As I begin to compose this blog post, my browser has more tabs open than I think I've ever had open at one time before. I've bookmarked 30+ articles about digital literacy the past couple of years, with each post linking to a plethora of additional resources on the subject. My goal in this post is to increase our literacy about the topic of digital literacy.

My Quest

I want to write a post about digital literacy, as a means of recapping my conversation with Mike Caulfield that was published last week.

The Trouble

It is so challenging to even just begin by defining digital literacy, let alone to begin to discuss some of the criticisms of the more popular publications on the topic.

My Compromise

Instead of trying to give readers a thorough exploration of the topic (Mike Caulfield admitted on Twitter that his Digital Literacies: Which One? post was initially intended to be just a few hundred words, but before he knew it, quickly grew into thousands), I'm going to introduce a few places to get started with the subject.

Digital Literacy: A Definition

JISC defines digital literacy as:

Digital literacies are those capabilities which fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society.”

They go on to explain:

Digital literacy looks beyond functional IT skills to describe a richer set of digital behaviours, practices and identities. What it means to be digitally literate changes over time and across contexts, so digital literacies are essentially a set of academic and professional situated practices supported by diverse and changing technologies. This definition quoted above can be used as a starting point to explore what key digital literacies are in a particular context eg university, college, service, department, subject area or professional environment.”

Lest I leave you assuming that this is the agreed-upon definition for digital literacy, there are as many definitions as there seem to be publications on the subject. Belshaw cautions us about the ambiguity that emerges, when we refer to digital literacy.

Belshaw's TEDx talk on the essential elements of digital literacy provides a wonderful overview:

Essential Frameworks

There are a few frameworks that are critical to understanding the ways in which we might think about digital literacy. Some of these frameworks focus on domains, while others are more tool/skill-oriented.

• Developing Digital Literacies from JISC
• Digital Literacy: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief (though also reading this critique of the brief is helpful)
• ALL ABOARD: Digital Skills in Higher Education
• The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies
• Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education from ACRL

While not specific to solely digital literacy, I do think Mozilla's web literacy map is worth exploring, as well.

Domain-Specific Sites

As Mike Caulfield asserted, a big part of increasing our digital literacy is improving our knowledge within the specific domain being evaluated. Here are just a few resources to help with that endeavor:

• Politifact
• SciCheck
• Quote Investigator
• Snopes

Next Steps

There are two specific ways I plan on taking action on what I have been learning about digital literacy. I plan on sharing the ALL ABOARD digital skills framework with the faculty development committee I chair, as a means of brainstorming on possible breakouts for our annual Fall faculty gathering. I also hope to introduce students to some relevant domain-specific sites that could support them in increasing their own digital literacy. Like Mike Caulfield, I also hope that these types of sites continue to grow.

What steps are you taking in developing your own or someone else's digital literacy?

I was helping a student get prepared for a job interview yesterday. She said that half of her time at the company was going to be spent in a one-on-one interview, while the other half of the time would be devoted to an assessment of her Word and Excel skills.

She admitted to not being adept at Excel, but touted her Word skills, since she had been using it extensively in her current internship. I inquired as to whether or not she knew how to set tabs. She said she knew how to “tab over,” but didn't even know what I meant when I asked about “setting” a tab.

I have the utmost confidence in her ability to do well on the interview. She will quickly be able to learn more of the word processing and spreadsheet skills she needs and the organization she's interviewing with will have an exceptional intern.

However, it did get me thinking about the most common features in word processors that many faculty don't utilize, which ultimately make their work harder in the long run.

Here are the most essential features I recommend you leverage, when using a word processor:

Use Styles

If you've written an academic paper, or a manual of some kind, you've likely made use of headings and subheadings. However, most people don't know that you can create a style in your word processor that, when applied, automatically places that formatting on a given line/paragraph. There are some built-in styles in most word processors, which you can modify at any time to have the look-and-feel that you want.

This documentation shows you how to create styles in Microsoft Word, but you're only a search away from discovering how to use styles in whatever word processor you happen to use.

Here's a video of how to create styles in Microsoft Word from Lynda.com*.

Auto-create a Table of Contents

Once you have styles set up in your document, it becomes incredibly easy to auto-create a table of contents in your document. After you auto-create a table of contents, you can come back later and right-click and choose update, to have the table of contents reflect any changes you have made in your document since you first created it.

Here's how to auto-create a table of contents in Microsoft Word.

This video shows you how to quickly create a table of contents, and incorporates a review of applying styles, as was discussed, above.

Insert Page or Section Breaks (Versus Pressing Enter a Bunch of Times)

When you want to move down to a new page in your document, many people are tempted to accomplish this goal by pressing enter a bunch of times. The problem with this is that, if you make changes to your document down the road, your page breaks will all likely be shifted a bit and your pages will not appear as you originally desired.

Instead, if you insert a page break, or a section break – new page, you can be assured that no matter what changes you make to the document, a new page will appear where you originally intended. Section breaks are helpful if you want to have a different page numbering scheme (like roman numerals at the start of a document that then move into regular numbers), or if you want each section of a document to have a different header (like perhaps the name of the chapter or section of a document). Page breaks can be inserted and also can be deleted, if you change your mind later.

Here's the documentation on how to insert a page break in Microsoft Word.

Below is a short video on how to insert a page break in Microsoft Word.

Next Steps

Those are just three features in a word processor that have a lot of leverage, but it is really just the beginning of finding ways to save yourself time. I've found that the website Lynda.com* has plenty of video tutorials to help me work more effectively with many different technology tools. Here's a referral link* that will allow you to receive a free, 2-week trial to their service*, which I highly recommend.

Your Turn

What features do you consider most essential in getting the most out of a word processor?

I was honored to get to speak with Lina Gomez for the Utopistica YouTube television show, from the Universidad del Este, Puerto Rico, a few weeks ago.

Utopística, programa de discusión y análisis que procura constatar la realidad como precondición para la formulación de alternativas verosímiles de futuro

Lina asked challenging questions that really got me to reflect about how my experience with Teaching in Higher Ed has changed my teaching, since June of 2014, when it launched. Their professional setup for the show made me really wish that we had a green screen in our home studio.

It looks like I'm shaking my fists in anger (or celebration?) in the still shot for the video. Instead, I'm imitating myself playing the Ellen Head's Up game (without using my iPad as a prop).

The interview is in English.

Resources Mentioned During the Interview

• Attendance2 app
• Retrieval Practice
• PollEverywhere
• Ellen’s Heads Up Game with Custom Decks
• Research in Action Podcast
• Plickers
• Sticky Notes as a Teaching Tool
• Peer Instruction episode with Peter Newbury
• Harold Jarche: Personal Knowledge Management
• Episode with Ken Bain
• Episode 100: The Failure Episode
• Inbox Zero episode
• Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
• Music’s Role in Our Teaching
• Choose Your Own Adventure Assessment
• Episode with Linda Nelson on Specifications Grading

Paul Simon

I also reminisced about how one of my college professors got me to learn more about history by playing Paul Simon before and after classes.

As most of you who have been listening to the Teaching in Higher Ed for a while already know, I'm a huge fan of podcasts.

I still chuckle when I recall this segment of This American Life when Alex Bloomberg shares about his Nielsen families fallacy, as well as the woman who received a special gift from trained monkeys.

And who could forget:

Xing

I'll never look at crossing signs the same way, again.

I've been having fun catching up with The Revisionist History Podcast (thank you, Roger Heuser). Revisiting the movie, Memento, with the Very Bad Wizards was great fun, too. I still could listen to them talk about Mr. Robot on every single episode and not be left wanting, though…

This week, something amazing happened in my podcast listening universe. Someone came out with a podcast that combines my passion for teaching with my love of audio storytelling.

Mike Wesch just launched LIFE101 – Real stories about real students seeking a real education.

The Chronicle shares highlights from the first episode, though I won't even attempt to capture what's happening in a single headline.

When this professor got into a frat party, a line of people formed to take selfies with him: https://t.co/HKGFrHt6lg

— Chronicle (@chronicle) August 28, 2016

As I went down a delightful rabbit trail on Mike Wesch's YouTube channel, I came across his animated story called The Sleeper:

Take three minutes out of your day to watch it.

Here's what I hope you didn't miss:

1. The moral of the story isn't that the student stopped sleeping. He didn't.
2. Mike hasn't ever animated anything before. This video is his first attempt. He regularly puts himself into the role of learner, to have better empathy for his students and to become a more effective teacher.
3. There's a shift that can occur when we go from thinking a student's behavior is about us (our teaching, etc.) to perceiving that just maybe it's about her… And some part of her that isn't instantly evident…
4. The student he shares about is a real person. Not a caricature  of “kids today…”

Mike is perhaps most famous for his video entitled A Vision of Students Today… It's been viewed over 5 million times and shown in plenty of faculty workshops.

I'm looking forward to episode 2 of LIFE101 and all that will be released after that. If you listened to his first episode, I would love to read your reflections in the comments.

 

We just started our semester this week. My second day of classes begins tomorrow. It has been fun getting to know our students a bit and experiencing all the energy and chaos that a new academic year can bring.

Here is what I've got “packed” in my bag for the start to school:

Grit-It Organizer

I discovered the Grid-It organizer a couple of years ago and have found it extremely helpful in not leaving things behind in the classroom. One of my colleagues will tell you that as recently as yesterday, I left my adapter behind in the classroom. But, it sure doesn't happen nearly anywhere near as often as it used to… And I make sure and label everything I might potentially leave behind, to lessen the likelihood of losing items forever.

Poll Everywhere

This polling service has been my go-to tool for helping the students discover the power of retrieval practice. I get by with the free version, which allows for up to 40 anonymous respondents at one time. While I do have times in the classroom when we are device-free, there's something about starting a semester by encouraging the students to take out their phones and to engage in that manner that surprises them.

Wireless Presenter

My preference is to move about the classroom, without being stuck behind a laptop to advance my slides. While I know there are now options to advance slides on one's Apple Watch or mobile phone, I still have a preference for a wireless presenter remote. I own two different types of wireless presenters, which I like equally well. As long as they fit easily in my hand and I'm unlikely to accidentally press the button to advance a slide when I didn't intend to, they work great for me.

Apple Pencil

I've been a user of various stylus devices for decades now. Apple Pencil is hands down the best one I've ever used. I use a blended learning approach in most of my classes. I typically don't lecture in the in-person classes, but instead create what I call pencasts (which are videos of me talking about a topic, while drawing like a seven year-old, images that make the main points much more memorable). The Apple Pencil glides across the iPad screen and allows for adding color and varying the pen/pencil thickness easily.

Doceri

The app that I have found most useful for capturing / creating pencasts is Doceri. I first sketch out whatever the drawing is going to be for the pencast. Doceri is recording a video of my ever pencil stroke, for playback when adding in the audio portion. When I record myself narrating the drawing portion, I can pause the playback of my pencil strokes, as well as slow them down. I used to need to draw at the same time as talking, which I found to be incredibly difficult. Doceri and the Apple Pencil are game-changers for those who want to create pencasts.

What's “packed” in your bag for the start of your academic year? 

My apologies to those of you who prefer a bit more sophisticated reference to the movie Jerry Maguire… I'm coming off of more than a week with a nasty virus and may not be able to manage much more than this.

At 1:15 in the clip, Jerry says, “Help me, help you.”

That's what I'm asking you for today…

I've been airing Teaching in Higher Ed podcasts weekly since June 2014.

As I start thinking about summer of 2016, I wonder if I should keep going with the same pattern that I have been on, or perhaps modify my approach a bit during those months.

Help me, help you

Please consider getting in touch through the comments section, below, or if you receive this via email, you can just reply with answers to any of the following questions:

1. How could Teaching in Higher Ed best support your professional development over the summer?
2. How regularly will you be listening to podcasts over the summer?
3. What have been 1-2 of the episodes that we have aired so far that have changed your teaching in some way and how did they impact that change?
4. What's one area in your teaching or personal productivity that you are struggling with right now?

[reminder]Thank you for considering providing input as I consider how to approach summertime with Teaching in Higher Ed. [/reminder]

I know that many of you teach year round and appreciate hearing from you, as well, about your listening habits and episodes that have transformed  your teaching… 

This past week was definitely rewarding.

• James Lang wrote an article for The Chronicle of Higher Education about the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast that was edifying.
• Josh Eyler came back on the show to talk about teaching lessons from Pixar movies (episode #065). I think it was my 3 1/2 year-old son's favorite episode yet. [Disclosure: Our son only wanted to listen to the movie clips, though.]
• I got to speak to Ainissa Ramirez, a science evangelist who I had learned about on NPR's All Things Considered. The episode with her will air on Thursday, September 17.
• The Teaching in Higher Ed podcast was listed among the top 10 higher ed podcasts on itunes throughout the week.

It is so energizing to get to connect with people who are so committed to teaching and learning. I'm excited to think about what this next year in podcasting will bring.

If you have gotten something out of Teaching in Higher Ed, would you consider helping others discover the show by:

1. Forwarding James Lang's article about Teaching in Higher Ed to others who have a passion for teaching
2. Commenting on the article James Lang wrote with what has been your favorite episode of Teaching in Higher Ed, so that it might get additional exposure with those who read The Chronicle
3. Rating or ranking the show (https://teachinginhighered.com/itunes – it will take you into iTunes, where you can rate/rank it, or via whatever app/service you usually use to listen)

Thanks for being a part of the Teaching in Higher Ed community.

 

It's official. I'm on summer break. I'm also healthy enough to be back to exercising and hanging out with the kids.

My mind is full of all the things I would like to do during the break to make the 2015-2016 academic year better than this past one. I had a good time teaching, but just felt like I was running to keep up the entire time. People say that's normal with two small children at home, but I yearn for a bit more preparation to occur before diving back in again.

In the meantime, I do want to recharge my batteries and capitalize on the opportunities to try and learn new things. Here are a few actions I've taken in the past to try to turbo-charge my summer that have worked well:

Share a meal with someone in a different discipline

One of the many things I'm grateful for about getting to do the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast is all of the experts I get to talk to in such different disciplines than mine. At first, I was incredibly intimidated to speak with some who I only had the most  shallow understanding of what they teach. However, I'm glad I pressed on, as I've found I'm learning far more than I bargained for when the podcast began.

If you're not able to get together for lunch or dinner, perhaps try the next best thing.

Listen to a podcast in an entirely different discipline than yours

Doug McKee recommended the Very Bad Wizards podcast to me a few months ago. It is a dialog between Tamler Sommers (a philosopher) and David Pizarro (a psychologist). They describe themselves as people who “share a love for ethics, pop culture, and cognitive science.” They also are quite funny and crass (in the best way possible).

I've enjoyed being challenged by the few episodes I've listened to so far. One recommendation I would have for those of you who really want to maximize your learning is to review the show notes for an episode before you listen to it and read the articles they post before listening.

Watch something purely for the fun of it

As I mentioned on episode #049, I spent another week in May with a cold. There's something seriously wrong when you can't keep yourself healthier than the people who stick things they find on the ground in their mouths on a regular basis. One upside to being ill was the excuse to binge watch House of Cards, a Netflix original series.

Now I'm going to want to listen to some of Slate's podcasts about House of Cards, as I understand they have some experts come and and compare real-world politics with the fictitious politics in House of Cards.

[reminder]How will you be maximizing any time off you have to turbo-charge your summer? [/reminder]

I'm preparing to record episode 50 of the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast and I need your help.

Share a take-away and a recommendation for episode 50

Please call our podcast voicemail line and leave a message for the show. Share a take-away you've had from any of the episodes this past year and give one recommendation you have for other members of the Teaching in Higher Ed community.

949-38-LEARN

1-949-385-3276

I will use as many of your messages as I can on episode 50 and we can all look forward to rediscovering some of the lessons from the show so far.

Top Ten Most Downloaded Episodes

(as of 4/14/15; the download counts fluctuate greatly, as new people discover the show)

1. #023: How to engage students in the classroom and online (guest: Jay Howard)
2. #015: How to get students to participate in a discussion (guest: Stephen Brookfield)
3. #034: Practical productivity in academia (guest: Natalie Houston)
4. #037: Developing critical thinking skills (guest: Tine Reimers)
5. #018: How technology is changing higher education (guest: Audrey Watters)
6. #036: What the best college teachers do (guest: Ken Bain)
7. #041: What to do before you act on all you've captured (co-host: Dave Stachowiak)
8. #028: How to see what we've been missing (guest: Cathy Davidson)
9. #030: Teaching naked (guest: Jose Bowen)
10. #032: Lower your stress with a better approach to capture (co-host: Dave Stachowiak)

Top Ten Blog Posts This Month

1. EdTech recommendations for the Mac Power Users
2. How to make a seemingly boring topic come to alive
3. HeadsUp game is a lively edtech tool
4. Find the right reference manager
5. Creating micro lectures for blended or online courses
6. Getting things done gets re-done
7. 5 apps that will help you be more organized in the new school year
8. How to apologize [as a professor]
9. How to develop library research skills in college students
10. The danger of making assumptions as educators

[reminder]If you prefer not to leave a voicemail, please consider adding a comment with your take-away and recommendation.[/reminder]

A few episodes ago, I recommended the podcast called Serial.

It is the first podcast that I have heard described as one you're going to want to binge-watch. The good news is that there haven't been that many episodes released yet, so you have plenty of time to catch up with the rest of us obsessed fans.

Lest you think that there's no practical value to listening as a professor, there are plenty of lessons in there about effective storytelling.

If you are just checking out the Teaching in Higher Ed podcast and blog, you won't likely experience quite as much suspense as you will if you listen to Serial. However, we have had some great guests agree to come on the show and share their wisdom.

Top five podcast episodes

1. Role immersion games in the higher ed classroom with Dr. Marc Carnes (author of Minds on Fire)
2. How to move a course online and other community questions with cohosts Bonni & Dave Stachowiak
3. How to get students to participate in discussion with Dr. Stephen Brookfield
4. Back to school episode with Dr. Sandie Morgan
5. How technology is changing education with Audrey Watters

Five essential blog posts

While the following blog posts aren't necessarily ranked via objective criteria, such as hits, they stand out as essential reads to those looking to better their teaching:

1. Creating measurable learning objectives
2. Cultivating character
3. Stop yourself from becoming a digital hoarder
4. Shaping first impressions in the college classroom
5. The dangers of making assumptions as educators

If you have just joined the community, the resources listed above are a great place to start. I hope you'll join the conversation happening in the comments section of each episode and blog post.

I had the honor of interviewing Audrey Watters last week, for episode 18 of Teaching in Higher Ed. She cautions readers on her blog that she's the sometimes EdTech's Kassandra. She neglected to mention that conversations with her can get stuck in a person's mind and rattle around in there a lot.

A few minutes prior to recording with Audrey, I had more than a few chuckles listening to Aziz Ansari define and discuss feminism on The Late Show with David Letterman. I wound up sharing about the clip during the recommendations portion of the show. It was one of those hopeful minutes when it seems like we might be moving to a better place when it comes to equality.

Let's just say that the week did not turn out to be a very good week for gender equality.

Audrey writes about the week in the last paragraph of her weekly update.

#gamergate rages on, as more female gamers have had credible threats of violence made against them, because of their speaking out on sexism. Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella decided that women should rely on karma for achieving equitable compensation.

I'm grateful for the way in which Audrey challenges us to do better on a number of fronts in her writing. It is arguably part of her personal brand to make us uncomfortable as we identify ways in which we are contributors to the problem.

Lest you think that this issue is only being discussed by a small minority of self-declared rabble-rousers, you should know that David Sparks, the host of The Mac Power Users podcast crafted a post on the subject, hoping to start a dialog with his community.

Anyone who thinks that this isn't an issue beyond the tech world might find the State of the Women in America report revealing.

About a month ago, I was speaking to a different Teaching in Higher Ed podcast guest about his recommendations for future topics or guests. He suggested a professor/researcher to speak on the subject of race in higher ed. I'm leaving the specific name of the person who was suggested out of this post, since I haven't reached out to the individual yet. 

It was particularly timely, since the topic kept popping up on my list of potential podcast episodes. However, the whole subject of racial and gender equality can leave me feeling completely inadequate.

The number of times I've not handled it well when students have used gender or racial stereotypes overwhelms me. It is hard to know where to begin. Such a fundamental shift of perspective has to take place in order for students to recognize the flaws in their heuristics and it isn't a mental change that can be forced upon them.

Despite feeling completely inadequate, we all must persist toward doing the hard work it takes to bring us to a new day. We must not be silent (as emphasized so well in this TED talk with Jackson Katz).

I haven't ever written a post on this topic before. I know that it raises far more questions than it provides answers. However, just like David Sparks, I can continue the dialog and invite us all to challenge each other to do more to squelch the voices that would suggest anything other than equality.

[reminder]What do we need to be doing more of as educators in higher education to move toward greater gender equality? How do we work to transform the minds of students who come from an entirely different perspective when it comes to women being equal to men?[/reminder]