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Research article: Defining a self-evaluation digital literacy framework for secondary educators: The DigiLit Leicester project

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Abstract

Despite the growing interest in digital literacy within educational policy, guidance for secondary educators in terms of how digital literacy translates into the classroom is lacking. As a result, many teachers feel ill-prepared to support their learners in using technology effectively. The DigiLit Leicester project created an infrastructure for holistic, integrated change, by supporting staff development in the area of digital literacy for secondary school teachers and teaching support staff. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how the critique of existing digital literacy frameworks enabled a self-evaluation framework for practitioners to be developed. Crucially, this framework enables a co-operative, partnership approach to be taken to pedagogic innovation. Moreover, it enables social and ethical issues to underpin a focus on teacher-agency and radical collegiality inside the domain of digital literacy. Thus, the authors argue that the shared development framework constitutes a new model for implementing digital literacy aimed at transforming the provision of secondary education across a city.
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Defining a self-evaluation digital literacy framework for secondary
educators: the DigiLit Leicester project
Richard Hall
a
*, Lucy Atkins
a
and Josie Fraser
b
a
Directorate of Library and Learning Services, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK;
b
Leicester
City Council, Leicester, UK
(Received 15 May 2013; final version received 21 March 2014)
Despite the growing interest in digital literacy within educational policy, guid-
ance for secondary educators in terms of how digital literacy translates into the
classroom is lacking. As a result, many teachers feel ill-prepared to support their
learners in using technology effectively. The DigiLit Leicester project created an
infrastructure for holistic, integrated change, by supporting staff development in
the area of digital literacy for secondary school teachers and teaching support staff.
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how the critique of existing digital
literacy frameworks enabled a self-evaluation framework for practitioners to be
developed. Crucially, this framework enables a co-operative, partnership approach
to be taken to pedagogic innovation. Moreover, it enables social and ethical issues
to underpin a focus on teacher-agency and radical collegiality inside the domain of
digital literacy. Thus, the authors argue that the shared development framework
constitutes a new model for implementing digital literacy aimed at transforming
the provision of secondary education across a city.
Keywords: digital literacy framework; professionalism; radical collegiality;
secondary education; transformation
Introduction: the educational policy context for digital literacy
The concept of digital literacy is increasingly recognised as a critical terrain for
21st century life (Beetham, McGill, and Littlejohn 2009; Ferrari 2012; United
Kingdom (UK) Joint Information Systems Committee [JISC] 2012a). As early as
2006, the European Union (EU) Council report (The European Parliament and
The Council of the EU 2006) proposed Digital Competence as one of eight
Key Competences for Lifelong Learning. The Key Competences agenda catalysed
other European studies that focused on digital competence or literacy, and their
importance in enabling learners to thrive in modern society (Ferrari 2012; Ryberg
and Georgsen 2010; The Network for IT Research and Competence in Education
[ITU] 2009).
In England and Wales, this agenda is affecting policy. In January 2012, the
Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, announced that the existing Infor-
mation and Communication Technology (ICT) curriculum was to be withdrawn, with
a new National Curriculum to be in place in 2014 (Department for Education [DfE]
2012a). In early 2013, the DfE opened a consultation on the reform, with proposals
*Corresponding author. Email: rhall1@dmu.ac.uk
Research in Learning Technology
Vol. 22, 2014
Research in Learning Technology 2014. # 2014 R. Hall et al. Research in Learning Technology is the journal of the Association for Learning
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including the creation of a new Computing Programme of Study. The draft of this new
programme anchored the curriculum in individuated or atomised digital practices:
A computing education also ensures that pupils become digitally literate able to use,
and express themselves, through information and communication technology at a
level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world’
(DfE 2013, p. 3).
The inclusion of digital literacy at the interface of policy and practice suggests
a growing politicisation of the need to formalise the provision of digital skills and
knowledge within compulsory education. However, there have been a number of crit-
icisms of the Computing Programme, which are generalisable to the wider domain
of digital literacy. These pivot around the co-option of digital, pedagogical practices
to support narratives of economic growth (Hall 2013; Newfield 2010; Osborne 2013),
which subsume educational attainment and social justice inside agendas for com-
modification, marketisation, employability and enclosure.
The criticisms can be summarised as follows:
The framing of digital literacy in terms of computer science or ICT skills and
competencies has produced a very limited definition, which fails to recognise
that digital literacy is process based, and is a way of thinking about tech-
nologies and their relationships to individual and social practices (Twining
2013; Webb 2013).
The Programme reflects the policy driver for prescriptive curricula, which
are biased towards computer science and programming skills. Thus, a
more critical approach to digital skills, practices and knowledge, situated
across a range of pedagogical contexts and learning activities risks being
marginalised.
Staff responsible for delivering the new curriculum are not well equipped
to teach computer science or digital literacy (Springford 2013; Twining
2013), and this has implications for pedagogic innovation and curriculum
management.
The focus on employability rather than social inclusion risks ossifying existing
exclusionary practices in the online and offline worlds (Beetham, McGill, and
Littlejohn 2009; Belshaw 2011; Newfield 2010). It reflects an entrepreneurial
turn in the management of the curriculum, where the econometric focus on
producing commodity skills that can be exchanged, is a form of alienation of
both the learner and the teacher from a wider range of social, classroom
practices.
These criticisms underpin the two main themes of this article. First, that secondary
staff welcome critical guidance on how to integrate relevant practices in their class-
rooms, in order to support a diverse range of learners (Hague and Williamson 2009;
Johnson 2008), and that this is best achieved in partnership. Second, that a focus
on pedagogically grounded, self-evaluation of digital literacy underpins a reassertion
of teacher professionalism. These themes stress teacher-agency and radical collegi-
ality, in enabling practitioners to describe alternative, critical pedagogic strategies.
This article will address these points by analysing the co-operative response of one UK
city council, working with its teaching and support staff and a University, to the
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development of secondary school staff digital literacy. Crucially, this response pivots
around the creation of an infrastructure for holistic, integrated change.
Scoping an infrastructure for change
Making sense of policy in practice
Criticisms of the proposed UK Computing Programme raise a common issue: as
policy redefines what it means to be a competent teacher, do educators have the
necessary skills, practices and knowledge to support learners as they develop their own
digital literacy? As policy set an international agenda for digital innovation (United
Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation [UNESCO] 2014), a focus
on the digital literacy of teaching staff rooted in pedagogic design becomes critical.
At issue is how staff can be supported in making sense of classroom-based tech-
nological innovation in an increasingly politicised curriculum context.
This tension between policy and practice is complicated by the contested social,
institutional and personal nature of the term ‘digital literacy’ (Belshaw 2011). The
need to take a critical approach to understanding the skills, practices and attributes of
digital learning, teaching and citizenship, led Beetham, McGill, and Littlejohn (2009,
p. 67) to ask: ‘how do we recognise the changing contexts (new opportunities and
challenges), bring them into the institution in ways that are accessible to learners,
change our teaching and support practices, and help learners transform their practices
to become more effective learners, workers and citizens?’. This question articulates the
complex and shifting social and personal spaces inside-and-against which digital
literacy emerges.
Despite the growing interest in digital literacy at policy level, limited research
currently exists relating to the effective integration of digital literacy into everyday
school settings (Belshaw 2011; Hague and Williamson 2009). Allied to this, there is a
lack of guidance for teachers in terms of how digital literacy translates into classroom
practice (Payton and Hague 2010). Without a consensus on the meaning of digital
literacy, the historic evidence of teachers feeling ill-prepared to engage their students
with technology in a meaningful way (Alma˚s and Krumsvik 2007; Pianfetti 2001) is
amplified.
A separate issue in practice-based innovation is how to support continuing
professional development (CPD) for practitioners. Extant research highlights the
importance of predicating development on trusting relationships, especially where
collaborative CPD is planned (NASUWT 2012; The CPD Review Group 2003). For
the CPD Review Group (2003, p. 63), in teacher-focused CPD: ‘Policy-makers, at
every level, responsible for developing CPD should consider whether activities take
full account of the specific needs and concerns of teachers in their implementation
strategies and put in place arrangements to develop and foster teacher ownership and
avoid an over-managerial approach’. Baumfield and Butterworth (2007) focused
on the development of radical collegiality that is based on models of enquiry, and
which in turn may help to bridge the tensions that exist between long-standing
associations and more ephemeral social networks. A focus on radical collegiality in
CPD, where co-operative exchanges are based on trust and where disclosure about
practice is negotiated, has the potential to increase teacher-agency and reduce
perceptions of managerialism (Daly, Pachler, and Pelletier 2009). How might an
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enabling infrastructure be created, in order to develop the digital skills, practices and
knowledge of secondary school practitioners?
The relationship between infrastructure and practice: the DigiLit Leicester project
Developing an enabling infrastructure against which professionals could evaluate
their own digital literacy was critical for Leicester City Council, following the £350
million capital investment in its secondary school estate. This investment was funded
through the UK Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme,
and 25 secondary school sites across the city will be rebuilt or refurbished by 2015. The
Council views this capital programme as a catalyst to ‘raise standards of attainment,
improve their well-being and close the equality gaps in health and education (Leicester
City Council 2009). However, a connected strand of work was required that would
engage educators reflexively, in order both to make best use of this infrastructural
investment, and to support the transformation of educational provision across its
secondary schools.
In order to generate a momentum for interventions with educators, it was
important that the structures and practices that would support transformational
learning could be scoped. A critical piece of preparatory work was the Learner Voice
in Leicester report, which heard the voices and aspirations of young people across
the City, in order to help the Council ‘to deliver services with rather than for young
people’ (Fraser and Sykes 2011, p. 5). The report highlighted Leicester’s Top Ten
Learning Technology priority areas, which were pedagogically and co-operatively
focused on more creative uses of technology for learning that should be increasingly
student-led and collaborative. These priorities were predicated on the role of teachers
as mentors in the use of digital media. As the Decoding Learning report points out,
‘teachers have a crucial role in ensuring that promising innovations do not fail in
practice’ (Luckin et al. 2012, p. 55).
Critically, the capital BSF Programme offered a unique opportunity to work to-
wards a step-change in practice, by connecting infrastructural investment with agendas
for practice-based innovation. In order to support the city-wide development of digital
literacy, a knowledge exchange partnership, the DigiLit Leicester project, between
Leicester City Council and De Montfort University (DMU) was initiated. The
partnership was based on the exchange of expertise in digital practice and evaluation
between DMU’s Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology (CELT 2014)
and the City Council’s Childrens Capital team. The partnership aimed to create and
transfer relevant educational outcomes from the project across two public-sector
bodies, in order to create a meaningful educational development infrastructure that
would underpin change across the City. The project team also aimed to be open and
transferable to other teams in navigating the interface between educational policy and
practice (Fraser, Atkins, and Hall 2013).
Methodology: designing an infrastructure for change
Defining digital literacy
A starting point for the project team was the development of a working definition
of digital literacy that would open-up discussions with practitioners. This working
definition emerged from an analysis of the extant research, interpreted for the
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Leicester context (Ala-Mutka 2011; Be´lisle 2006; Educational Testing Service 2002;
Ferrari 2012; Fisher et al. 2012; JISC 2012a, 2012b; Martin 2002; NAACE 2012;
UNESCO 2008). The purpose of the working definition was both to define the initial
boundaries of the Project, and to provide some conceptual clarity. At the same time
that teaching staff were being asked to be reflexive in addressing their digital
confidence, the project team had to remain reflexive in its practices and conceptual
awareness.
The following working definition focused upon the work of educators:
Digital Literacy refers to the skills, attitudes and knowledge required by educators to
support learning in a digitally-rich world. To be digitally literate, educators must be able
to utilise technology to enhance and transform classroom practices, and to enrich their
own professional development and identity. The digitally literate educator will be able to
think critically about why, how and when technology supplements learning and teaching.
This recognises the importance for staff: first, in developing the skills to utilise
technology purposefully within the classroom; second, in critiquing the underlying
knowledge and attitudes that enhance their existing practices; and third, in being
positive role models for the critical use of technology. This criticality was central
to the DigiLit Leicester project’s work, and reflects Bawdens (2008) point that ‘an
important part of digital literacy is knowing when to use non-digital sources’ (p. 28).
Individual critical judgement is important in unpacking how the working definition
might underpin a transformative infrastructure to support CPD. At issue was the
form that such an infrastructure might take, in order to enable an engagement with
innovation by teachers, schools and the City.
Designing a self-evaluation framework
The use of self- or peer-evaluation frameworks is a core digital literacy strategy that
is revealed by an evaluation of both school-based, pedagogic practices and the
approaches of professional organisations. The project team used a critical analysis of
these frameworks to identify key digital skills, practices and knowledge, which would
in turn enable pedagogic themes to be distilled and CPD to be described. Central to
this approach was the creation of a self-evaluation framework for secondary school
educators, which is developmental and progressive, rooted in co-operative pedagogic
practice, and that would provide teaching staff with a structure for developing
their own skills and practices. Framing the social support for teacher-agency was
fundamental.
Much of the research in this area currently focuses on the digital literacy skills
of learners or on institutional practices (Fieldhouse and Nicholas 2008; Gillen and
Barton 2010; Welsh and Wright 2010), and only small pockets of research concern the
skills of educators (Alma˚s and Krumsvik 2007; Pianfetti 2001). Therefore, a range of
frameworks was included in the review, in order that a broader critical perspective
could be generated. The prevalence of learner and institutional frameworks offered
an opportunity to analyse how the digital skills, practices and knowledge required
of educators might affect and be affected by these other constituents. This enabled the
contextual conditionality of the term ‘digital literacy’ to be interpreted for the project.
To generate a framework that situated secondary school staff digital literacy, the
following frameworks were chosen for review.
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The analysis of the existing frameworks focused around the following questions:
How is digital literacy defined?
What are the key areas of digital literacy that are highlighted?
How is progression through the framework structured? Are the levels explicit?
Are they independent or do they build upon one another?
Consultation and piloting
The draft DigiLit Leicester Framework was presented to both senior leaderships from
five schools in Leicester and six experts in the field of digital literacy (Atkins 2013).
Inclusion of school senior leadership at this stage reflected their importance in the
success of CPD programmes. Reviews of CPD related to ICT (e.g. Daly, Pachler, and
Pelletier 2009; NASUWT 2012) identified that success depends heavily on the extent
to which an individual school supports developmental activities. This is in keeping
with Billett’s (2001) work, which highlights the importance of the workplace in giving
permission for staff to define and engage in personally meaningful development.
This, in turn, catalysed consultation with national experts in the domain of digital
literacy, in order to negotiate the framework’s wider, social and educational validity.
The consultation phase sought to test the theoretical underpinning of the themes
and structure, and the process of roll-out across the City. The key was to define a valid
self-evaluation tool that could be implemented in a contextually-sensitive manner. The
final draft of the framework was then used in a small-scale pilot study with teaching
staff from five schools across the City, who represented a mix of mainstream, special
educational needs, and faith schools. In the pilot process, the project’s Research
Associate conducted semi-structured interviews around four key topics related to the
validity of the Framework. These topics related to the participant’s:
current use of technology to support teaching and learning;
confidence in the use of technology;
experience of using the DigiLit framework; and
engagement with professional development opportunities.
These topics captured not only a participant’s engagement with the DigiLit Leicester
framework but also uncovered information about their own skills, practices and
knowledge, in order to scope the validity of the framework in diverse contexts.
Defining the self-evaluation framework: a critical review of existing frameworks
Framework themes
The analysis of extant frameworks (see Table 1) was undertaken independently by
each member of the team and generated a set of core thematic areas. These areas
were then discussed by the team in the context of the Leicester BSF schools, so that
a bespoke framework could be created. There was no clarity in definition, themes or
structure across frameworks and there was no explicit secondary-level framework.
Some frameworks focused upon an explicit organisational approach, as in the case
of the JISC (2012a), which suggests ‘a holistic approach to reviewing how digital
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literacies are developed and embedded within their organisation’ (p. 1). Based on the
definition created through its Developing Digital Literacies Programme (JISC 2012b),
the JISC developed seven significant thematic areas of digital literacy.
Be safe in a digital environment.
Find, evaluate and apply information.
Use digital tools hardware/software.
Understand social responsibility.
Showcase achievement.
Awareness of digital identity.
Collaborate education, community & work life.
Akin to the JISC’s work, the majority of frameworks were structured around a number
of key areas, which are comprised of: sets of specific skills related to resources or
communication; and, individual practices or capabilities related to on-line identity
(Ala-Mutka 2011; NCCA 2007). However, the DigiLit Leicester team had to balance
the pragmatic need to collapse complex concepts into discrete collections of skills and
practices so they made sense in a process of self-evaluation, with the reality that digital
literacy is more than just the mastery of particular tools or abilities. A framework was
required that reflects an essential set of contextualised practices, and which includes a
critical attitude towards the use of technology (Bawden 2008).
A more suitable approach was to consider the practices enabled through
technology, as demonstrated within the teacher-focused DECK framework (Fisher
et al. 2012), which looks at specific learning activities in four areas.
Distributed thinking and knowing.
Engagement and motivation.
Community and communication.
Knowledge building.
Whilst these areas or themes encapsulate much of what it means to be digitally
literate, for less confident users there is a lack of clarity about what each entails.
Table 1. Digital literacy frameworks reviewed by the DigiLit Leicester team.
Name Author/s Scope Structure
DECK Fisher et al. 2012 Teachers None
DIGCOMP Ala-Mutka 2011; Ferrari 2012 Learners 3 levels
DigEuLit Martin and Grudziecki 2007 Learners 3 levels
Digital Literacies
Organisational Review
JISC 2012a Institutions None
ICT Competency
Standards for Teachers
UNESCO 2008 Teachers 3 levels
The ICT Framework National Council for Curriculum and
Assessment (NCCA), Ireland 2007
Learners 3 levels
iSkills Assessment Educational Testing Service 2002 Learners 2 levels
The Professional
Development Matrix
Martin 2002 Teachers 4 levels
The Self-Review
Framework
National Association of Advisors for
Computers in Education (NAACE) 2012
Institutions 4 levels
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In more generic frameworks, the desire to be comprehensive yet concise can result in
key themes lacking contextual specificity for users. For the purposes of developing
the DigiLit Leicester Framework, it became apparent that key themes should not
only be self-explanatory and easy to decipher but also clearly linked to everyday
classroom practices at all levels of confidence. Central to this was the documenta-
tion that would support individual practitioners in interpreting and using the self-
evaluation framework.
The most commonly mentioned aspect of digital literacy throughout the literature
was that of critical thinking and evaluation (Beetham, McGill, and Littlejohn
2009; Educational Testing Service 2002; Martin 2002; NAACE 2012; UNESCO
2008). Such criticality involves the ability to reflect on how technology can be used to
enhance a given learning situation, with judgements about method and application.
It also developed the ability to evaluate information sources and judge their suit-
ability and reliability. This reinforces the fact that literacies related to the digital
sphere are often thought of as being more about critical evaluation than technical
competence (Gilster 1997). However, such critical skills are predicated upon funda-
mental information management practices, including the ability to evaluate sources.
The mastery of strategies for finding, organising and sharing is so pivotal that it
demands ‘a re-focusing of user education (Martin 2006, p. 12). A key issue arising
from the analysis was how to ensure progression across a framework that differ-
entiates modes of criticality for specific thematic areas, like finding and evaluating
resources or collaboration. For DigiLit Leicester, it was important to define an inter-
pretative framework, underpinned throughout each of its core themes by a critical,
contextual appreciation of skills, practices and knowledge.
Another recurring theme in the review was the use of technology to support
collaboration and communication (Ala-Mutka 2011; Ferrari 2012; JISC 2012b;
Martin and Grudziecki 2007), including with other learners and professionals beyond
the school community. This focus on collaboration connects to the idea that the
consumers of information might also be the makers or producers of knowledge. In
these sets of social activity that pivot around consumption and production, creativity
emerges as a key facet of digital literacy (Fisher et al. 2012; NCCA 2007; UNESCO
2008). Whilst such creativity risks being subsumed under entrepreneurial dictates and
policy agendas surrounding employability (DfE 2012a; Osborne 2013), it does enable
practitioners to describe how they use digital tools for creating, repurposing and
adapting information and resources. Moreover, it enables a co-operative pedagogic
agenda to be defined that focuses upon the social use, sharing and production of
multi-media artefacts.
Such co-operative strategies are important in the DigiLit Leicester framework
for two reasons. First, they linked to agendas around making as a pedagogic process
(Hackerspaces 2014; Makerspace 2014), and offer curriculum-based mechanisms for
resisting both the commodification of production around web apps, digital artefacts,
programming skills and so on, and the alienation of the individual teacher or learner
from her peers. Second, the majority of frameworks do not focus on strategies for
peer-led or co-operative CPD, which might be both radical and collegial. In order to
push back against performance management agendas for digital literacy, this became
a core component of the framework.
Underpinning all online activity is the importance of responsible and ethical
behaviour, and developing an awareness of one’s digital identity and the consequences
of online actions in a global context. Whilst certain aspects of e-safety emerged from
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the review, only three of the nine frameworks reviewed included identity as an explicit
area of digital literacy, and these were school or policy-level frameworks (Ala-Mutka
2011; NAACE 2012; NCCA 2007). The frameworks aimed specifically at teachers did
not refer to issues surrounding the safe use of technology, possibly because they were
more focused on classroom activities and skills, rather than underlying attitudes
towards technology use. For the DigiLit Leicester Project, it is critical that any self-
evaluation framework identifies that digital learning and teaching are associated with
personal and social attitudes and risks that require critical judgement.
Taking an ethical stance that is developed socially is also a critique of the
deterministic assumption that technology and digital practices are neutral, and that
equality of opportunity is the key issue (Davies and Enyon 2012; Leicester Child
Poverty Commission report [LCPC] 2013; Livingstone, Go
¨
rzig, and O
´
lafsson 2012).
From this flows a critique of the idea that digital practices are simply individuated
skills that can be commodified and learned. Instead those practices are more usefully
defined and situated co-operatively and developed collegially, and recognise that
teachers’ statutory duties relating to safeguarding extend to digital as well as physical
environments (Office for Standards in Education, Childrens Services and Skills
[Ofsted] 2014). Thus, e-Safety and Identity, which focuses on the social and personal
implications of digital professionalism, emerged as a key theme for the DigiLit
Leicester framework.
Finally, the analysis of frameworks demonstrated that the subjective nature of
material, classroom skills and practices required the framework to be anchored in
pedagogy. As Daly, Pachler, and Pelletier (2009, p. 7) note, ‘just practising’ does
not present enough of an intellectual challenge. Teachers require the opportunity to
link new skills to existing practices and to think about how technologies can be
successfully integrated into their teaching. Garet et al. (2001) reported that hands-
on professional development, which is integrated into routinised school life, is more
likely to result in improved skills, practices and knowledge. As a result, the content
of the DigiLit Leicester Framework is grounded in professional practice: it will not
ask staff what they can potentially do, but help teachers to uncover what skills and
practices they actually apply to their teaching. It is a personal, professional reflective
activity. However, a key consideration was progression and the positional nature of
the self-evaluation framework.
Framework structure: towards transformative practice
The reviewed frameworks are structured around three or four levels, which tend to
reveal a deficit model at the lower levels and predicate critical digital engagement
on progress from very basic requirements to the demonstration of expert, transfor-
mational skills, practices and knowledge. For instance, the levels defined within the
DigEuLit project (Martin and Grudziecki 2007) move from ‘digital competence’,
generic skills and approaches, to ‘digital usage’, the professional application of these
skills and finally onto ‘digital transformation’, where innovation and creativity occurs.
The focus on terms like competence and transformation might themselves become
disciplinary, in that they risk producing specific, performative behaviours. Not only
do they suggest that progression is experienced in a standard manner, but they also
scope a digital space in which the development of ‘expert skills’ can be used to drive
individuated performance management. In reality, learners and educators develop
differential and context-specific strengths across a range of practices, which need to be
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reflected in any framework themes. In order to support the co-operative development
of diverse skills, practices and knowledge across educational settings, the DigiLit
Leicester framework refrained from collecting and awarding an ‘overall level’ to
individual staff, and focused upon a self-directed journey across a range of framework
themes. This was a reflection of the core values of developing teacher-agency and
respecting professional judgement.
The project team were concerned about ways in which they might support
progression by: evaluating the spread of staff across each individual area in the
framework; providing more granular feedback to practitioners; and developing co-
operative, peer-based professional development. The NAACE (2012) Self-Review
Framework was important in this respect. Whilst not explicitly labelling its structure,
it shows progression across four levels, which represent a transition from isolated
activity or interest, to whole school integration or engagement. Importantly, this
framework evaluates the social and contextual use of technology rather than being
organised around individual practitioners.
Whilst accepting that levels inside a framework should be distinct in order to be
meaningful in practice, the DigiLit Leicester team valued an infrastructure through
which practitioners could build upon their skills, practices and knowledge, contribute
to those of their peers, and root this in their pedagogic practice. In particular, Martins
(2002) ICT Pioneer Teacher Progression Matrix, and Be´lisle’s (2006) approach to
contemporary literacy, were critical in enabling a realisation of this pedagogic theory-
in-practice, because they flagged progression through a range of transformative socio-
cultural practices.
Martin (2002) used four, developmental levels within his framework: Entry-level;
Aspirant; Practitioner; and Consultant. Martin argued that this structure ‘captures
the movement from one who hopes to develop the attributes of an ICT pioneer
teacher, through one who is able to demonstrate some of the qualities, to one who
becomes a resource to others’ (p. 4). This pattern of progression appears grounded and
realistic in terms of how teaching staff may develop their skills collegially. Martin also
added an entry-level, to account for the minimum characteristics of staff embarking
upon such a professional development journey. The idea of digital practice as a flow or
journey was central to its social situation.
Be´lisle (2006) identified three levels of contemporary literacy: functional; socio-
cultural; and transformational. The functional model sees literacy as a set of simple
skills required to function effectively within the community. In the school context, this
translates to the minimum skills a member of staff needs in order to operate effectively.
The socio-cultural model involves certain attitudes, values and practices. Thus, being
competent means knowing which skills or practices are the best to apply to a given
learning situation. The transformational model is built around the notion that by
equipping ourselves with new cognitive tools, we enable a transformation of human
thinking. Moreover, reflecting on the use of digital technologies in this way can bring
about innovation both within the classroom and for whole-school development.
Defining the DigiLit Leicester framework
The self-evaluation framework was based on six key, practice-based themes, which
were specifically suited to the curriculum responsibilities of staff working within
secondary education. These were defined around critical engagement with specific
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digital skills, practices and knowledge, so that contextual engagement could emerge
from pedagogic practice and support teacher-agency. Moreover, these themes were
also grounded collegially, inside a school or department’s curriculum design and
delivery, so that the co-operative production of digital literacy was emphasised. Four
areas predominated in the frameworks that were reviewed and were adapted for the
DigiLit Leicester framework:
Finding, Evaluating and Organising;
Creating and Sharing;
Communication, Collaboration and Participation; and
E-Safety and Online Identity.
However, two other areas, less common among the frameworks examined, were
critical for the Project’s impact across the City and in the context of teaching. The first
is Professional Development. The NAACE (2012) and UNESCO (2008) frameworks
noted that staff should engage with CPD, particularly in relation to improving their
effective use of digital tools and in developing personal learning networks. This aligns
with a core aim of Leicester City Council to encourage more self-directed approaches
to professional development inside online communities. The second additional theme
was Assessment and Feedback. NAACE (2012) highlighted the importance of using
technology to support learners in managing their own progress, through self- and
peer-assessment. The latest Teacher Standards for England and Wales (DfE 2012b)
also have a strong emphasis on effective assessment and feedback and the use of data
to enhance differentiated provision. The inclusion of these two further areas is critical
in addressing the sector-specific requirements of a secondary-level, self-evaluation
framework, and in respecting the wider professional role of the educator.
In order to aid staff in developing their skills, practices and knowledge in these
six theme areas, the framework needed to support differentiated progression. A four
level progression matrix was defined, in order to support a transition from individual,
functional practice, through scaffolded experimentation, towards an innovative and
pioneering digital literacy that can be shared. Across each level the expectation is that
a critical, social approach can be taken by practitioners. Politically, it also offered the
opportunity to critique whether such an approach to self-evaluation and professional
practice could underpin a longitudinal analysis of the impact of City-wide interven-
tions. The levels reflect professional practice as follows.
(1) Entry
Staff who fall at this level are unlikely to have had many opportunities to
experiment or engage with technology in the school context. Whilst they may have
some experience of using technology for personal uses, this practice has not crossed
over into the professional domain.
(2) Core
At the Core level, a member of staff can make use of common school technologies
and resources and understands how these might be used to support learning and
teaching.
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(3) Developer
At the Developer level, the educator has the skills to make use of a range of
tools, including the advanced features of commonly available technologies. They
understand how their learners and peers use technology socially and ethically.
(4) Pioneer
The Pioneer has integrated ICT use fully into her/his teaching practice. S/he is
confident in her/his skills and knows how to apply them in the classroom to create
beneficial learning experiences. Pioneers actively engage in CPD outside the local
school environment. They reflect on their practice, sharing this with others in a
collegial manner, and can provide high quality training.
It is important to note that the ‘Entry’ level relates to the minimum requirement for a
member of school teaching staff rather than being an objective beginner level. At the
‘Core’ level the DigiLit Leicester Framework aligns with Be´lisle’s (2006) functional
model of literacy, and the remaining levels enable critical, pedagogic development
from this starting point. At ‘Entry’ level, the priority is creating a functional mode of
literacy so that there is a basis for developmental personal practice, which can then
lead to transformative classroom practices. The choice of the term ‘Pioneer’ reflects
an approach that is rooted in exploration, experimentation and discovery, alongside
greater confidence in digital tools and practices. It is important that the term is
defined through the willingness to share the outcomes of discovery and drive CPD
activities, rather than colonising the practices of others.
Through the immediate feedback given to participants about their practice in each
of the six themes, and the links suggested for further reading and development, the
DigiLit Leicester project aims to support staff in shaping their own CPD. However,
whilst some staff will find the opportunity to develop their own practice intrinsically
motivating, there may be some staff who are reluctant or who lack the confidence to
negotiate the boundaries of relevant CPD. Therefore, the role of Pioneers as mentors
in modelling effective practice is critical in this approach (Beetham, McGill, and
Littlejohn 2009).
From framework to survey: the development process
Using the Framework as an outline structure, the themes were populated with
statements about the skills, practices and knowledge appropriate to each of the four
progression levels. Much of this content emerged from the practices identified within
other frameworks, although the tendency in those frameworks to focus upon speci-
fic technologies rather than practices was deliberately avoided. With the initial con-
tent in place, the framework then underwent a series of internal reviews, between the
members of the project team, before being presented to school staff and experts in
the consultation process (noted above, pp. 1012). This process refined the content
and structure of the framework, within the context of secondary school practice,
to ensure its validity and relevance. Inclusion of school staff within this phase of
the project was crucial to the partnership approach that ensured not only that the
practices included were applicable, but also that other important skills and knowledge
were not overlooked.
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With the final framework agreed, a small-scale pilot study was conducted to
further validate the content. In this phase, the project team worked with staff who self-
identified to gather their reflections on the Framework content, its ease-of-use and
interpretation. This process highlighted that to support agency and professional
practice: first, that the terminology used in the tool had to be as applicable as possible
to the diverse range of educational settings in the city; and second, that implementa-
tion needed to be driven locally through negotiation with each of Leicester’s 25
Secondary Schools (Sharpe and Oliver 2007).
The revised content from the pilot phase was then used to create an online survey,
as the most effective data collection method given the large potential number of
participants, the geographic spread of schools, project team capacity and calls on
school staff time. For each of the six key areas, staff were asked to consider four sets of
statements relating to the use of technology in the classroom and to indicate where
their current practice was in relation to those statements along a scale. Practitioners
stated that they could do ‘none’, ‘some’ or ‘all’ of the practices described in the
statements. Upon completion, aggregate scores provided staff with feedback on
their current practice in each theme area, defined as one of the four framework
levels: Entry, Core, Developer or Pioneer. These levels sit on top of a more granular
seven scale score (07) linked to the statement options within each survey strand.
The scoring is defined as follows: 01 Entry, 23 Core, 45 Developer and
67 Pioneer.
As well as providing immediate feedback to staff on the levels they have scored, the
survey system also presents information about the next progression level along with
links to resources. This approach was taken in order to support the agency of teach-
ing staff in shaping their own CPD (NASUWT 2012), and to amplify the value of
professional judgement. This issue is often exacerbated by feelings from staff that such
development is driven by a managerial need to address a perceived individual deficit,
rather than encouraging innovation by individual staff members (Daly, Pachler, and
Pelletier 2009). In responding to this fear, the framework data were anonymised and
not shared beyond the project team. The city-wide spread of framework-levels for
each theme could be analysed to support wider CPD, but the digital literacy of
individual staff was deliberately not labelled. The project team’s approach was to push
back against performance management techniques, and to create a framework based
on self-evaluation and co-operative CPD.
Conclusion
The development of an infrastructure that supports city-wide transformation in the
digital literacy of secondary school staff demands a focus upon authentic pedagogic
innovation and teacher-agency. The pivot for the creation of this infrastructure in
Leicester was the DigiLit Leicester Project, which developed a working definition of
digital literacy and a self-evaluation framework to catalyse co-operative, pedagogic
innovation. In defining the self-evaluation framework, a critical review of extant
frameworks revealed that a custom framework was required, because those es-
tablished frameworks: focused too heavily on individuated skills; identified critical
evaluation as a separate practice; normalised progression in the development of digital
literacy; lacked a social, ethical approach to digital life and work; or did not reflect
on the professional judgement of secondary staff. As a result, the DigiLit Leicester
Framework focused upon the individual’s critical appraisal of her own skills, practices
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and knowledge, which could then be situated co-operatively inside the second-
ary curriculum as it was socially constructed. This underpinned a peer-based, social
approach to CPD that was progressive without being reduced to a form of appraisal
or monitoring.
Critically, no such shared and open development framework (DigiLit Leicester
2014) currently exists either at national or international level, and the project effec-
tively constitutes a new model for implementing digital literacy aimed at transform-
ing the provision of secondary education across a city. The project’s contribution of a
self-evaluation framework, embedded in pedagogic practice, is important because it
indicates that a responsive infrastructure can be developed and delivered in partner-
ship with educators, in order to affect professional practice. This focus on developing
an open framework in co-operation with practitioners also reinforces the importance
of teacher-agency in the process of educational change. The DigiLit Leicester team’s
focus on building relationships with teachers, departments and schools reinforces the
focus on trust and professionalism that exists elsewhere in the literature on CPD.
Many of the extant frameworks reviewed are based around an audit approach,
where the skills and practices of teachers are evaluated by others (JISC 2012b; NAACE
2012). By embedding self-review into the heart of a digital literacy project, teachers are
empowered to drive their own professional development, as well as influencing the co-
operative opportunities that are provided in schools and city-wide. In focusing on the
development of co-operative practices that are rooted in pedagogic practice, and fa-
cilitated by more confident practitioners or Pioneers, it is possible to strengthen radical
collegiality (Baumfield and Butterworth 2007), and to push back against policy direc-
tives that marketise and commodify the curriculum and reduce its meaning to entre-
preneurial skills and employability. This focus on teacher-agency and co-operation,
which pivots around a custom self-evaluation framework, demonstrates that city-wide
pedagogic transformation through teacher empowerment is a radical possibility.
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... Digital formats have recently changed how people think about literacy (Al Seghayer,2020), and thus, second language (L2) DLSs are essential to maximize EFL teaching. The rapid development of digital technologies everywhere necessitates EFL teachers to be engaged in professional development courses to improve their DLSs and be well prepared to teach their students effectively in digital educational settings (Hall et al.,2014;Ferrari, 2012). McGuinness and Fulton (2019) indicate that the crucial necessity for higher education digital literacy improvement is apparent from the government's highest strategic priorities. ...
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The importance of digital skills has increased dramatically after the coronavirus pandemic. Digital literacy (DL) is no longer an additional part of learning and teaching. It has become an essential part of the skills that teachers should have. This paper investigates English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' perspectives on the importance of 21st-century Digital literacy Skills (DLSs), what type of skills they should have, and the impact of gender, age, and years of experience on EFL teachers’ perspectives on DLSs. The study sample consisted of 55 EFL teachers from different Saudi universities. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. The findings revealed that most participants held positive attitudes toward DLSs and their importance in the EFL profession. The findings also showed that although most EFL teachers felt the necessity of having computer and information literacy skills, some hesitated to state that they should be competent, critical, and literate in all media forms. Moreover, the study's findings revealed that the teacher's years of experience significantly impact their views on the importance of DLSs and the digital skills they should have. It is recommended that EFL teachers be enlightened about the importance of all digital skills, including information and media literacy, and be encouraged to use all types of digital information and media with their students and be trained, thus improving their students’ digital skills.
... adquisición de competencias digitales por parte del profesorado y del estudiantado, al realizarse de manera integral (Ferrari, 2013;Hall et al., 2014;Rangel, 2015;Rodríguez-García et al., 2019;Vivar, 2014;Zepeda et al., 2019) otorga competitividad a la práctica docente (Y. Zhao et al., 2019) y caracteriza el perfil profesional del docente en la educación superior (Cateriano-Chavez et al., 2021), por lo que el actual desafío consiste en conseguir que los profesores y futuros docentes reflexionen, investiguen y comprendan a partir de la presencia cotidiana de las TIC en su quehacer docente (Gallardo et al., 2011). ...
Article
A systematic review of the literature located in Scopus on the digital competence (DC) of university professors was carried out; With the help of the PRISMA methodology and operators, the research was delimited through Eric's thesauri. The Spanish authors/entities stand out in the subject, there are efforts oriented to the design, validation and application of rubrics worldwide. The approaches are predominantly quantitative. The research strengthens the understanding of the DC, there is a positive effect given by the teaching DC in the training of students, it is necessary to develop training plans and undertake similar efforts in other scientific databases.
... Later, the concept of digital literacy gradually encompassed attitudes and awareness in using digital technologies. Hall, et al. [7] argued that teachers' digital literacy encompasses not only the skills and knowledge necessary to support learning in a digitally rich environment, but also the appropriate attitudes. Tomczyk [8] further introduced the concept of "safety", completing the multifaceted understanding of digital literacy. ...
... For educators, promoting digital well-being involves not only developing their own digital literacy skills but also creating learning environments that support students' digital well-being. This includes designing curricula that integrate digital literacy education, implementing strategies to manage screen time, and addressing the social and ethical implications of technology use in education (Hall et al., 2014;Hobbs & Coiro, 2018). Digital well-being in education encompasses a range of interconnected factors, including digital literacy, screen time management, and mental health considerations. ...
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This study examines the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in shaping digital well-being within the Indian education system. It explores how AI contributes to personalized learning experiences, stress management, and mental health support for students and educators. The study investigates the benefits and challenges of AI-driven digital well-being initiatives, including data privacy concerns, algorithmic bias, and the digital divide. The research highlights the importance of ethical AI practices in education, emphasizing the need for responsible implementation and policy development. Key areas discussed include AI's impact on psychological well-being, digital citizenship, and ethical digital practices. The paper concludes with recommendations for policymakers, educators, and technologists to harness AI's potential in enhancing digital well-being while addressing associated risks and challenges. This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on AI in education and provides insights for developing strategies that optimize learning outcomes while safeguarding the holistic well-being of students and educators in the digital age.
... Según Hall et al. (2014), un docente que es competente en competencia digital debería poseer las habilidades, actitudes y conocimientos necesarios para fomentar un aprendizaje auténtico en un entorno enriquecido por la tecnología. Esto implica la capacidad de emplear la tecnología para mejorar y transformar las metodologías educativas en el aula, así como para enriquecer su propio crecimiento profesional e identidad como educador. ...
Research
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La Competencia Digital Docente se presenta como una competencia fundamental para enfrentar los desafíos educativos actuales y futuros, haciendo que la formación continua en este ámbito sea una prioridad. Por ello, este estudio está centrado en el análisis de la oferta formativa en Competencia Digital Docente ofrecida por los diferentes Centros de Formación del Profesorado al personal docente de la isla de Gran Canaria. Para ello, se ha realizado una revisión documental en esta materia, basada en diferentes documentos y en la legislación actual tanto a nivel europeo, nacional, como autonómico, que rige este ámbito. Esta revisión documental, se ha utilizado para poder realizar un contraste con los resultados obtenidos sobre la oferta formativa basada en el uso de las Tecnologías Digitales por los docentes de la enseñanza pública de la isla de Gran Canaria en el presente curso escolar 2023-2024, donde se ha podido apreciar, cómo en términos generales, que la mayoría de la oferta formativa está orientada hacia el uso teórico e instrumental de aplicaciones informáticas para materias concretas, dejando un vacío formativo en la utilización de las Tecnologías Digitales para la evaluación del alumnado, la inclusión o la mejora de la atención a la diversidad.
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La formación de competencias digitales en los docentes en el contexto de las TIC y las TAC en Colombia es un proceso esencial para modernizar y enriquecer la educación en el país. Este enfoque formativo busca equipar a los educadores con las habilidades necesarias para utilizar eficazmente las herramientas digitales, no solo como recursos técnicos, sino como medios para facilitar un aprendizaje significativo y colaborativo. En tal sentido, el presente ensayo busca analizar que aspectos son considerados para la formación de competencias digitales del docente en el contexto de las TIC y las TAC. Haciendo énfasis en el reconocimiento de un entorno educativo que enfrenta desafíos como la diversidad cultural, la desigualdad en el acceso a la tecnología y la necesidad de adaptarse a nuevas metodologías pedagógicas, es fundamental que los docentes desarrollen competencias que les permitan integrar estas tecnologías de manera efectiva en sus prácticas diarias.
Chapter
The COVID-19 pandemic was a novel biological hazard that emerged in 2019 and significantly impacted various sectors of society. While sectors such as the economy and health were severely affected, the education sector was no stranger to the grave impact of the pandemic. While the pandemic called for regulations such as lockdowns and social distancing, the education sector was required to shift the classrooms into distance digital-based classrooms, which led to several grave impacts. In this context, the EU Erasmus + co-funded project titled INCLUsive Disaster Education (INCLUDE) was initiated to find solutions to these adverse impacts of the emergency shift towards digital education in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Education with partners from Lithuania, Japan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. This chapter presents the project's final output, a digital competency framework for DRR educators. This framework is not just a tool, but a significant step in building the digital pedagogical competencies of educators, thereby enhancing the quality of DRR education. The methodology adopted to develop the framework was threefold. The process initiated with a literature review to trace the main types of digital pedagogical competencies. Next, the existing project output reports were evaluated to investigate the relevant digital competencies the DRR educators require. Finally, the framework was developed by matching the findings of the first two stages, and it was validated with the inputs of relevant experts. The literature review showed that knowledge, skills and attitudes have been recognised as critical in developing a digital competency framework. Therefore, the competency framework was developed based on those dimensions within the DRR education throughout the stages of preparation, execution and reflection. Further, the framework was based on the main virtues of responsiveness, adaptability and flexibility to consider the multidisciplinary and context-specific challenges of online DRR education. As a way forward, the research team recommends considering the role of institutions as the primary regulatory stakeholders in providing digital DRR education.
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Although literacy is based on mastering a series of technical and cultural skills, such as reading, writing, numeracy, and media proficiency, these skills do not in themselves amount to literacy. As brought forth more and more by research, literacy is fundamentally situated and determined by the cultural, political, and historical contexts of the communities in which it is activated. However, with the new digital knowledge contexts, within which 21st century skills are being deployed, literacy, and therefore education, is facing a major challenge. The evolving digital technologies are not only transforming the access, they are also fostering new approaches to knowledge, new knowledge architectures, new knowledge ethics, new accountability requirements and assessments. These new emerging issues for education will be described as part of the ongoing digital knowledge revolution.
Book
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Our Decoding Learning report looks at the impact of digital technology in the classroom. Key findings Schools spent £487 million on ICT equipment and services in 2009-2010. But this investment has not yet resulted in radical improvements to learning experiences or attainment. No technology has an impact on learning on its own right; impact depends on how it is used. Rather than categorising innovations by the type of technology used (eg, do games help learning?), it’s more useful to think about the types of learning activities we know to be effective, such as practising key skills, and exploring how tech can support these activities. We identify eight learning themes that show significant promise of impact when combined with digital technology. - See more at: http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/decoding-learning
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The popular media often presents a negative picture of young people and technology. From addiction to gaming, the distractions of the Internet, to the risks of social networking, the downsides of new technology in the lives of teenagers are often over-blown.
Book
This book examines the various types of literacy that are important in the Digital Age of rapid technological change and proliferating information resources in a variety of formats. According to the American Library Association (www.ala.org), information literacy is a set of abilities requiring individuals to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information. Information literacy forms the basis for lifelong learning and is common to all disciplines, to all learning environments, and to all levels of education. Information literacy is an umbrella term that includes a variety of specific competencies: cultural literacy, library literacy, computer literacy, network literacy, and media literacy. Each topic addressed in the book includes contextual background information, basic concepts, a resource list, exercises and activities to reinforce the important learning concepts addressed in each chapter.