As technology becomes interwoven into our work, home, and personal lives, digital information is rapidly overtaking print communication as we step into a digitally connected world. To navigate this transformation, society must be able to effectively and ethically use digital tools to learn, create, and share information and find innovative ways to bridge the gap between humans and technology. “Being digitally fluent allows you to obtain content from a digital environment, understand the purpose behind that content, and identify the systems that go into creating and delivering that information,” says Josh Gaul, Associate Vice President & Chief Digital Learning Office, Edge. “Digital fluency is an awareness of how everything works together. We must recognize that every piece of content in a digital environment has mechanisms, including human and automated decisions, that are involved in presenting that information. Additionally, there are also ramifications for finding, using, and sharing that content.”
Moving from Digital Literacy to Digital Fluency
The digital fluency umbrella involves understanding all the pieces of the digital world and combines technical proficiency, digital literacy, and social competence. Digital literacy is whether you can use digital tools to read, evaluate, and apply technical skills that allow you to think digitally and create meaning. “Digital literacy is understanding that if someone handed you equipment to build a birdhouse, you would know how to use the pieces of wood, saw, and nails to create the finished product,” explains Gaul. “Digital fluency is understanding why you would want a birdhouse, what the reasons are behind building that birdhouse, and identifying the larger schematics of where you live. If I see a lot of birds in my backyard, maybe having a birdhouse will be a nice addition, so I’m going to use these tools to build the structure, find an optimal location, and then think about what type of food the birds will need. Digital literacy is understanding how to use technology to achieve an endgame and digital fluency is understanding why those tools need to be used, why the decisions are made to use those tools, and why those tools are important to the larger system of digital learning.”
Creating Digitally Fluent Learners
The infusion of technology into our society continues at a rapid pace and is becoming increasingly critical in the realm of higher education and preparing the next generation for the workforce. “The time when a class can take place without some digital component, even at the smallest level, is now gone,” says Gaul. “The moment you introduce a digital aspect to your course, whether these tools are checking the online library, giving assignments online, or using a learning management system (LMS) to deliver documents or take tests, you’re introducing a need for digital literacy and digital fluency. As we look to achieve digital fluency, we must take note of why all classrooms need to use an LMS, Dropbox, or Google Doc to supplement instruction. Then we must gain a deeper understanding of the benefits, ease of use, and flexibility that come with an LMS or similar tool.”
At this stage of the digital transformation trajectory, Gaul says digital fluency is of paramount importance to a higher education institution, since all students, whether they are adult learners or high school graduates, live and interact on the Internet. “Today’s students have a digital portfolio, often falling on the spectrum of a formal portfolio to simply an online presence or profile. We must help create digitally fluent learners who understand the impact and ramifications of their digital presence. From a leadership standpoint, institutions need an infrastructure in place that allows online learning to continue, even as we emerge from the pandemic. Not only will an organization need the technical, broadband, and networking capabilities, but also the instructional designers, educational technologists, and faculty who are willing to do things a little differently online and reach students in a way that goes beyond face-to-face instruction.”
“The moment you introduce a digital aspect to your course, whether these tools are checking the online library, giving assignments online, or using a learning management system (LMS) to deliver documents or take tests, you’re introducing a need for digital literacy and digital fluency. As we look to achieve digital fluency, we must take note of why all classrooms need to use an LMS, Dropbox, or Google Doc to supplement instruction. Then we must gain a deeper understanding of the benefits, ease of use, and flexibility that come with an LMS or similar tool.”
— Josh Gaul
Associate Vice President & Chief Digital Learning Officer, Edge
Promoting Professional Development
As digital fluency rises in importance, institutions must provide educators and staff with proper support and training to help them effectively meet the needs of today’s students. “Research has shown that taking an active learning approach to training and development is really beneficial, especially within our current digital landscape,” shares Gaul. “When Edge helps institutions build out training programs for both faculty and students, we like to provide smaller, digestible reusable learning objects. Instead of giving them an LMS shell with a 10-week course full of information, we break the material down into smaller segments that can be taken one at a time. While we may use an LMS to deliver content, the content is more engaging, like a video or an article, followed by a formative assessment. This approach ensures educators understand what they are learning and can demonstrate mastery of those skills. Most importantly, we provide live Q&A sessions where participants can ask questions and provide feedback. We are then able to further build out sections and learning objects that help improve competency and mastery across the board.”
Enhancing instructional practices by integrating technology is a top priority for many institutions, especially as they look to weave digital fluency into the overall educational experience. “Whatever reusable learning objects an organization looks to incorporate, ensuring they can be integrated into the LMS is essential,” says Gaul. “This integration allows an organization to measure success, whether that involves tracking scoring or just participation. Edge creates learning objects that are flexible to serve both purposes. We’re finding that providing a variety of content and formative assessments goes a long way in helping people stay engaged, understand the information, and appreciate the importance of improving digital fluency.”
Pairing Digital Fluency with Innovation
As online learning continues to grow and expand, Edge is dedicated to creating pathways to digital fluency and helping member institutions to boost student engagement and empower faculty and staff. “We are working with multiple institutions to help build upon their fundamentals of online learning courses,” says Gaul. “This curriculum is focused on the technical side, including topics like how to create an assignment in Blackboard to how to create a discussion forum in Canvas. Our approach focuses on the research-based information that not only builds digital literacy, but digital fluency. For example, rather than concentrating on creating a quiz in your LMS, we dive into writing high-quality quiz questions and building assessments in an online learning environment. Rather than outlining the steps to build a discussion, we examine how to frame thought-provoking questions that inspire students to create authentic discussion threads. When your organization pairs digital fluency with innovation, you ensure your students have a positive and impactful learning experience that imparts the real-world skills they will need for the future.”
Ready to harness the power of the digital world and better adapt to changing technology? Edge provides the support and solutions you need to create superior online learning experiences. Learn more at njedge.net/solutions-overview.
