Abstract:

Digitalisation and digital literacy has rapidly developed into one of the main drivers of change in higher education (HE) in Finland. Language and communication studies are an integral, mandatory part of all (HE) degrees in Finland. This means that digital literacy has also become the key factor of change in the learning of language and communication.

For HE teachers digital literacy means embracing new (digi)pedagogical thinking and ways of working (e.g. Jalkanen & Taalas 2015, Laakkonen 2015, White 2015). For students similarly digital literacy introduces new ways of learning, and brings about change to study methods and personal ICT skills. However, for many teachers and students the purpose and the benifits of digital literacy can be unclear, and can cover almost anything electronic or web based. Teachers need shared discussions and joint efforts to understand digital literacy and its implementations in learning and teaching.

In this presentation, we will present data from teacher and student studies on digital literacy. Studies are part of national projects on the development of the learning and teaching of languages, with digital literacy and its implementations as one of the main targets. The projects contain survey data both on teachers' and students' digital competence and understanding of digital literacy in language learning. The data shows interesting results in the implementations and perceptions of digital literacy. There is great variation both among teachers and among students as to how the learning of languages and communication can benefit from digital literacy and what are successful implementations of digital literacy.

Keywords:

Digital literacy, language learning, higher education.