Web Literacy Leaders — My Introduction to Openness
Who Am I and Why Am I Here? I’m an educator of adults, or at least I’ve always thought I was. It turns out I’ve been missing a major piece of information I should have been sharing with my students. I started my college journey when there was no Internet, no online college, and WordPerfect was the high-speed, low-drag technology to help with college assignments. Like all life-long learners, I’ve tried to keep up with changing technology and have been amazed at the resources I now have at my fingertips. In spite of my efforts, I’m only just now learning about web literacy, and what a huge part it plays in using those resources.
My goal now is to get as smart as I can on the subject of web literacy so I can train others and impart that knowledge as part of Mozilla’s first cohort of Web Literacy Leaders. My clients are military members transitioning to civilian life, veterans who have already transitioned, and their family members. I’m the Education Program Manager for the USO’s new Transition Center for Innovation. My mission is to guide these folks on their education journey, helping them avoid hazards along the way such as predatory colleges, student loans, and failing in their academic goals. Teaching them about web literacy will give them crucial tools for their education and job search journeys, and prepare them for civilian careers.
What does working in the open mean for me and/or my organization? So far in my workplace, “working in the open” means none of us have offices or cubicle walls. What it could mean is something entirely different.
I envision a workplace with team members collaborating across departments and sites, sharing information back and forth to help each other in a free-flowing, idea-generating atmosphere. Our ultimate goal would be to help each other succeed, which would benefit our clients, since we’re a service organization. Working in the open on a larger scale means sharing innovative best practices, with organizations across the world allowing access to ideas and tools to everyone. Working in the open means that anyone, regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status, or religion can safely access data on the internet. Open access means to me that the playing field is leveled and everyone has a chance at success.
What’s my project? My focus area at work is to help our clients achieve their higher education goals. I now understand that web literacy can be an important part of their success in education, which will help them in their quest for civilian careers. In teaching college classes, I’ve noticed that many non-traditional students are unfamiliar with online research, assessing the credibility of online sources, and responsibly giving credit to those sources.
For my project, I would like to educate our clients about web literacy. I would like to help them build a solid foundation in navigating the virtual academic world so they can be safe, responsible, and effective students. I would like to teach them to safely search for jobs and build their technical skills to make them more attractive to employers.
I don’t know the details of what my project will entail, but I’m working on it. Stay tuned.
