Digital Equity for all

All, 

I am sharing a report, Building a Digitally Resilient Workforce and wanted to open a discussion about digital literacy for our learners. As we think about our workforce and evolving workplace needs, the term digital resiliency is starting to emerge in our conversations. 

How do we build both digital literacy and digital resilience skills? I look forward to our discussion. 

Kathy

Comments

Hi Kathy. I have not yet read the report, but I think this is an important topic that so many of us have not had a lot of time to think about, especially with this crazy COVID world. I think our best approach is to start with the tools our students already know. In most cases, this would our students' smart phones. Though I often feel the students know mobile devices betters than I do, I don't think they know how to be digitally resilient with their devices. This skill is not only important to them, but it is important for them to teach their children and families as well. In doing so, I think it would benefit our students to learn about topics and conversations surrounding social media and their children so that they can learn how to protect themselves and their children, and teach them both how to cope when things go wrong.  

The Digital US coalition defines digital resilience as "having the awareness, skills, agility, and confidence to be empowered users of new technologies and adapt to changing digital skill demands. Digital resilience improves capacity to problem-solve and upskill, navigate digital transformations, and be active participants in society and the economy.”

My understanding is that although someone who is digitally resilient needs some digital literacy skills. this is more about comfort and confidence in applying one's digital skills -- and resourcefulness and determination -- in solving problems using technology or, problems created by the technology itself.

For years I have used "three C's" in describing what "digital literacy" looks like: comfort, competence and confidence.  Recently I have added a fourth C: courage. Resilience requires all these, and more.

It might be useful to describe what digital resilience is not: It isn't:

  • rote, de-contextualized digital skills learning
  • learning to perform on a test
  • necessarily becoming a technology wizard
  • getting the one right answer

and what it is:

  • applying an understanding gained from learning how to navigate a particular application to that kind of application, or what is sometimes known as transference of skills and understanding
  • solving contextualized daily living, work-related, and learning problems using technology or created by technology
  • an ability to "take a deep breath" when facing a problem, and draw upon one's own -- and sometimes others' -- knowledge and experience in using technology to solve it.
  • sometimes this also requires good teamwork and communication skills.
  • sometimes it includes a passion or determination to learn whatever it takes to solve the challenges in the way of accomplishing one's goals.

Here's an example from a re-entry program I visited many years ago in New York City. This was in the early days of the World Wide Web; the Fortune Society, a program founded and led by formerly incarcerated people, had newly acquired hardware and software that enabled high speed browsing. I met two students who were using computers to create their own websites. One had a passion for railroads, and especially steam engines. The other was an expert on the birds of New York City. They were each working independently, and solving the technology problems in creating their websites to teach others what they knew about steam engines or birds,  and were passionate about. Sometimes they drew on their own acquired technology knowledge to solve problems; sometimes they consulted each other; and sometimes they asked other students or their teacher. They never gave up.

So, this is a beginning at fleshing out what "digital resilience" might look like. I am interested to hear what Kathy, Ashly and others here might add to this. What examples of digital resilience have you seen in your lives, in teachers you might work with, and in your classes? What do you think digital resilience looks like in an in-person classroom? In a virtual learning environment? In a work setting? At home?  Is it always the same? If not, what are the variations on the theme in these different settings? Is there a basic, minimal level of skills, and dispositions/attitudes? If so, what is it?

David J. Rosen 

 

I have a real life example of digital resilience:

I was working with a student yesterday trying to figure out an equation using the TI 83 Plus. We kept getting a different answer then what I knew made sense and which the answer key confirmed was wrong. Here is what we did and how they relate to the 4 C's David mentioned:

  • We watched several YouTube videos to learn more about how to use the calculator. We did learn more about the calculator but could not find the answer. (I sought to increase my competence by going to a source that I knew could help us.)
  • I admitted to the student that I did not know how to get the right answer. (At this stage, my confidence using the calculator flagged, and my competence was threatened. Maybe we could add an H for humility?)  
  • I kept working on the problem after class. I eventually realized I missed a key assumption in the problem and was putting wrong data into the calculator. The student and I later had a conversation about GIGO - garbage in, garbage out. (Courage [or perhaps grit] and my stubbornness kept me going!) 
  • My confidence in using this technology was strengthened. (More comfort and increased courage going forward since we had success!) 

It seems as if digital resilience and grit have a strong interrelationship!

Steve Schmidt