{"id":9454,"date":"2023-04-25T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-25T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/?p=9454"},"modified":"2023-04-17T15:16:06","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T14:16:06","slug":"digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital literacy and capability in school-leavers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9455\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-100x67.jpg 100w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2023\/04\/wes-hicks-4-EeTnaC1S4-unsplash-900x600.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><figcaption>Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/it\/@sickhews?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Wes Hicks<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/4-EeTnaC1S4?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Educational Enhancement team has published two blog posts recently which address digital literacy. <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/03\/14\/why-we-still-need-to-talk-about-digital-skills-in-2023\/\">Dan Axson wrote about the expectations on university faculty<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/03\/21\/online-teaching-spaces-exploring-the-digital-myths\/\">Ty Knight wrote about the experience of our undergraduates<\/a>. I will attempt to complete the trilogy this week by looking at the levels of digital literacy an 18-year-old leaving a school in England is likely to have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I first worked in EdTech towards the end of the noughties, a rather catchy and exciting term was emerging in our conversations: children born after 1990ish were&nbsp; \u2018Digital Natives\u2019; they had spent the entirety of their lives in a digital world and were believed (did anyone really believe this?) to be as comfortable with electronics as my dear old grandad would have been with a yoyo. Of course we were blithely overlooking the fact that my grandad was not born able to use a yoyo and he had to be taught its art, much in the way he taught my brother (born after 1990) the very same. At a recent event held at the University of Sussex by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ictforeducation.co.uk\/\">ICT for Education<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TigWilliams\">Tig Williams<\/a>, a school teacher in Computing, explained very clearly: \u2018There\u2019s no such thing as a digital native; if you give a six-year-old an Excel spreadsheet they will not just start auto-formatting the cells.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tig went on in his interesting presentation to explain some facts about ICT in schools which shocked me, and I spent most of my working life in schools. Having carried out some further research, I ask if you knew the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>It is mandatory for high schools in England to offer GCSE Computing and not doing so can cause them to fail an Ofsted inspection.<\/li><li>While computing must be taught to children aged 5-16, it is not necessary to choose it in \u2018options*\u2019.<\/li><li>Schools have such difficulty recruiting Computer Science teachers that many of them cannot offer GCSEs in the course.<\/li><li>According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/research-review-series-computing\/research-review-series-computing\">2022 Government report<\/a>, over 50% of teachers delivering the Computing course at secondary school do not have a higher qualification in the subject.<\/li><li>The shortage of resources and other factors can mean that a lot of younger children are taught shorter courses in Computing than the National Curriculum requires.<\/li><li>Schools with higher rates of economic hardship in the community are less likely to offer Computing as a GCSE subject.<\/li><li>In 2022, approximately 16% of GCSE students took exams in Computing.<\/li><li>Approximately 4\/5 of students who take GCSE Computing are boys.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Clearly this is not the Brave New World we envisioned for 2023 when those BBC Basics were wheeled into the primary schools of the 1980s, but what does it mean for the school leavers who join us every September and whom we assume come with levels of digital literacy which do not reflect the reality?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is important to note that the GCSE in Computing is far from the only indicator of digital literacy and that students who can code, program or hack are not necessarily going to find our apps and platforms easy. Indeed, the opposite can be true. It is also important to make it clear that while our Freshers may arrive with gadgets and devices that could outperform an early space rocket, that doesn\u2019t mean they know how the tools actually work. I\u2019m reminded of a job I had over ten years ago where I trained supermarket cashiers on how to use and support the self-scan machines. As you can imagine, a lot of my learners saw themselves as \u2018not very technical\u2019, products of a \u2018different education\u2019 and even \u2018too old\u2019 to learn. It was a common refrain that I was \u2018wasting [my] time\u2019 and that only \u2018they [gesture to the Saturday kids] would understand\u2019. In response I would ask the group if anyone had ever used a twin-tub washing machine; many had. I would select someone to explain to us the process and they would recount, word-for-word and step-by-step, the entire task. They would include moments when they had to use their judgement to change the water, the temperature, whatever, and they would do so with the tone of a true expert. We would then ask one of the teenagers to explain how the washing machine in their home worked: \u2018You press the button\u2019 would be the reply and thereby demonstrate that access to a technologically advanced bit of kit does not make the user advanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our students have access to some of the most sophisticated tools ever created and their exposure to digital content is unparalleled. They are consumers and creators, but it is unfair to assume they are experts. If you are reading this and are one of the tutors here at Sussex, perhaps consider putting some time aside to make sure your students know how to find the resource you\u2019re directing them to or how to use a digital resource they might be unfamiliar with. As always, if you\u2019d like to explore ways to use digital technology in your teaching and would like some support in that, you can reach us at <a href=\"mailto:tel@sussex.ac.uk\">tel@sussex.ac.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>*options = colloquial term for the subjects students choose to take for GCSE, also used to refer to the process of selecting these subjects.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-9454\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-9454\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-tumblr\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-tumblr sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/?share=tumblr\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Tumblr\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to print (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pinterest\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-pinterest-9454\" class=\"share-pinterest sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/?share=pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pinterest\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pocket\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-pocket sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/?share=pocket\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pocket\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Educational Enhancement team has published two blog posts recently which address digital literacy. Dan Axson wrote about the expectations on university faculty and Ty Knight wrote about the experience of our undergraduates. I will attempt to complete the trilogy<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-9454\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-9454\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-tumblr\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-tumblr sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/?share=tumblr\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Tumblr\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to print (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pinterest\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-pinterest-9454\" class=\"share-pinterest sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/?share=pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pinterest\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pocket\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-pocket sd-button share-icon no-text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2023\/04\/25\/digital-literacy-and-capability-in-school-leavers\/?share=pocket\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pocket\"><span><\/span><span class=\"sharing-screen-reader-text\">Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":391,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[98304],"tags":[98237],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4IWEK-2su","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3289,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2015\/11\/03\/digital-skills-through-the-telescope\/","url_meta":{"origin":9454,"position":0},"title":"Digital skills through the TELescope\u00a0","date":"3rd November 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u2018Digital skills\u2019 are frequently referred to both inside and outside of higher education. What are they and how can we judge if we are digitally skilled or not? We turn to the Jisc framework, originally developed by the work of Beetham and Sharpe (2010), to help answer the question of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Technology Enhanced Learning&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"3700106333_9cc6109269_z (1)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2015\/10\/3700106333_9cc6109269_z-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2739,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2015\/07\/14\/flipping-the-institution-higher-education-on-the-post-digital-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":9454,"position":1},"title":"Flipping the Institution: Higher Education in the Post Digital Age","date":"14th July 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The 2015 Academic Practice and Technology conference at the University of Greenwich focused on \u2018Flipping the Institution: Higher Education in the Post Digital Age\u2019. There was a huge range of sessions to choose from, so this is just a flavour of what I took away from the day. What is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;External events&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Six digital capabilities","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2015\/07\/Six-digital-capabilities.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":57,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2014\/06\/24\/changing-the-learning-landscape-digital-literacy-in-the-disciplines\/","url_meta":{"origin":9454,"position":2},"title":"Changing the learning landscape","date":"24th June 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Digital Literacy in the disciplines One of the reasons for increasing the use of technology in Higher Education is to develop students\u2019 digital literacy. Anne Hole, a member of the Sussex Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) team, recently attended a Higher Education Academy (HEA) event at the London School of Economics\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;External events&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Adam Bailey image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2014\/06\/Adam-Bailey-image1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10417,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2026\/03\/01\/spotlight-on-ai-in-education-january-and-february-2026\/","url_meta":{"origin":9454,"position":3},"title":"Spotlight on AI in Education: January and February 2026","date":"1st March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to this Spotlight on AI in Education bulletin. With how fast things are moving, this will help you cut through the noise and catch what\u2019s important.\u00a0The bulletin highlights\u00a0on-the-ground\u00a0practice, institutional perspectives and\u00a0trends in generative AI use\u00a0across the sector\u00a0and\u00a0beyond. We hope you find this useful. AI Generated ImageImage generated by HM\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AI&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"AI Generated Image of a small robot walking between clumps of snowdrops.","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2026\/03\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6194,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2017\/06\/20\/equipping-students-thrive-digital-era\/","url_meta":{"origin":9454,"position":4},"title":"Equipping students to thrive in the digital era","date":"20th June 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Southampton Solent University was the venue for Student futures \u2013 equipping students to thrive in the digital era, a recent two-day event organised by the UCISA Digital Capabilities Group The conference took place in The Spark building, dominated by a fantastic giant red pod, looming over it like something out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;digital skills&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"The Pod at the Spark","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2017\/06\/IMG_1222-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4756,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/2016\/09\/06\/digitally-embedding-digital-skills-curriculum\/","url_meta":{"origin":9454,"position":5},"title":"Doing it digitally: embedding digital skills in the curriculum","date":"6th September 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Whether we talk about digital skills, digital literacy or digital capabilities there is no doubt that students need to develop their use and understanding of digital tools (see Digital Skills for the UK Economy). Don\u2019t be misled by talk of the \u2018digital native\u2019 who by virtue of being born in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Digital scholarship&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/files\/2016\/09\/13990305951_6a9a8116bf_z-300x221.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9454"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9456,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9454\/revisions\/9456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sussex.ac.uk\/tel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}