Welcome to the Learn Camp program! We’re glad you’re here.
Jane Bozarth writes in the opening of her book “Social Media for Trainers”
The possibilities for uses of social media to create community and collaboration are dazzling, although the array of tools and their applications can seem daunting.
Jane, as usual, hits this digital nail right on the head. (You should go read her book.) And that is exactly the type of thinking behind this program. My goal is to introduce you to some of these tools and get you thinking of ways you can apply them to provide solutions for you and your organization.
Just like most things in life, the more you contribute to this adventure the more you’ll take away. So fasten your seatbelt and let’s get going!
#learncamp Hashtag
We encourage you to question, comment and share things you discover along the way using the hashtag #learncamp We’ll discuss hashtags more in a few weeks, so for now just know that adding that hashtag to your Twitter, Facebook and other posts you’ll help others find yours and you’ll find them.
Activity 1: How do you define ‘digital literacy’
The basic definition of literacy means to be able to read and write. To be successful in today’s digital world, literacy goes far beyond being able to read and write. What does that look like for you?
Leave a comment below answering this question: “How do you define digital literacy?”
Activity 2: Rate Yourself
Our second activity is a short survey to rate your current familiarity with some of the tools we’ll explore in this program. It takes less than 1 minute and we’ll share the results with everyone next week.
Extra Credit: Tweet about what digital literacy it to you using the program hashtag #learncamp
Learn Camp 
Digital literacy to me means having the confidence to use digital technology to communicate. I use the word confidence rather than ability, because I’m not sure how easy it is to measure digital literacy. Literacy (in children at least) can be tracked to see progress, but I’m not sure that digital literacy is quite so linear. It’s also constantly changing, unlike alphabets and phonics which tend to remain the same.
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I define digital literacy as being able to use digital technology effectively, and to the degree I desire. I may not be an advanced or expert user, but if I can navigate a platform, such as Twitter, to accomplish my goals then I would consider myself Twitter literate.
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Agree with Sharon and Jordan’s thoughts on digital literacy. I keep thinking that it implies interaction- sharing and collaborating more than traditional literacy. Sharon said she’s not sure if you can measure digital literacy- you’re right it is always changing and not linear.
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I agree with what has been said so far. I think that digital literacy is the ability (courage) to use technology to help make my life more connected or easier in some way. As it is constantly changing and evolving, it requires constant attention. We need to stay abreast of new technology and new features of current, but we must also be mindful of how we use the technology (be smart). If we are not careful, we can have our privacy compromised, even to the level of identity theft.
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Agree with the comments made above. Digital literacy to me is being able to use the necessary tools in a way that produces the outcome I am looking for.
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Digital literacy is the ability to utilize technology appropriate to your needs and your context to receive information, distribute information, communicate personally and publically with others and to work and collaborate.
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Digital Literacy: How you use technology to effectively communicate and collaborate. #learncamp
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I too am in agreement with the previous comments. For me, digital literacy means the ability to use digital resources to accomplish my goals. Implied here is taking ownership of my continuing knowledge of the ever-expanding tools available to assist me in accomplishing these objectives.
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I’m putting this in before I read everyone else’s reply. Digital literacy: Ability to use on-line technology to accomplish desired tasks. At its most basic, it would include things like search for information, navigate between sites and pages, and communicate with others online.
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Great thoughts here so far. I really like the idea of confidence and effectiveness. I think confidence is one reason kids are so good with new technology-they’re never afraid of “breaking it”. To idea of effectiveness, I’d also add efficiency. If these new ways of doing things aren’t more effective and efficient not many people would be using them.
I’d also say that digital literacy involves some key concepts including tagging (content and people), discovery (finding the right resources & people), connecting, sharing, collaborating, along with more mundane but important things like internet safety (understanding and avoiding phishing scams, etc)
Thanks to everyone who has commented so far! I look forward to further comments as well.
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I agree – great thoughts about digital literacy so far. I see it as the ability to use digital tools to effectively meet my goals – whether I’m consuming or producing content. 🙂
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That is a great point Jackie. I think now, more than ever, not only is producing content possible but it is becoming more and more of a “must do”. In fact I’m working on some slides for a presentation and thinking of including you as an example of people to follow/connect with. Thanks for joining in! 😎
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Well crikey! Thanks so much, Mike! I’m glad you included me in this year’s list. Can’t beat a good Learn Camp! 🙂
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I just saw this post on the 8 Cs of digital literacy and wanted to share it. What do you think about this?
http://dougbelshaw.com/blog/2009/08/04/the-8-cs-of-digital-literacy/
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One thing I would add to this discussion is adaptability. Not only do you need to have the confidence, and the ability to use them, but also be adaptable to keep up with the changes since it is every changing.
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Great point Alicia! If you don’t adapt you’ll be left behind pretty quickly. Thanks for chiming in!
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Pingback: Week #5 Catching Up & Checking In | Learn Camp
Literacy
the ability to read and write/
competence or knowledge in a specified area.
Digital – just summarizes the platform utilizing the internet and applications of varying functions & styles to accomplish the communication of the info we want to receive or deliver.
What makes it so unique is its speed & range. Never before could something Scarry or awesome be shared and moments later millions have seen/heard/read literally thousands of miles away. It’s reduced barriers and we are still learning & growing.
So to be digitally literate I think you need to know how to use some of the basic popular apps and use them to communicate in some kind of frequency.
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The very idea of literacy is, in my opinion, subjective. When I think about digital literacy several themes that have already been presented stand out: the general competence to be able to accomplish objectives through digital mediums seems to be fairly foundational, as is the specific competence within the chosen tool(s). As an admittedly basic example, there is a general degree of competence required to turn on the computer and operate a web-browser. There is a more specific competence required to use the features within a given social media app. When these are both executed, this, to me, is digital literacy.
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Digital literacy means comfortably and easily being able to connect with others. It’s about looking at communication through different lens – less precious, more free, more courageous, less cautious. It’s about communication not just being words but pictures, sound, movement, vibration, music. It’s about quick ways to learning from others and sharing what you know in powerful and continuous bite sized pieces—connecting, deepening and broadening pathways of discovery.
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I really like that, Christine! It reminds me of John Stepper’s Work Out Loud ideas.
“Instead of networking to get something, you invest in relationships by making contributions over time, including your work and experiences that you make visible. Your contributions over time are what build trust and deepen a sense of relatedness, and that’s what increases the chances for cooperation and collaboration.”
If you haven’t seen it yet, it is definitely worth checking out! https://workingoutloud.com
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