How can faculty develop digital literacy skills with emerging technologies?

Another example of putting the cart before the horses. If you already have a goal, your experiments will probably only serve to validate it. When trying new tools, especially if it is an innovation, you will have a unique experience. You won't always have a practical use for it right away. Moreover, you don't always know what you need to learn. If you have done a good analysis of needs and problems, you know the issue you need to solve. Maybe then the new tools will be useful, or maybe not.

Technology should not override education philosophy and behavioral science that means human factor. Every one is not optimized for proposed cognitively overloaded materials, we should think about that.

Learning digital literacy with emerging technologies: The Technology to Master One way to get started is to address some things you need to know about in your schools or district’s learning management system (LMS) and video conference system(vCS). It is important to explore ways of communicating to students about technology and best circumventing student’s lack of laptops, broadband services, and reliable Wi-Fi access. Every teacher must have an Instructional Design for ritual Learning, lists lesson -design ingredients dictated by research best practices for virtual learning, including , but not limited to, bigger concepts like cooperative learning, project-learning, and games.

Keeping up with technology skills is a challenge within itself. In my experience, my students seem to learn more effectively when I take the subject and apply real-world projects that show how to use the technology when they leave the classroom. If they can demonstrate, on their individual level, how they will apply the skill they’ve learned going forward, I consider that a win.

Identifying your goals and needs is a crucial first step. It helps you align your educational technology choices with your objectives, pedagogical strategies, and ethical standards. However, it's essential to balance goal-driven approaches with exploration. Sometimes, experimenting with new tools can lead to innovative experiences and unexpected solutions, even if they don't fit your initial goals. An effective strategy combines goal-driven planning with room for serendipity and adaptation to evolving needs.

Exploring and evaluating emerging technologies should be a well-informed process. Look for options through online sources, peer collaboration, and expert insights. Prioritize relevance, quality, and effectiveness over popularity. Assess options using criteria like accessibility, usability, affordability, reliability, security, and compatibility to make informed decisions aligned with your goals and needs.

As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of educational technology, the cornerstone of our journey should be a deep understanding of our audience. Knowing who our learners are, their digital literacy levels, and their unique learning styles is paramount. This insight not only shapes our choice of tools but also how we implement them. Moreover, the technology we choose must resonate with our school's educational philosophy and policies. Each tool should be a thread that seamlessly weaves into the existing tapestry of our school's ethos, not a patch that sticks out. This requires a thorough evaluation of how these tools align with our institutional values, standards, and the legal landscape of digital education.

To evaluate emerging technologies, I actively engage with a network of peers and delve into literature on educational tech trends. I prioritize tools that align with my pedagogical strategies for EAP, like AI-based language improvement apps, assessing their usability and impact on learning outcomes. For example, I found a virtual reality platform for immersive language experiences that greatly benefited my students’ comprehension skills. I balance these insights with student feedback to ensure the technology integrates seamlessly into their learning path, emphasizing accessibility and practicality.

It is important to me as an instructor to be sure that the technology skills I teach are relevant. With emerging technologies it is important to understand how these tools can be used in real-life scenarios and why these skills are important to have. Another issue to be addressed is how these cutting-edge emerging technologies can be accessed. With a little effort, research and personal experimentation, I am able to design courses that give a basic introduction and working knowledge of the subject.

The best way to improve your digital literacy skills is to record the processes you use to learn about the technology. Discussing the technology with others will build your knowledge base. Explaining the technology through demonstrations will improve your skills and also allow others to provide their insights thus furthering your learning.

Learning digital literacy with emerging technologies is most effective through hands-on experience and reflection. Experiment with tools and platforms individually or in small groups. Test various features and collect feedback to measure impact. Reflect on experiences, challenges, achievements, and identify areas for improvement and continued learning.

Learning by doing has proven effective in enhancing digital literacy with emergent tech. I've piloted various tools, like AI-driven content creation platforms, to assess their practicality in EAP contexts. Reflecting on these trials through student performance and feedback helps fine-tune my approach. It's a cyclical process—implement, observe, reflect, and adapt—that fosters an agile learning environment. This hands-on exploration is invaluable for discerning the utility of new tech in educational settings, ensuring that both faculty and students are proficient in contemporary digital practices.

Building digital literacy with emerging technologies thrives on collaboration and support. Join online networks, forums, and courses for resources and guidance. Engage in events like workshops and conferences to connect with peers and experts. Share your knowledge through blogs, podcasts, or other media to contribute to the learning community and your students' education.

Networking is vital for enhancing digital literacy with new technologies. My engagement in online educational communities has been a cornerstone for growth, providing a collaborative space for exchanging knowledge and experiences. From webinars to forums, sharing insights and resources has not only bolstered my skills but also contributed to collective professional development. It’s a symbiotic relationship where teaching and learning are reciprocal, ensuring that as I guide students through digital advancements, I'm concurrently evolving with the digital landscape—a practice I advocate for any educator navigating the rapid pace of technological change.

This is a big one for me. Even as an instructor it is critical that I keep my skills up-to-date and that I am an example of being a lifelong learner. Networking and learning alongside fellow educators and industry experts is a must. We are always better together and you can rest assured that if I’ve learned it, I’m going to teach it to someone else in one way or another. I live by the quote from Maya Angelou that says, “When you get, give. When you learn, teach.”

Adapting to the ever-changing digital terrain requires a proactive stance. In my tenure, I've found that regular engagement with emerging technologies is essential. This means staying informed through continuous professional development and integrating new tools into teaching practice. It's a dynamic process; as the digital landscape evolves, so must our methods. I try to revise my approach many times a year, ensuring it aligns with the latest advancements. This is especially applicable now with the AI boom and advancements. This commitment keeps my educational strategies current and responsive, ultimately enriching the learning experience for students who are preparing to enter a digitally fluid workforce.

We need more than just vigilance; we require robust systems that can not only register but also automate the evaluation and visualization of the data we collect. Imagine tools like Microsoft List and PowerApps, I used them to automate my monitoring process. Such systems would serve as our digital compasses, providing real-time insights into emerging trends, learner performance, and the effectiveness of various technologies. By harnessing the power of automated data analysis, we can make informed decisions, fine-tune our strategies, and ensure our educational practices are always aligned with the latest developments.

Continuous adaptation to new technologies is a tall order for a teacher, given how much other responsibility they already have! (Take a full time job during the day, add another full time job doing assessment and class prep at night, and now just layer on a little EdTech research on top of those! Piece of cake!) Luckily, you don't have to research this on your own! Join communities of practice, personal learning communities, groups of like-minded educators – knowledge-sharing opportunities that can clue you into what other great teachers are doing. Find people to follow on Twitter, TikTok, or LinkedIn. Subscribe to newsletters where teachers share ideas. There are plenty of great ideas you can borrow out there. Let them come to you.

Continuous adaptation and updating of digital literacy skills are essential. Stay current with evolving technologies and trends. Monitor digital landscape changes, assess implications, and review and adjust goals and practices as needed. This ongoing process ensures readiness for digital challenges and opportunities in education.

When reading this page, one may fear that it will be very difficult to start developing digital literacy skills. My experience is that this is not the case because on the one hand you can start with simple things, and on the other hand there are now very powerful and user-friendly graphical development environments that make your job much easier. If your e-learning knowledge is limited at the beginning, a few skills in HTML and possibly CSS are all you need to get started. In addition, it seems to me that knowing a programming language is an undeniable asset, especially an object language, because their underlying logic is now ubiquitous.

Have fun. The knowledge and skills you acquire and develop may be useful for learning a different technology. Also, just messing with a new technology promotes creativity.

Renaud, while your points on starting simple are well-taken, it's important to acknowledge how AI has shifted the landscape. Indeed, fundamental coding skills like HTML and CSS are valuable. However, AI advancements have introduced tools that can automate coding tasks, making certain skills less critical for beginners. These tools enable educators to focus more on pedagogical innovation rather than the technical nitty-gritty. Understanding AI's capabilities can be just as crucial as grasping basic coding in today's digital literacy journey.

It is also good to consider the needs of the students or faculty (If you are an edtech coach) who you intend to apply those digital skills to support. Thats where relevance comes in. Once you have identified then you can work on building those skills and then applying them to support the need identified in the students or faculty. You can gain these skills through collaboration with other faculties, workshops or even through self studies and explorations