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DEBUT digital literacy staff development programme

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    Not digital immigrants, but not comfortable and so not creative One at a time wasnt working – no incremental increase Digital literacy - DigEULit

    Evidence from DEBUT highlights the benefits of contextualised staff development – the opportunity for participants to choose the tools they worked on, depending on their own needs and context, was a key success factor. For most participants experiencing a range of tools within a short time frame was instrumental in this, although a small number would have preferred to have more time between tool experiences to consolidate their learning. The form of staff development support which received the most positive feedback was a group workshop or demonstration where a task or ‘homework’ was given, followed up by a one-to-one or small group coaching session. This form of staff development enabled participants to ‘play’ with a tool and see its benefits for them, followed by highly personalised support with the opportunity to share practice and learn from others. One comment was “People from different disciplines approached it in a totally different way. It was quite amazing and very interesting to see what they were doing.” The ‘homework’ element acted as a motivator and the follow-up session reinforced learning, producing a positive experience with technology which really helped build confidence. One participant said ‘The thing that has been most useful in terms of the training I have had has been a fairly immediate follow-up session where I have been forced into doing something and forced into putting it into practice.

    There was one important issue with workshops and working in small groups. When a group was of mixed digital ability this could be an issue for those at both ends of the ability scale – the more advanced wanted to move ahead, and the less confident felt, as one participant put it, “inferior and insecure”. One aspect of DEBUT that did not turn out as we had anticipated was the use of the project mentor, a teaching fellow. All the participants valued the opportunity to talk during their interviews at the beginning and in the middle of the project but none of them contacted her with any problems or queries during the project – they wanted technical support, and contacted a learning technologist. A barrier to staff developing their digital skills was time, or lack of time to attend sessions or try things out and consolidate their learning. Participants felt they could have made more progress if they had had more time, but interestingly their feelings of responsibility for their students’ learning meant that they did not want to be released from current teaching commitments but wanted acknowledgement of the time needed for staff development.   Access to equipment was a problem for some of the participants. There were a few instances where software could not be installed on their computers at an appropriate time. Lack of access to mobile devices was an access factor that many participants commented on – with increased mobile working staff want technology that they can use not only on campus but from home, on the road and from partner organisations.  

    There was one important issue with workshops and working in small groups. When a group was of mixed digital ability this could be an issue for those at both ends of the ability scale – the more advanced wanted to move ahead, and the less confident felt, as one participant put it, “inferior and insecure”. One aspect of DEBUT that did not turn out as we had anticipated was the use of the project mentor, a teaching fellow. All the participants valued the opportunity to talk during their interviews at the beginning and in the middle of the project but none of them contacted her with any problems or queries during the project – they wanted technical support, and contacted a learning technologist. A barrier to staff developing their digital skills was time, or lack of time to attend sessions or try things out and consolidate their learning. Participants felt they could have made more progress if they had had more time, but interestingly their feelings of responsibility for their students’ learning meant that they did not want to be released from current teaching commitments but wanted acknowledgement of the time needed for staff development.   Access to equipment was a problem for some of the participants. There were a few instances where software could not be installed on their computers at an appropriate time. Lack of access to mobile devices was an access factor that many participants commented on – with increased mobile working staff want technology that they can use not only on campus but from home, on the road and from partner organisations.  

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    DEBUT digital literacy staff development programme - Presentation Transcript

    1. DEBUT Digital Experience Building in University Teaching Author: Su Westerman Learning Technology Coordinator and DEBUT Programme Manager © Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit (LTEU ) An overview of a digital literacy staff development programme
    2. DEBUT in a nutshell DEBUT started life in 2007 as an HEA funded project which piloted a new approach to IT staff development. Since this time there have been three cohorts, each of 30 staff. The aim of DEBUT is to enable programme participants to be more aware and more confident in exploiting a wide range of modern technologies – to be more digitally literate . DEBUT uses a personalised , contextualised , approach to developing digital literacy in staff based on the individual context and needs of participants
    3. Why DEBUT? Involvement in the HEA Benchmarking e-learning exercise showed widespread use of the VLE in the institution but few examples of creative practice , or use of other digital tools. Meanwhile, the range of digital tools, and their uses is rapidly increasing, but students need support to critically use these to support their learning. Systems-based staff development on different tools was not resulting in incremental gains in staff confidence in using digital tools. To develop our use of learning technologies in a more sustainable way, we needed to explore new approaches which developed the digital confidence levels of staff rather than their skills on particular systems.
    4. A bit about digital literacy
      • Our interest in the concept of digital literacy comes from the work of Allan Martin and colleagues on the DigEULit project. The project developed the following definition of digital literacy:
      •  
        • “ Digital literacy is the awareness, attitude and ability of individuals to appropriately use digital tools and facilities to identify, access, manage, integrate , evaluate, analyse and synthesise digital resources, construct new knowledge, create media expressions, and communicate with others, in the context of specific life situations, in order to enable constructive social action, and to reflect upon this process”.
      • Martin suggests that digital literacy is cultural rather than technological and is socially located . There is no ‘one size fits all’ e-literacy and it is dynamic – the needs of individuals or groups will change as their situation and environment change.
      •  
      http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/italics/vol5iss4/martin-grudziecki.pdf (DigEuLit project)
    5. A bit about digital literacy Martin suggests that for the individual, e-literacy consists of five elements:   awareness of the IT and information environment confidence in using generic IT and information tools evaluation of information-handling operations and products; reflection on one’s own e-literacy development adaptability and willingness to meet e-literacy challenges. The DEBUT project used these elements to construct the digital literacy scale on which participants could position themselves, from 1 (complete beginner) through to 5 (expert), at the beginning and end of the project. http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/italics/vol5iss4/martin-grudziecki.pdf (DigEuLit project)
    6. How the programme works We invite expressions of interest across the University to be involved each annual DEBUT programme. We offer participants a suite 25-30 digital tools – we ask participants to choose six to learn during their DEBUT year. We ask participants to choose these tools based on their digital experience, their attitudes to and use of technologies, their needs – their context . The tools are supported by staff development workshops, and depending on the popularity of a tool we offer that a number of times during the programme year. We group all the workshops on eight DEBUT development days throughout the year. Participants can chose to undertake one tool workshop a day or undertake a number. Sharing is important – we try and build in as much opportunity for participants to also share what they do with other participants.
    7. Lessons learned and findings to share Many participants also immediately integrated the use of their chosen tools into their practice. The key indicator of DEBUT’s success was evidence of a marked increase in the digital literacy levels of the participants. For cohorts one and two all but the most experienced had made progress on their digital journey, very significant progress in a number of cases. Participants commented on the increase in their ability and confidence not only with the tools they had experienced as part of DEBUT, but with digital tools generally.
    8. Lessons learned and findings to share
      • Key success factors quoted by participants were:
      • The awareness raising events at the outset of the programme
      • Contextualised staff development
      • The opportunity to explore a range of digital tools
      • Exploring these tools intensely within a short time frame
      • The support provided
      • The opportunity to share practice
      • The most favoured staff development approach was group sessions where homework was given and a follow-up session enabling the opportunity to learn from others was provided.
    9. Lessons learned and findings to share Some comments from the DEBUTANTS: “ It has widened my understanding broadly of the possibilities that could be used for personal, professional or educational development”. “ I now feel much more confident ... if I just fiddle around then something will come up and at the end I can just get rid of it and unfiddle it. Before I was so petrified about ... I don’t know ... it not working out”. “ It has made it very clear in my mind what I can see myself using or what I can see the value of”.   “ It has been interesting to integrate the different digital tools. I have used pictures from Flickr and updated the reference lists used at the end of the [Powerpoint] presentations using Refworks.” “ You wouldn’t believe how much my IT skills have developed . Now I feel I can press buttons on my computer and it won’t break”.
    10. Lessons learned and findings to share
      • Key issues:
      • Mixed ability groups could be an issue
      • Relationships built on expertise and trust
      • Time available to spend on staff development
      • Easy access to appropriate technologies
      •  
      The findings from DEBUT present a challenge : in developing digital literacy skills staff clearly value a contextualised and personalised approach, with follow-up sessions and support through people contact. The issue for institutions is how this can be delivered in a manageable and sustainable way.
    11. Moving forward DEBUT continues to be run by the Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit as an annual staff development programme at Canterbury Christ Church University . The programme has received interest from the HEA and other Universities and Further Education Colleges as an approach. The issue of digital literacy can only grow in importance. Staff skills is seen by the sector as one of the greatest challenges to successfully exploiting new technologies (UCISA).  
    12. Further Information For further information please contact: Su Westerman Learning Technology Coordinator and DEBUT Programme Manager [email_address] Alternatively go to: http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/lteu

    + Susan WestermanSusan Westerman, 4 months ago

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