Assessing Literacy Skills in a Digital World
Aims
In a digital age characterised by human interactions that are increasingly mediated by multimodal ways of communication that go well beyond words, how can we assess students’ ability to read and write effectively, appropriately and critically? Drawing on both traditional and media literacy, in this Training School (TS) we aim to explore new strategies and prototype models or tools that could help capture the level of fluency of students when using digital media in academic contexts.
By bringing together researchers, educators and practitioners from different backgrounds, we are creating a unique space to make an impact in the field. Participants in this three-day event will have the opportunity to present their work, discuss ideas, explore innovative pedagogical approaches and collaborate with peers in highly interactive sessions.
This TS will include a variety of presentations, round tables, poster exhibitions and workshops aiming to both share expertise and envision new approaches to assessing digital skills. All participants will need to present a theoretical or practical contribution in a creative way, focusing on the main theme of the TS, namely how to assess literacy competences in a digital world.
Where
Coventry University (Coventry, England).
Innovation and Digital Fluency are two of the main pillars of its’ Education Strategy. The Disruptive Media Learning Lab (DMLL) hosted this Training School. Coventry University has been named ‘Modern University of the Year’ three years in a row in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide (2014-2016).
Organizers
Luís Pereira & Daniel Villar-Onrubia
Trainers
Julian McDougall (UK) – Professor in Media and Education, Head of the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice, Bournemouth University. He was the founding editor of the Media Education Research Journal.
Igor Kanižaj (Croatia) – Assistant Professor at the University of Zagreb. His areas of expertise include media literacy, children and violence. He is the executive editor of Media Studies journal.
Maria José Brites (Portugal) – Assistant Professor at the Lusophone University of Porto (ULP) and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Communication and Society Research Centre – University of Minho. She coordinated the RadioActive project that was warded a Digital Literacy Prize.
Call for Contributions
This call was aimed at researchers, educators, postdocs and PhD students based in EU countries whose work is relevant to the topic of the Training School (TS), from any discipline or area of study. Applications from strong graduate students may be considered. Due to the highly interactive format of the event, only 20 applicants were selected to participate. A number of grants (up to € 600 each) to support travel and accommodation expenses was available.
