From Digital Natives to Digital Literacy: Anchoring Digital Practices through Learning Design

While the academic community and the general public often refer to learners today as inherently tech-savvy digital natives, those in the educational technology community have long advocated for a move away from digital native stereotypes in favour of fostering digital literacy. As such, the educational technology community can play a vital role in shifting from popular conceptions of digital natives and toward developing digital literacy for the benefit of all learners. In this paper, we provide a comparative analysis of search data from Google Trends showing continued use of the term digital natives and the rising interest in digital literacy. In order to help educators move away from popularized concepts of digital natives by instead developing digital literacy in three domains, we propose a conceptual framework for anchoring digital practices within a Learning Design model.This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

From digital natives to digital literacy: Anchoring digital practices through learning design. (ASCILITE Presentation 2018)

Presentation from ASCILITE 2018 based upon a paper published in proceedings: While the academic community and the general public often refer to learners today as inherently tech-savvy digital natives, those in the educational technology community have long advocated for a move away from digital native stereotypes in favour of fostering digital literacy. As such, the educational technology community can play a vital role in shifting from popular conceptions of digital natives and toward developing digital literacy for the benefit of all learners. In this paper, we provide a comparative analysis of search data from Google Trends showing continued use of the term digital natives and the rising interest in digital literacy. In order to help educators move away from popularized concepts of digital natives by instead developing digital literacy in three domains, we propose a conceptual framework for anchoring digital practices within a Learning Design model.This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

DOC 2020-03 Certificate in Community Arts Engagement

Legislative Authority1. Rationale for the new certificate program With the suspension of the University’s Arts Administration minor program, a curricular gap was created for students who continued to express an interest in pursuing professional work in arts management and related fields. The creation of a new undergraduate arts certificate program that better reflects the University’s values by focusing on community engagement through the arts will be more accessible, practical and attractive as an undergraduate certificate than a more narrowly focused arts management minor program or a graduate certificate program with limited connection to the arts. This undergraduate certificate program will create a collaborative environment where students can work on community-based projects. A demonstrated interest in this type of program has been evident in informal conversations with and among undergraduate arts majors and non-arts majors. Several students have enrolled in the Non-Profit and Community Leadership Graduate Certificate Program as their only current option. The program will be open to interested degree-seeking undergraduates in the Department of Music; the Department of Art and Design; the Theatre, Dance and Performance Technology Program; the Department of Communication; the Department of English; and the School of Business, as well as those whose academic focus is in other areas of study. Arts majors and students majoring in non-arts disciplines will have opportunities to collaborate to identify specific problems and needs in the community and to work toward finding creative solutions for those problems. Modes of student learning will include the development of case studies for information collection, problem identification and project-focused work toward solutions, and consultation with diverse experts. This certificate program will serve specific community members, such as those who work in social justice or social service settings and want to bring the arts to the people they serve. The program will also support arts organizations in their efforts to reach wider and more diverse audiences. The program will be sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences and administered by the Department of Music with a faculty member assigned as Coordinator. The first Certificate Coordinator will be Professor Sharon Gratto, who is active in the arts community and will recruit and advise students for the program. A Certificate in Community Arts Engagement will help prepare undergraduate students find innovative ways to advocate for the arts and to bring the arts to more diverse segments of the community. Today’s arts organizations and other community organizations need creative thinkers who have the skills to help make connections across disciplines and to bridge the gaps that exist between and among various constituencies. This program supports the University’s educational goals and objectives by encouraging and supporting students to become change-makers as they engage in civic practice in the community with and through the arts

Online help-seeking in communities of practice

Interactive online help systems are considered to be a fruitful supplement to traditional IT helpdesks, which are often overloaded. They often comprise user-generated FAQ collections playing the role of technology-based conceptual artifacts. Two main questions arise: how the conceptual artifacts should be used, and which factors influence their acceptance in a community of practice (CoP). Firstly, this paper offers a theoretical frame and a usage scenario for technology-based conceptual artifacts against the theoretical background of the academic help-seeking and CoP approach. Each of the two approaches is extensively covered by psychological and educational research literature, however their combination is not yet sufficiently investigated. Secondly, the paper proposes a research model explaining the acceptance of conceptual artifacts. The model includes users’ expectations towards the artifact, perceived social influence and users’ roles in the CoP as predictors of artifact use intention and actual usage. A correlational study conducted in an academic software users’ CoP and involving structural equations modeling validates the model, suggesting thus a research line that is worth further pursuing. For educational practice, the study suggests three ways of supporting knowledge sharing in CoPs, i.e. use of technology-based conceptual artifacts, roles and division of labor, and purposeful communication in CoPs

Rockefeller Foundation - 1999 Annual Report

Contains statement of mission and vision, president's message, program information, grants list, financial statements, and list of board members and staff

Critical Analysis of Problems Encountered in Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge in Science Teaching by Primary School Teachers in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe the need to incorporate indigenous knowledge in science education to reflect local cultural settings cannot be overemphasized. Current policies on science are situated in Western cultural definitions, thus marginalizing indigenous knowledge, which is misconceived as irrational and illogical. This study used qualitative research methods. Ten teachers were purposively selected and interviewed to gain their insights into problems faced in incorporating indigenous knowledge into science teaching. The study found that the problems were attitudinal, institutional, and systemic. Teachers were found to be conservative “gatekeepers” who exhibited negative attitudes toward indigenous science and supported maintaining the teaching of Western science. The study suggests reforming and transforming science curriculum, policymaking, and teacher education to promote cross-cultural science in Zimbabwean primary schools

Toward an Ecology of Gaming

In her introduction to the Ecology of Games, Salen argues for the need for an increasingly complex and informed awareness of the meaning, significance, and practicalities of games in young people's lives. The language of the media is replete with references to the devil (and heavy metal) when it comes to the ill-found virtues of videogames, while a growing movement in K-12 education casts them as a Holy Grail in the uphill battle to keep kids learning. Her essay explores the different ways the volume's contributors add shades of grey to this often black-and-white mix, pointing toward a more sophisticated understanding of the myriad ways in which gaming could and should matter to those considering the future of learning

University teachers’ conceptions of “Changemaker”: a starting point for embedding social innovation in learning and teaching

Purpose: This paper reports on a study aimed at understanding the different conceptions that University of Northampton teachers hold of “Changemaker”, an institutional initiative to develop capacities for social innovation. Design/methodology/approach: The study took a phenomenographic approach to identify a small number of qualitatively different conceptions of Changemaker among teaching staff. Face-to-face, phenomenographic interviews were carried out with 30 teachers across the university. Transcript data were analysed using thematic inductive analysis. Findings: Five different conceptions of Changemaker were found: 1) Changemaker as university strategy; 2) Changemaker as critical thinking, perspective shifting and problem solving; 3) Changemaker as employability; 4) Changemaker as social betterment and 5) Changemaker as personal transformation. Research limitations/implications: The outcome space of conceptions represents the beliefs of teaching staff at the University of Northampton. The approach to research and plans for the practical application of findings may be of direct benefit to other education providers as they develop their own models for teaching and learning. Practical implication—The findings from this study will inform the next phase of the project, which involves the development of a skills/attributes/behaviours matrix for Changemaker. Originality/value: The findings of this study will address the absence of literature on teachers’ conceptions of phenomena related to social innovation, social entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. Understanding teachers’ beliefs of such phenomena is relevant to the growing number of universities that address these subjects in the curriculum

Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Abstracts 2004

Proceedings of the Advances in Teaching & Learning Day Regional Conference held at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 2004