subject setting and that can be extended as new tools become available. / Bath
Exeter
Plymouth
Cardiff
UAL
Digital capabilities are better assimilated if they are practiced in a disciplinary context (topic/practice) / Final programme meeting
Bath
Exeter
Developing subject-specific profiles/attributes/outcomes is a process which needs to be owned by departments and course teams. / Bath
Cardiff
Embedding within programmes can be motivated by incorporating DL into quality mechanisms or graduate attributes but requires detailed work at the module level to be enacted / InSTEPP
Plymouth
Curriculum development = high level view of objectives and outcomes, suitable for a future graduate + capacity to embed digital activities and resources locally / Final programme meeting
Staff modelling digital practice is powerful but not critical if there is (a) clarity about the educational goals (b) support from others e.g. peers / Final programme meeting
Specialist technologies of the subject (e.g. data and design systems) or of academic practice (e.g. reference management, VLE, library catalogue) require structured induction, progressive practice / Exeter
Generic technologies in the curriculum (e.g. blogging, use of productivity and presentation tools) require awareness of alternatives, practice in a variety of contexts, informal support (e.g. peers, online resources, guidance).
Digital learning activities should be creative/productive as well as critical/assimilative e.g. problem solving, app building, online authoring/contributing, media editing, data visualisation / Final programme meeting
Assess such activities via the production of authentic digital artefacts, ensuring students have relevant examples and clear assessment criteria. / Final programme meeting
Reading
Students need specific practice for learning in online/blended environments / Worcester
Staff-student partnerships can be effective at developing relevant, engaging learning resources or apps / Greenwich
InSTEPP
UAL
Exeter
Profound curriculum change can happen around one simple but powerful idea e.g. flipped classroom, open and public pedagogies, student as producer. But such ideas are by definition challenging for everyone! / Reading
Students need to know when they are crossing key boundaries e.g. firewalls, public/private communication, personal/academic identity, free/paid-for content.
Lessons on developing individuals (staff) / Evidence
Academic staff skills and confidence have a profound impact on students, particularly when they first arrive at university/college / Reading
Greenwich
Developing a professional/academic digital identity is a powerful motivator for academic staff to engage with digital issues / Final programme meeting
Other areas in which academic staff are motivated to develop digital practices: data capture and communication, virtual collaboration, open scholarship, development of OERs / Exeter
Reading?
Engaging with digital scholarship can be an effective route for developing academic staff: this conversation is best rooted in cognate disciplines e.g. at College/Faculty/School level / Bath
Cardiff
Exeter
Digital practices should be modelled and even required in staff development settings, to build staff confidence and capability. e.g. video or blogging can be used for reflection. / Reading
Examples of good practice, relevant to their discipline area, are most highly valued by teaching staff: generic approaches can work if staff are allowed to identify their own needs and make sense of what's offered in their own teaching/learning context. / Bath
Final programme meeting
Digital choices are aspects of personal identity: staff need time, space and support to assess their individual capabilities, anxieties and needs, and decide which tools are right for them / UAL
Staff in some settings benefit from discussing theoretical aspects of and models/definitions of digital literacy
but
Don't get too hung up on theory/definitions – staff want tools that can support specific, contextualised practices / Greenwich
Cardiff/Exeter(to some extent)
Plymouth
Reading
Authentic development projects with an e-portfolio or blog for reflection/sharing are a good way of engaging staff and developing their expertise, but require personalised support / UCL
IoE
Reading
Staff are time-poor and need access to on-demand, highly accessible, bite-sized ICT guidance e.g. online videos, drop-in sessions (may be mixed with students), guidance notes / Cardiff
Plymouth
A cohort-based approach allows for sharing of ideas and can develop over time into a community of practice or interest group / PADDLE
Worcester
UCL
Allow staff – individually or in groups – to define their own development goals and establish their own training needs. Diagnostic tests, check lists and workflows can play a role. / UCL
Cardiff
Lessons on developing individuals (students) / Evidence
Generally, students' confidence is ahead of their capability, particularly when it comes to judging academic information online and using digital tools for academic tasks / Final programme meeting
Plymouth
Worcester
Reading
Even students who are proficient users of social and digital media need help using digital technologies effectively for learning, scholarship and in employment-related contexts / Final programme meeting
Reading
Worcester
Plymouth
There is a need for a useable, reliable, diagnostic/audit tool to help students identify individual strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and develop an action plan... / Worcester
Plymouth
Exeter
Bath
Greenwich
… but we also need to give students opportunities to assess and progress their capabilities in different contexts. Digital capability is highly context-specific. / Final programme meeting
Reading
IoE
Students have vastly different ICT skills and expectations. Ensure the digitally confident do not have to sit through basic training, and that all students can access guidance (e.g. online videos, drop-in workshops, briefings) at different levels / Final programme meeting
Students’ digital practices are contextualised in programmes of study: tutor practices and course requirements are critical; teaching digital skills in isolation is not always productive unless students practice them soon afterwards in a subject context. / Final programme meeting
Many final reports
Students benefit from opportunities to learn from more digitally confident peers e.g. via groupwork, collaborative knowledge-building, mentoring, help desks, student-authored resources / Final programme meeting
Many project reports
When developing students' digital literacies it is useful to start with reasonably familiar practices and build out e.g. start with social bookmarking and move on to formal referencing / Final programme meeting
Bath
Exeter
Digital study practices are largely established in the first year, but critical learning incidents are dispersed throughout the remaining years of study and are different for different students. / Greenwich
Developing an online (professional) identity is highly motivating for students / UAL
Reading
Plymouth
Students are more likely to access well designed online courses, and higher achieving students are more likely to engage in self-directed learning. / Worcester
Generic (non-specialised) apps, services etc are readily adopted by most students but all need clear guidance on what is institutionally available, supported, recommended, allowed. / Plymouth
Exeter
Digital choices are aspects of personal identity: students need time, space and support to assess their individual capabilities, anxieties and needs / UAL
IoE
Students require a critical approach to technologies in use, the resilience and flexibility to adopt new approaches, and the capacity to set technology aside when it is not useful. / Final programme meeting
Use of different digital technologies in a wide range of contexts by students supports a more flexible, critical attitude and better judgement of the value of digital practices / Exeter
Reading
UAL
Students spend considerable time 'curating' (sourcing and marshalling texts, including digital texts, and producing new texts to satisfy the requirements of their courses). / IoE
Students learn to manage boundaries between personal/ professional/study life, by deliberately integrating identities within a favoured platform or by keeping them separate. / IoE
Students who – individually or in groups – produce public digital artefacts are developing skills for employment as well as building their professional profile /identity. / Reading
Students who engage in educational innovation around authentic challenges/issues see impressive gains in digital and personal capabilities / Oxford Brookes
Exeter
UAL
Interventions that support student learning include capturing/recording of tutor content (e.g. screencasts, podcasts, lecture capture) and 'flipped classroom' approaches / Reading
UAL
Students have capabilities and aspirations beyond their subject of study: development happens in the co-curriculum and this must be included in any holistic approach / Greenwich
Reading
UAL
Oxford Brooks
Open practice and online reflection are powerful where students adopt them, but are challenging for many / UAL
Exeter

Findings on students' digital practices from the IoE project (detailed qualitative research)