Since last March (Lockdown number 1) a large majority of people had to change their ways of working. They had to adapt to work in more digitally confident and driven way. Some people adapted without issue, however, others had problems and lacked digital capabilities. Their respective organisations had to recognize their lack of skills and to offer training, so that their employees would be able to work from home with the necessary digital equipment. I believe that this should have been done sooner and not related to a pandemic. Digital literacies are the base that is required to function fully in a modern society. Organisations are slowly noticing that it is important for them as well as their employees to be digitally confident and incorporate digitally aware thinking into their institutions. This incorporation may occur by, firstly, providing access to digital technologies as well as training (for example, via workshops) to use them comfortably. Institutions should also commit to researching the matter, as both a potential positive and/or negative addition.
I am coming from the museum sector (at least trained in that field) and what I learned and seen is that it is important that sectors work together and collaborate in order to be able to develop skills and create and/or increase access to digital technologies. It is also important to note that the main and most important focus of these developments should be the people and their needs. In addition, organisations and even whole sectors often see the incorporation of the digital into their practice as a financial burden (buying new technology, upgrading etc.) and a communication challenge, while ignoring the fact that digital thinking is both
1) a behaviour, culture and skills, which respond to people’s needs in modern societies and
2) a practice/process, which is people-focused and also benefits their sector.
I also focused on the importance of digital literacy in primary education recently and what I have read suggests that it is where we should start. As we are becoming more and more reliant on digital technologies, children often learn by themselves the necessary skills to navigate digital technologies. However, I think incorporating digital literacy into their formal learning helps to create equality in digital skills; provides the pupils with with a safe and conscious mindset which would accompany their digital learning journey; and helps to develop empathy, inclusivity, and responsibility. Digital skills education should also work together with families and communities as well as be constructed in a way as to cater to different abilities and needs, since, as I have mentioned before, these skills are crucial to life within the modern society.
I would argue that transforming the curriculums with digitally aware thinking would raise awareness, start conversations and support children in their capabilities from an early age. It would also create digital equality – in skills and understanding – that would benefit all sectors and all people.
Digital confidence skills must arise from an inclusive and collaborative learning environment. Thus, sectors should be working together in an open and safe space in order to understand what needs to change and what has already been changed and led to successful and confident digital work. By teaching digital skills to children, they would be able to adapt to this digitally aware way of thinking, which would benefit them in all parts of their lives and equip them with the tools to deal with the changes and the challenges uncertain future might bring.
Hugs and Buttons 