Putting the Service In Scholarship
I am lurking on the feeds of The Digital Literacy Symposium being held at the University of Rhode Island. I discovered the conference as I keep the #digiuri hashtag up on Tweetdeck. I quickly discovered some of the coolest people I know and some OG folks of learning on the Open Web open a discussion of reframing and rethink what digital literacy means in higher education.
I agree with many of the folks at the Institute digital literacy is so much more than a competency grid (and I have and do spent countless times building competency maps). Especially in higher education.
In terms of the academy we need to be transformational. If Digital Literacy means a fundamental rethinking of how we read, write, and participate it also requires an examination of what in means to serve as an academic. How can the ways that we read, write and participate become more playful, open, and remixable.
Digital scholarship is simply not sustainable in old models of what counts as scholarship
Lucy is correct. We need to rethink what we do with our time as scholars.
Digitally Engaged Scholarship
Digital Literacy and higher education means a focus on digitally engaged scholarship. The concept, a fork or community engaged scholarship, basically means that we can empower each other through networked leaning and digital tools in ways where the lines between scholarship, teaching, and service melt away.
Why should a journal article, even with a high impact rating and cited a few hundred times, carry more weight than someone who develops an open curriculum adopted by hundreds schools across the globe? We still need the rigorous approach peer reviewed (though I would move to open here too) approach to our research. Yet we also need to recognize the creation of global and local learning spaces as a form of research.
Service as Scholarship
One area where we digital scholars need to tell our story better is in terms of service. I am watching the #digiURI feed and I see many faculty who have helped to build tools and communities that have taught thousands and we have systems in place that do not recognize these efforts.
We need to empower each other as story tellers so institutions recognize our work. So I wanted to share the few projects, digital, global, or local that that I have been working on recently:
Copyright Toolkit
Following a curriculum workshop call sponsored by the Mozilla Learning team I joined Chad Sansig and the Mozilla Foundation in developing a copyright toolkit. My thinking is to use comic strips to create a series of lessons and as an assessment type where you choose the next frame. Spoiler: The story will end in the Commons. Yes it would essentially be a series of readings and multiple choice questions but it should scale well and make localization efforts easier. This is for the open lesson. From there we will get more production based. Thinking of targeting teacher prep programs and teach students to write lessons about copyright. Contributors wanted.
Personal Leadership Toolkit
On the Mozilla Corporation side (Mozilla the maker of Firefox has two parts) I am working with Emma Erwin and friends on a leadership toolkit that can help level up the skills of key contributors to Mozilla’s mission. This involves writing workshop content that coaches can use on the ground around leadership topics or self study guides to help level up skills of contributors spread across the globe. Contributors wanted.
New Haven Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Reading
This past year I have served as a subcommittee chair for Mayor Tony Harp’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Reading. Our goal is to rethink reading instruction across the Elm City, in school and out. Our job was to do a content analysis of the 3–12 curriculum.
Connecticut Commission On Educational Technology
I also serve on the legislatively established Connecticut Commission of Educational Technology. Specifically I work with Doug Casey and others on the Digital Literacy Advisory Council. We examine how to improve learning in Connecticut with digital tools while also ensuring our students leave schools literate in the ways in which we read, write, and participate on the web.
Hypothes.is
I also provide non-technical contributions to my favorite open source annotation tool: hypothes.is. This year I help look at wireframes and protoypes of their newly launched user and group profiles.
Telling our Story
We are the academy. I love my job. We get paid to learn. One thing I have learned about digital literacy is we can allow it to further democratize education or let it continue to silo off learning in closed echo chambers. What story do you want to tell?
Originally published at INTERTEXTrEVOLUTION.
