How is it going so far . . . . .

When looking at my own digital literacy skills, I believe that I have a good understanding of Digital Literacy. I am comfortable with the programs available and feel that I use the programs available effectively. I enjoy working with new programs and seeing what new things I can use. What I find interesting about my own journey is that I am very quick to go back to the programs I am comfortable with and use them instead of persevering with the new programs.  I have found that I am happy to use new programs, but unfortunately only superficially.

When considering how the ONL course will mean for my development, I am hoping the ONL course will assist with making me aware of other digital programs that will assist with assisting the students and the tutors to use programs that may compliment their class. I am also interested to find out how others have implemented the technology with tutors and students so that it doesn’t become too overwhelming for them. I am noticed such a resistance to technology, I am not sure if it is a South African phenomenon, or if it is experienced worldwide. In many cases technology is introduced to tutors and students and there is little or no acceptance. The main reason given is lack of time to learn the new technologies.

The main experience with ONL so far is the wealth of knowledge that seems available that I can learn from, which I am excited about. I seem to be struggling a little with the technology aspect but I am hoping that is just the first week niggles. I am finding my particular group great to work with and I am looking forward to delving into more topics with them.

One topic that has come up from the webinar by Sara Mortsell (Mortsell, 2017) was the topic of using Wikipedia. This is one area that I am very against, I advise students that they can use Wikipedia, but they must open the links and do further research to check the information. However, I had never thought of using Wikipedia as a way to teach and develop critical thinking with my students. This topic was also discussed in the video by David White (jiscnetskills, 2014) in which the discussion around the new ease of publishing information, but that doesn’t necessarily allow for good information to be published. This to me is such an important topic because with the wealth of information online, students need to develop more skills to figure out if the information that is credible instead of searching for information and relying on it being credible. This changes the focus of the educators, as it is now our job to make sure that students are developing these important skills. From the webinar I have realised that I may have been too close minded in terms of Wikipedia and it may be beneficial to start researching and using this resource as a source of learning skills for the students.

Bibliography

jiscnetskills, 2014. Visitors and Residents: Credibility. [Online]

Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO569eknM6U&feature=youtu.be

[Accessed 05 10 2017].

Mortsell, S., 2017. Digital literacies [Interview] (05 October 2017).