Renee Hobbs gives the keynote address at Explore, Create, Connect: The Inaugural Digital Literacy Symposium at the University Libraries of Virginia Tech

1. Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
University of Rhode Island USA
Twitter: @reneehobbs
Create to Learn:
Digital Literacy in Higher Education
Inaugural Digital Literacy Symposium
University Libraries of Virginia Tech
November 2, 2017
@reneehobbs

2. @reneehobbs
www.mediaeducationlab.com

3. www.createtolearn.online

4. In order to advance digital literacy competencies, a
mindset shift in higher education is needed that
positions learners as digital authors
Higher levels of engagement, intellectual curiosity and
deeper learning occur when students compose media to
demonstrate knowledge, critical analysis and creativity
Empowering students as digital learners requires
sensitivity to the dialectic between creative control and
creative freedom
PREVIEW
@reneehobbs

5. Literacy is the sharing of meaning
through symbols
#chariholearns @reneehobbs

6. @reneehobbs
Digital and Media Literacy: A Process

7. PEER-TO-PEER FILE SHARING
Communication & Education. Institutions of education and
communication are interconnected in ways that may support democracy.
Inquiry Learning. People develop intellectual curiosity by asking
questions about what they experience in daily life.
Critical Pedagogy. Awareness, analysis, and reflection enable people to
take action to make society more just and equitable.
Medium Theory. Media & technology are immersive cultural, political and
economic environments; media structures re-shape human perception &
values.
Active Audience Theory. Meaning-making is variable; lived experience
& social context shape practices of interpretation.
Theoretical Framework

8. Digital Literacy Competencies are
Complex & Multifaceted

11. SOURCE: New Media Consortium (2017) Digital Literacy Impact Study: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief.
Undergraduates Report
More Focus on Analyzing Media

12. SOURCE: New Media Consortium (2017) Digital Literacy Impact Study: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief.
Undergraduates Report
Little Focus on Using Media to Create Content

13. SOURCE: Chatterji, P. (2016). Faculty Evolving Digital Needs. BePress Webinar. N = 550.
Faculty Report Issues Where Students Need Help

14. Traditional Learning Paradigm
in Higher Education
Hobbs,R. (2017) Create to Learn. NY: Wiley
The Instructor Controls
 Goals and Objectives
 Content, Information and Ideas
 Assignments and Assessments
THE
TRANSFER
PROBLEM

17. Everyone learns
from everyone

18. From SIT AND GET
@reneehobbs @MedEduLab

19. To CREATE TO
LEARN
@reneehobbs @MedEduLab

20. Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY:
Wiley.
An explosion
of free or
low-cost
digital tools
enables
anyone to
create media

21. In order to advance digital literacy competencies, a
mindset shift in higher education is needed that
positions learners as digital authors
REVIEW
@reneehobbs

23. www.pathwright.com

24. A Student Annotates a Video
ANT Video Annotation
https://ant.umn.edu/

25. Kami PDF & Document Markup
http://chrome.google.com
A Student PDF Annotation

26. Flipgrid for
Summarizing & Synthesizing flipgrid.com

27. Zoom for
Community Building www.zoom.us

28. Twitter for Community Building

29. Activation of digital literacy competencies should
promote transfer to a variety of real-world, lifelong learning contexts

30. As you watch, consider:
What competencies are
engaged by making a
screencast?

31. Multimedia Authorship Combines
Analysis & Creative Production

32. As you watch, consider:
What competencies are
engaged by making a
screencast?

33. At any moment, the reader is ready
to turn into a writer.
-Walter Benjamin

34. Media and information literacy
helps to bridge the gap
between the
classroom and the living room

35. In order to advance digital literacy competencies, a
mindset shift in higher education that positions learners
as digital authors is needed
Higher levels of engagement, intellectual curiosity and
deeper learning occur when students create media to
demonstrate knowledge, critical analysis and creativity
PREVIEW
@reneehobbs

36. CHOICE
MATTERS

37. “How do I get started?”
Managing Student Creativity
“What is our topic?”
“When is it due?”
“How long should it be?”
“Do have to work with a
partner?”
“How do I get an A?”

38. Creating with digital tools involves a process of messy engagement

39. TEACHERSTUDENT
FORMAT
CONTENT
DISTRIBUTION
PROCESS
Teachers Structure the Learning Experience through
a Balance of Creative Freedom & Creative Control

40. WORKED EXAMPLE
Visualizing Scholarship through Comparison - Contrast
FOCUS ON the Audience Problem: What makes a youth-produced video watchable or
unwatchable? In what contexts do people become the audience for digital media
produced by children and youth?
After reading, compare and contrast the two articles by creating a visual diagram or
representation of some sort, including at least 2 relevant direct quotations from the
works to capture key points of consensus and differences between these authors. Post
your diagram to your blog and tweet a link using the #EDC 534 hashtag.
• Halverson, E. R., Gibbons, D., Copeland, S., Andrews, A., Llorens, B. H., & Bass, M. B. (2012). What
makes a youth-produced film good? The youth audience perspective.Learning, Media and
Technology, 39(3), 386–403.
• Levine, Peter. (2008). A public voice for youth: The audience problem in digital media and civic
education. In L. Bennett (Ed.), Civic life online: Learning how digital media can engage youth (pp.
119 – 138). John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, MIT Press.
@reneehobbs @MedEduLab

41. @reneehobbs @MedEduLab

42. @reneehobbs @MedEduLab

43. @reneehobbs @MedEduLab

44. @reneehobbs @MedEduLab

45. @reneehobbs @MedEduLab

46. @reneehobbs @MedEduLab

47. @reneehobbs @MedEduLab

48. Comparing and contrasting using digital & visual design processes
promotes the development of innovative ideas
A SOLUTION TO CUT-AND-PASTE CULTURE

49. CHOICE
MATTERS
Hobbs, R. (2017). Create to Learn. NY:
Wiley.
BLOGS VIDEO
PODCAST ANIMATION
INFOGRAPHIC
VLOGS &
SCREENCAST

50. TEACHERSTUDENT
FORMAT
CONTENT
DISTRIBUTION
PROCESS
Teachers Structure the Learning Experience through
a Balance of Creative Freedom & Creative Control

51. Choose Two Formats from the List Below
 An academic essay, 8 – 12 pages in length, using
APA citation with a Works Cited list
 A podcast, uploaded to SoundCloud and no
longer than 10 minutes in length
 An infographic, with at least seven panels of
original content
 A screencast video, uploaded to YouTube and no
longer than 5 minutes
 Animation video, uploaded to YouTube and no
longer than 5 minutes
 Video, any format, uploaded to YouTube and no
longer than 5 minutes
 15 original memes (created by you), presented
as a sequence of images with music
 A social media Storify, presented as a sequence
of 15 examples of social media content,
sequenced and organized to present ideas and
develop an argument
CHOICE MATTERS
Multimedia Production for Summarizing & Synthesizing

52. SOURCE: Nikita Duke
#COM416

53. SOURCE: Nikita Duke
#COM416

54. SOURCE: Nikita Duke
#COM416

55. How are students “creating to
learn” at Virginia Tech?
How are you supporting the
development of student autonomy
and authority as authors?
How could your students
use, analyze and create
with digital texts and
tools to experience the
power of authorship?

56. In order to advance digital literacy competencies, a
mindset shift in higher education that positions learners
as digital authors is needed
Higher levels of engagement, intellectual curiosity and
deeper learning occur when students create media to
demonstrate knowledge, critical analysis and creativity
Empowering students as digital learners requires
sensitivity to the dialectic between creative control and
creative freedom
REVIEW
@reneehobbs

57.  How does the public nature of the learning experience affect
the quality of student work?
 What is the learning progression in creating visual
communication with easy-to-use digital tools?
 How do templates support, shape or restrict creativity?
 How does the cognitive load of using a new digital tool
influence the learning process?
 How does it affect the acquisition of content knowledge?
 Does the create-to-learn pedagogy advance students’ visual
design competencies even when formal instruction in visual
composition is not emphasized? Why or why not?
Research Questions for Create-to-Learn Pedagogy
@reneehobbs @MedEduLab

58. CONTACT INFORMATION:
Renee Hobbs
Professor of Communication Studies
Director, Media Education Lab
Harrington School of Communication & Media
University of Rhode Island USA
Email: hobbs@uri.edu
Twitter: @reneehobbs
LEARN MORE
Web: www.mediaeducationlab.com