Instructors, staff, and administrators from Douglas College have been engaging in discussions of the future of digital learning in B.C.’s post-secondary education system. Here are some highlights from 2024 digital literacy events that will directly impact Douglas College and changes being asked of individual college instructors.
Emphasis for ethical, accessible, and responsive use of technology
Maha Bali’s powerful keynote talk “Nurturing Socially Just Distributed Care Ecosystems in the Digital Learning Strategy” emphasized the importance of compassion. Link to Maha Bali’s education blog, and the Digital Literacies category
Professional Development Opportunities
- Establishing a Professional Development Hub – dialogue facilitated by Melanie Latham, TRU
- BC Campus Events page is a great place to look for upcoming PD opportunities, and access past event archives. Programs like the Facilitating Learning Online (FLO) series, the EdTech Sandbox series, and the Challenge Series offer training to enhance digital teaching skills.
- Here is a good example to consider:
10 GenAI Challenge Series Inspired by the creative approach of the Agora Challenge Bank, BCcampus Open Education challenges, and past digital literacy Twitter challenges, BCcampus is excited to present a series of Generative AI in Education challenges! This open series is designed to build critical literacy around GenAI in a fun, engaging way, helping participants not only develop practical skills but also gain a deeper understanding of GenAI’s transformative potential in higher education. Join us for 10 interactive challenges that will expand your capabilities and critical perspectives on AI in learning! This is a self-paced, asynchronous, not-facilitated challenge series designed by Lucas Wright. - Integrating GenAI in Assignments and Assessments (artifacts from the workshop).
- The workshop recording for your reference
- Presentation slides and the workshop worksheet
- A custom GPT bot designed to help review and reinforce the workshop content
Supporting Digital Literacy Development with Open Educational Resources
- The BC Digital Literacy Hub is a public, online collection of Open Educational Resources designed for instructors in post-secondary institutions in British Columbia. The goal is to help educators, including learning and teaching staff, integrate digital literacy materials easily into existing courses and improve their own digital literacy skills. In collaboration with the Ministry of Post-secondary Education and Future Skills, BCcampus developed this collection to support the implementation of the B.C. Post-Secondary Digital Literacy Framework. The collection was created for educators with the support and guidance from educational professionals across the province. Link to recording
- The Digital Literacy Challenge was an eight-week asynchronous challenge to help participants expand their digital literacy toolkit. The resources are designed to help incorporate the eight competencies outlined in the B.C. Digital Literacy Framework into teaching practice, and how to support student success through digital literacy.
Enhancing Digital Equity
- In the Digital Learning Strategy Forum session titled The Landscape of Merging Modalities and Planning for Multi-Access Learning Pathways, Valerie Irvine of the University of Victoria presented their experiences with merging modalities in the post-secondary classroom. With her method of multi-access learning, Irvine has successfully taught post-secondary students who were learning remotely, on-campus, blended, individually, and in groups. Dr. Irvine encouraged participants to consider the various obstacles to learning, and the different ways minority groups prefer to learn. Read this background article to learn more.
Ethical and Accessible Technology
- Mindfulness of ethical and accessible considerations when using educational technology. Mitra Manesh, from the UCLA Center for Mindful Awareness, facilitated a workshop on Mindfulness & Technology on May 15, 2024. Link to notes Mitra provided
- Protection of Indigenous knowledge and intellectual property. Transcript from the “Weaving Indigenous Ways of Knowing into Digital Literacy” session hosted on August 26, 2024 by BC Campus
- Ensuring digital content is accessible to students with disabilities. Please contact the Douglas College Accessibility Services for support with this competency.
Impact on Individual College Instructors
The BC Digital Literacy Framework, Strategy, and ongoing related events are intended to have significant impact on how instructors approach their teaching practices.
Instructors are expected to:
- Incorporate Digital Literacy: Integrate digital literacy frameworks into curriculum, and ensure students are well-versed in navigating digital environments.
- Participate in Professional Development: Take advantage of professional development opportunities to enhance digital teaching skills and stay current with technological advancements.
- Utilize (and contribute) Shared Resources: Use shared educational resources and technology to improve the quality of teaching materials and reduce costs.
- Support Digital Equity: Support initiatives that promote digital equity, ensuring all students have access to the necessary digital tools and resources.
- Ensure Ethical and Accessible Use of Technology: Be mindful of ethical considerations and ensure their digital content is accessible to all students, including those with disabilities.
By embracing these changes, instructors can contribute to a more inclusive, equitable, and high-quality digital learning environment.
Links
BC Post-secondary Digital Learning Strategy
Integrating Digital Literacy in Your Classroom: Skills, Stories, and Strategies (2024 ETUG Spring Workshop)Link to BC Campus recordings archive
Leave a Reply