Good practice guide - Digital literacies

Digital literacy is an essential skill for staff and students studying and working with digital technologies. In September 2020, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers global standard for Digital Intelligence (DQ) Framework for digital literacy, skills, and readiness was approved^[1]. This first global standard for digital literacy aggregates 25 leading frameworks on digital literacy and skills from around the world. The DQ framework includes the Jisc Digital Capabilities (Payton 2012) that were identified as compatible with how Flinders University staff and students understood digital literacy in a Flinders consultative project in 2017^[2]. The standard incorporates digital literacy as one of eight areas of focus and 24 Digital Intelligence (DQ) competencies as indicated in the table below (Park 2019, p.15).

The DQ framework outlines three taxonomies for developing digital literacy. ‘Knowledge’, including understanding the use and power of digital media, types of medias and misinformation; ‘Skills’, including use of software, creation of content, and curation, research and data collection skills; and ‘Attitudes and Values’, including critical thinking and ability to carefully evaluate information (Park 2019). In addition, it is worth considering the ‘dimensions of engagement’ in conjunction with the competencies outlined in the table above. Digital literacy is more than knowledge; it requires critical reasoning and other literacies to form a complete set of knowledge and action.

These competencies provide an overarching framework and key considerations for working with digital technologies in the teaching, learning and research space at Flinders University. Using this internationally recognised framework enables students and staff at Flinders University to create common resources and understanding across university. It also unifies our services on a globally recognised model. The DQ model promotes an environment for lifelong learning, all members of the university community can engage with this framework to assess, and develop, their competencies to be successful in work and study. Below are some examples of how digital literacy may be incorporated in learning and teaching activities:

• For topic coordinators – use the 24 DQ competencies to determine what digital competencies are required for students to be successful in your topic. These competencies can be made explicit to the students so they are aware of any skill development needed.
• For topic and course coordinators – use the 24 DQ competencies to inform learning outcomes and rubrics for your topic(s). For example, you might highlight the role of digital literacies in an assessment task by explicitly marking students against a DQ competency. In addition, you might include key competencies as/in learning outcomes for the topic.
• For teaching staff and students: Use the 24 DQ competencies as a reflective tool to map your expertise in a particular competency of interest against subject expertise in the topic, or to identify and collaborate with experts and support from across the university and beyond. A list of experts will be available in the associated tip sheet.

For additional information on the DQ framework please visit their website (DQ Institute 2020).

[1] Specification: IEEE 3527.1-2020 (IEEE 2021)
[2] Run in conjunction with the Library and Online Learning and Teaching staff.