On Saturday 10 July 2021, the professional development workshop on Digital Literacy was organized on Howspace by Wise Consulting Finland Oy and edumate for Vietnamese teachers from both K-12 and higher education levels.
Here is a summary of the workshop for your own use.
Part 1 What does digital literacy mean?
Many participants contributed their own understanding of digital literacy. The word cloud below presents a snapshot of their contribution!
As Xuan, the speaker, concluded “Digital Literacy is the awareness, attitude and ability of individuals to appropriately use digital tools and facilities to identify, access, manage, integrate, evaluate, analyse and synthesis digital resources, construct new knowledge, create media expressions, and communicate with others, in the context of specific life situations, in order to enable constructive social action; and to reflect upon this process” (Martin & Grudziecki, 2006, p. 255).
Concerning the current challenges in developing one’s own digital literacy, some were addressed, e.g., no existing ecosystem/ synchronized suitable system with full functions for an online class. Yet a teacher realized her biggest concern does not lie in technology but how to understand her students via technology tools.
Part 2 Explore one’s own digital literacy profile
Moving to the second part, four self-evaluation tools were introduced for teachers and educators to test their digital literacy.
🔑Digital confidence profile_All aboard (Ireland)
🔑Test my digital skills_The Digital teacher (Cambridge)
🔑Self-evaluation tool for language teachers_2digi (Finland)
🔑SELFIE for Teachers_Euroupean Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (European Commission)
As explained, the first tool is most appropriate for higher education (both teachers and students). The second test is long and suitable for language teachers. This is also the most favored one. The 3rd test can also be applied for language teachers. The last test, SELFIE for Teachers, is considered as a comprehensive tool that highlights 6 aspects for teachers to reflect on their capacity. “I highly appreciate this tool,” commented Hang.
Part 3 Suggestions to enhance one’s digital literacy
As the workshop went on, people discussed how to enhance digital literacy for teachers. 10 activities were recommended: institutional training, mentoring/peer learning, professional learning community, a community of practice, self-study, co-teaching, collaborative project/group work, conferences/workshops, doing research, and taking online courses.
Here is a list of useful resources and references to learn about and upgrade your digital literacy:
https://2digi.languages.fi/
https://www.allaboardhe.ie/
https://thedigitalteacher.com/
https://www.teachertrainingvideos.com/
https://markpegrum.com/
https://digitalpedagogylab.com/
https://www.educause.edu/
https://digitalcapability.jisc.ac.uk/
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/support-teachers-teacher-educators
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/covid-19-insight-reports
https://peacheypublications.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RELOBelgrade
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAuEhtmAfRHh8PDg0Z38Jxw
http://www.frysklab.nl/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/The-Essential-Elements-of-Digital-Literacies-v1.0.pdf
Dudeney, G., Hockly, N., & Pegrum, M. (2013). Digital literacies: Research and resources in language teaching. Harlow, England: Pearson.
Hubbard, P., & Levy, M. (2006). Teacher education in CALL. Amsterdam, Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Reedy, K., & Parker, J. (2018). Digital literacy unpacked Facet. doi:10.29085/9781783301997
Son, J. (2020). Technology-enhanced language teaching in action APACALL.
Tafazoli, D. (2021). CALL teachers' professional development amid the covid-19 outbreak: A qualitative study. Computer Assisted Language Learning Electronic Journal, 22(2), 4-13.
Torsani, S. (2016). In F. Helm, L. Bradley, M. Guarda and S. Thouësny (Eds.), CALL teacher education : Language teachers and technology integration. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. doi:10.1007/978-94-6300-477-0 Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/[SITE_ID]/detail.action?docID=4586779
The new platform made it more interactive for an online workshop. “I was impressed by the workshop. Today I know a new platform named Howspace, a very interesting platform. Also Xuan has great facilitation skills and good presentations!”, feedback by a participant.
Wise Consulting Finland Oy offers quality training services based on world-renown Finnish pedagogy and trusted research sources. Contact us for further information: info@wcf.fi.