Supporting Learners in a Digital Age
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This paper describes the outcomes of a JISC-funded project, ‘Supporting Learners in a Digital Age’ (SLiDA). SLiDA explored how nine different institutions are helping students use digital technologies effectively in their studies, and preparing them to live and work in a digital society.
Digital technologies are essential to our workplaces and social spaces, and to successful study. The skills students need go beyond finding and evaluating information. They include communicating complex ideas in a range of media and sharing knowledge in professional or subject communities. Attending lectures, recording and reflecting on their progress, receiving feedback and keeping in touch with friends are just some aspects of the student experience that are now mediated by technology.
Opportunities for technology to support effective learning are many. But these changes are not without their challenges for learners and institutions alike. An earlier study (Learning Literacies in a Digital Age: LLiDA) found that institutions rarely took a joined-up approach to building students’ lifelong digital capability.