Abstract:

Australian higher Education is governed by the Australian Qualifications Framework, setting outcomes for educational attainment at all post-secondary levels. Digital literacy is implied through requirements for ‘technical knowledge with depth in one or more disciplines’ and to ‘analyse and evaluate information’ [1, p. 47]. However, the emphasis on broader cognitive skills can result in a lack of explicit outcomes relating to digital literacy. To address this, an Australian University has undertaken to assure these skills in a degree in Games and Interactive Design, where aspirational designers have been shown to lack some of assumed digital skills within that discipline.

The study involved a systematic analysis of existing course content, identification of potential gaps and rewriting course outcomes to expose those skills in a tangible and measurable manner. A digital literacy model that had a specific focus on multiple domains and levels at which these skills could be implemented was used as the basis [2]. Key to this model is the understanding that digital literacy accommodates a suite of informational, technical and contextual skills. Previous research has identified the media that students engage in [e.g. 3], levels of complexity [e.g. 4], or the context in which the skills are applied [e.g. 5].

This approach integrates and extends the concept to characterise digital literacy across the following domains:
• Types of skills, including cognitive, affective, psychomotor, or social;
• Schema, embracing broader knowledge types proposed by Krathwohl [6] articulating from factual, through procedural through to conceptual and metacognitive knowledge;
• The contexts in which the skills are applied, such as using digital technologies as creative or communicative tools, with civic purposes or with a critical focus;
• Literacy levels, from being receivers of digital content, to organising, responding, applying, characterising and generating new content; and
• The media themselves, which include language and images but also embrace newer forms such as time-based media, networked information spaces, and agency, which is particularly key to the highly contingent interaction in games.

The approach is integrative and engages learners in digital-based activities across the domains. For example, using a keyboard can be classified primarily as a psychomotor skill involved in the application of language at a factual level to construct text. Conversely, participating in an online community requires social skills that are applied to the development of connections between people that are generated through networks of information for purposes such as mutual support (civic) or to create of a new product (creative/constructive).

The authors contend that a fully integrated curriculum engages students across the all domains and levels. In this project, learning activities were explored, with heat maps used to identify which skills were well developed compared to those that needed greater focus. Initial findings showed that different units of study addressed different literacies and these would also differ between disciplines. Nevertheless, the study found that the process provided opportunities to enhance the curriculum for the benefit of students as well as lead to greater understanding of digital literacy within academics.

Keywords:

Digital literacy, e-learning, generic skills.