Understanding student digital literacies: reflecting on differences, divides, visitors and residents

This case study reflects on experiences from LSE after three years of running the Student Ambassadors for Digital Literacy (SADL) programme. This year we had a cohort of over 40 undergraduate students from across the disciplines at LSE. We will outline the key findings from the evaluation and impact studies carried out each year (Secker & Karnad, 2014; Lau et al , 2015). We have been particularly interested in which aspects of digital literacy were most valuable to students, and the way in which students can act as peer support for each other. The paper considers some of the challenges of the programme, including issues of sustainability and scalability with increased numbers of students and variations in their digital abilities. SADL includes four interactive workshops designed to teach students a variety of aspects of digital literacy: from finding and evaluating information, through to managing their digital footprint, citing, referencing and understanding copyright. SADL has also provided staff with an opportunity to learn from the students about their current practices and to encourage them to share their ideas with each other. Senior Ambassadors, who are employed from the previous year’s cohort, teach on the programme and provide valuable support for the current participants. The Seniors also lead group projects, which are presented at the SADL celebration event at the end of the programme. The projects this year were: improving learning spaces at LSE, improving feedback and assessment, and improving peer support; students were encouraged to use a range of tools to research, analyse and present their findings. Although many students had limited experience of the tools we introduced them to, the emphasis throughout SADL has been on the practices that underpin their use of tools rather than the tools per se. This means building up students’ understanding of research and academic practices before considering the role of technology. This case study reflects on the value of the framework devised by White and Le Cornu (2011) for viewing digital literacies in context and on a continuum where students behave like residents and visitors. We consider whether this is a useful lens for evaluating LSE students’ digital literacies. We will present an analysis of our student behaviour according to this framework. Participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences and discuss how the visitor and residents framework might be a useful tool for evaluating their own practice. References      Lau, Doriane, Secker, Jane and Bell, Maria (2015) Student ambassadors for digital literacy (SADL): evaluation & impact report. Learning Technology and Innovation (LTI), London, UK. Available online at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/63357/ [accessed 5 March 2016] Secker, J. & Karnad, A. (2014). SADL project evaluation report. Learning Technology and Innovation , London, UK. Available online at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/59478 / [accessed 5 March 2016] White, D. and Le Cornu, A. (2011) Visitors and residents: a new typology for online engagement.  First Monday . 16 (9). http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171/3049 [accessed 5 March 2016]