A Couple of Quotes from the NMC Horizon Report 2015 Higher Education

The technology outlook report identifies digital literacy as a 'Solvable Challenge: Those that we understand and know how to solve' though the quotes below might be interpreted as painting a slightly different picture.

Download the full report on the NMC website

What does Digital Literacy mean to to you?

"Lack of consensus on what comprises digital literacy is impeding many colleges and universities from formulating adequate policies and programs that address this challenge. Discussions among educators have included the idea of digital literacy as equating to competence with a wide range of digital tools for varied educational purposes, or as an indicator of having the ability to critically evaluate resources available on the web. However, both definitions are broad and ambiguous. Compounding this issue is the notion that digital literacy encompasses skills that differ for educators and learners, as teaching with technology is inherently different from learning with it" (p.24).

Thinking about staff development?

"While universities and colleges around the world have launched a number of professional development programs and centers, not all of them are entirely effective. Campus Technology cautions that programs with one-size-fits-all training approaches that assume all faculty are at the same level of digital literacy pose a higher risk of failure. The Director of the Center for Academic Technology at the University of the District of Columbia asserts that university leaders must first comprehend the wide spectrum of faculty IT needs before designing professional development opportunities. A data-driven approach that depicts faculty use of the university’s technology can reveal patterns of their literacy and help leaders to identify areas for improvement" (p.24).