One quote that caught my attention in the first webinar that we had with the ONL course

” Digital literacies and online participation” that was mentioned by David White is ” We confuse ownership with capability” which I found very relevant in my own Context .

I think that my students have phones and laptops they’re on Facebook and may be on other digital spaces but does this mean that they’re making the most of these platforms and what does effectively using these platforms mean ?

So we need a framework to assess their online participation and I think that digital literacies framework can be a good one . But before talking about digital literacies we need to know what kind of participation they have ( the Resident/ Visitor metaphor) , the context in which they use digital spaces ( individual or institutional) so they can map their online participation and that we can have as teachers a clearer vision about what digital spaces do students use , in which context and for what purpose.

Once , we have a clear mapping of our students’ online participation we can ask them if they do have the adequate digital literacies to engage in those spaces :

1- Do they use digital spaces for learning and research?

2- What is their online reputation and online identity and do they have startegies to manage them?

3- Do they know how to use different apps ?

4- Do they knwo how to learn and study in formal and informal LMSs?

5- Do they participate in emergent academic professional and research practices online?

6- Do they knwo how to find , evaluate , manage and share information?

7- Do they critically read what they find in digital spaces ?

It’s not obvious that students will spontaneously ask themselves such questions . So it’s our role as their instructors to open the discussion with them and make them reflect about their online participation and their digital literacies to make of their presence on digital spaces a fruitful experience.