Exhibiting, Disseminating, Teaching: Digital Literature in Danish Public Libraries

Danish public libraries have since 2010 exhibited, disseminated, and taught digital literature. This paper lays out the general trajectory of their work, and introduces the notion of a post-digital literacy: a theoretical lens through which to conceptualize and articulate the importance of teaching digital literature in K-12. In fruitful dialogue with a variety of other parties and institutions, including Aarhus University and the ELO, a handful of public libraries have developed considerable and impressive expertise, grounded in practice-based experimentation. Their efforts, which have taken place in the course of six projects, are the case into which this paper inquires. The case represents an astute continuity in terms of exhibiting and communicating digital literature to the general public, yet the decade of work has hitherto not been presented or analyzed collectively. In doing so, this paper not only collects the efforts made by multiple librarians in multiple libraries and documented in a variety of places and formats, it also considers the general trajectory of the work carried out as an ample case for charting areas for future work. In particular, the paper covers the projects: Open Work, 2010 (Danish: ‘Åbent Værk’); Literature Takes Place, 2011-2013 (Danish: ‘Litteraturen finder sted’); DigiSpace, 2015-2016 (Danish: ‘DigiRum’); Turn on Literature, 2016-2018 (Danish: ‘Tænd litteraturen’); Advisory Board for Digital Literature, 2016-2018 (Danish: ‘Advisory board for digital litteratur’); and Literature in Digital Transformation, 2019-2020 (Danish: ‘Litteratur i digital transformation’). The paper introduces each of these projects in chronological order, thus collecting and communicating the collective efforts made to an international academic audience. Furthermore, the paper demonstrates how there has been a shift in general focus, from early projects focusing on the possibility of exhibiting digital literature in public libraries per se (Open Work & Literature Takes Place); over projects mixing the exhibitions with an extensive focus on (informal) dissemination (DigiSpace & Turn on Literature); to later projects focusing explicitly on (formal) K-12 teaching, while maintaining public exhibitions as a fruitful way to conduct such teaching (Advisory Board for Digital Literature & Literature in Digital Transformation). Indeed, the latest project, Literature in Digital Transformation, included the development of a teaching platform intended for higher levels of K-12 education, which enables teachers to integrate digital literature into their teaching as well as examinations. The teaching platform itself is introduced in some detail. Finally the paper discusses the importance of teaching digital literature, not only as a contemporary kind of (multi-modal) literature, but also as cultural computation, setting the stage for the development of a post-digital literacy. As part hereof, the paper argues for the importance of situating digital literature as part of the current push for teaching computation and computational thinking in K-12 education. Based on the last decade’s worth of work, the paper offers reflections on the possibility of public libraries to take on a central role in teaching children and youths about cultural consequences of mass digitization – through a practice of teaching digital literature

Design for Narrative Change. A pedagogical model for Interactive Digital Narratives

Narratives mirror shared interpretations of the world. Still, dominant narratives prevail, pushing non-hegemonic narratives in the corner. A change in the creation, interaction and distribution of narratives can support the design of counter-narratives able to feed social change. Interactive Digital Narrative (IDN) can be considered an emerging experimental context in which designers, researchers and practitioners from various domains operate to develop story-based content addressing relevant social or societal issues. The IDN social constructivist role in encouraging or influencing individuals and collectivities towards social change is a relevant design issue especially from an educational perspective. Specifically, it features methodologies and praxis not yet systematised, in need of exploration and formalisation. Recognising the contribution of an approach combining transdisciplinary methods and tools, the article presents a pedagogical model for designing IDNs as complex interactive systems able to impact culture and society based on empirical study from a design course in the higher education context. Composed of theoretical and operational frameworks, the pedagogical model orients the multilayered design process for building engaging, interactive narrative artefacts systematising and operationalising knowledge from the domains of Communication for Social Change, storytelling and IDN in an iterative design process

Bringing Social Computing to Secondary School Classrooms

Social computing is the study of how technology shapes human social interactions. This topic has become increasingly relevant to secondary school students (ages 11--18) as more of young people's everyday social experiences take place online, particularly with the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, social computing topics are rarely touched upon in existing middle and high school curricula. We seek to introduce concepts from social computing to secondary school students so they can understand how computing has wide-ranging social implications that touch upon their everyday lives, as well as think critically about both the positive and negative sides of different social technology designs. In this report, we present a series of six lessons combining presentations and hands-on activities covering topics within social computing and detail our experience teaching these lessons to approximately 1,405 students across 13 middle and high schools in our local school district. We developed lessons covering how social computing relates to the topics of Data Management, Encrypted Messaging, Human-Computer Interaction Careers, Machine Learning and Bias, Misinformation, and Online Behavior. We found that 81.13% of students expressed greater interest in the content of our lessons compared to their interest in STEM overall. We also found from pre- and post-lesson comprehension questions that 63.65% learned new concepts from the main activity. We release all lesson materials on a website for public use. From our experience, we observed that students were engaged in these topics and found enjoyment in finding connections between computing and their own lives

Digital 3D modelling - Introduction

The transformation of the sculptor from a performer with, e.g. clay, to someone whotrains computers to process data for new 3D images, or simply asks the computer to produce a 3D model, is naturally altering the perception of what it means to make visual art and who makes such art.In a teaching context, an important question concerns what should be taught in the visual arts and how the increasing digital entanglement in all practices should be handled in the various disciplines of the teaching subject

UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science

1. The aim of this Recommendation is to provide an international framework for open science policy and practice that recognizes disciplinary and regional differences in open science perspectives, takes into account academic freedom, gender-transformative approaches and the specific challenges of scientists and other open science actors in different countries and in particular in developing countries, and contributes to reducing the digital, technological and knowledge divides existing between and within countries. 2. This Recommendation outlines a common definition, shared values, principles and standards for open science at the international level and proposes a set of actions conducive to a fair and equitable operationalization of open science for all at the individual, institutional, national, regional and international levels. 3. To achieve its aim, the key objectives and areas of action of this Recommendation are as follows: i. promoting a common understanding of open science, associated benefits and challenges, as well as diverse paths to open science; ii. developing an enabling policy environment for open science; iii. investing in open science infrastructures and services; iv. investing in human resources, training, education, digital literacy and capacity building for open science; v. fostering a culture of open science and aligning incentives for open science; vi. promoting innovative approaches for open science at different stages of the scientific process; vii. promoting international and multi-stakeholder cooperation in the context of open science and with view to reducing digital, technological and knowledge gaps

Game-Making as a means to deliver the new Computing curriculum in England

Integrating digital technologies into the curriculum has been a growing challenge, especially due to the failures of the majority of initiatives that were envisioned for this purpose. In an effort to comprehend and solve these issues, England has recently proposed a shift in the curricular approach, focusing in teaching technology's conceptual basis rather than technological applications. Thus, the new National Curriculum in England, valid in 2014, focuses on the development of new concepts and the empowerment of the students towards information and communication technologies (ICT). This article presents these recent discussions in the curricular field related to ICT/Computing teaching. It also describes an empirical experience carried out in England, in which students from primary schools explored game-making activities through computational and media culture perspectives as a means to promote this new curriculum. The results obtained through this preliminary research show that, although using digital games to connect Computing, Media and Arts in Education could be regarded as a complex activity, this is a possible path to reach the objectives outlined by the new National Curriculum

Design and training for implementation of constructivist-based distance learning environments

In response to societal shifts, K-12 teachers are attempting to design responsive, effective learning environments. A body of theory titled Constructivism has become increasingly important as a foundation for the design of learning environments that prepare students for the future demands of adulthood;When knowledge is being constructed, the tools to support that construction become important. Societal demands, new visions about learning, emerging technology, and connectivity to the information superhighway are offering educators the opportunity and the challenge to rethink and restructure the way they go about designing effective learning environments;This project identified a design guiding framework for constructivist-based distance education and the knowledge necessary for its implementation by distance educators. The intent of the framework is to assist teachers in the creation of constructivist-based distance education learning environments and the staff development needed to support the process. The framework is the result of a Delphi consensus building procedure in which the goal of the Delphi was to identify teacher training elements used for implementation of constructivist-based distance learning environments;The Delphi was carried out via the World Wide Web. The panel members came to moderate or high consensus that a majority (69%) of the items were important or very important for teachers to know or be able to do to implement the learning environments. While the discussion of teacher training needs for the implementation of constructivist-based distance learning environments was extensive, several threads continually reappeared. (1) Learning guide or facilitator roles for teachers; (2) Training needs of students to carry out learning strategies; (3) Embedding of assessment within the learning process; (4) Creation and facilitation of problem-based learning; (5) Multiple approaches to knowledge development;The results focused on the learning process, while technology was relegated to a secondary supporting role. The findings can assist those charged with developing the training program to support the implementation of constructivist-based distance education. Finally noted was the fact that change of this magnitude will require careful and extensive staff development for those teachers expected to effectively create constructivist-based distance learning environments