Media literacy is an important element in countering the harmful effects of dis- and misinformation. To date, the main perspective on media literacy can be described as a ‘liberalist’ view of media literacy, focused on the nature and source of individual messages (Phillips and Milner, 2021). In this approach, media literacy initiatives mainly focus on equipping ‘citizens with the necessary skills to make sense of the message they read, see and hear’ (Phillips and Milner, 2021: 151). In this paper, we report and reflect on the insights from the project “Putting Disinformation on the Map” in which we use creative, participative, visual and digital methods to understand how we can expand our understanding of media literacy. A central question to our inquiry is how to situate yourself in a media landscape which is inherently interconnected, networked and interdependent, also understanding yourself as a contributing actor.
Recommender systems are widely used in today’s society, but many of them do not meet users’ needs and therefore fail to reach their full potential. Without careful consideration, such systems can interfere with the natural decision-making process, resulting in the disregard for recommendations provided. Therefore, it is vital to take into account multiple factors, including expertise, time and risk associated with decisions, as well as the system’s context to identify suitable affordances. Furthermore, it is important to consider the algorithmic and digital literacy of the users. This analysis could reveal innovative design opportunities, like combining a recommender system with a digital agent. As a result, it may meet interpersonal needs and facilitate a more natural interaction with the system. Implementing this combination in a digital marketplace could be a promising way to empower users towards an independent life.
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De training Digital Storytelling en opleiding tot trainer Digital Storytelling worden door het lectoraat Vernieuwende Opleidingsmethodiek en -didactiek van de Faculteit Educatie van de Hogeschool Utrecht samen met de Faculteit Maatschappij en Recht van de Hogeschool Utrecht uitgewerkt tot een multimediale methode voor pedagogen, docenten, coaches, opleiders, leraren en social workers.
CRYPTOPOLIS is a project supported by EU which focuses on the financial management knowledge of teachers and the emerging field of risk management and risk analysis of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency has shown to be a vital and rapidly growing component in today’s digital economy therefore there is a need to include not just financial but also crypto literacy into the schools. Beside multiple investors and traders the market is attracting an increasing number of young individuals, viewing it as an easy way to make money. A large pool of teenagers and young adults want to hop on this train, but a lack of cryptocurrency literacy, as well as financial literacy in general amongst youth, together with their inexperience with investing makes them even more vulnerable to an already high-risk investment.Therefore, we aim to increase the capacity and readiness of secondary schools and higher educational institutions to manage an effective shift towards digital education in the field of crypto and financial literacy. The project will develop the purposeful use of digital technologies in financial and crypto education for teaching, learning, assessment and engagement.
Hogeschool Rotterdam wil in samenwerking met IT-Campus en Rotterdamse mkb-bedrijven onderzoeken of de dataskills die studenten in hun opleiding verwerven, aansluiten op de datageletterdheid die van hen als startende professionals wordt verlangd. Om dit te beoordelen vragen we Rotterdamse ondernemers naar de datagedreven uitdagingen en problemen die zij voor zich zien en of zij bij de instroom van startende professionals voldoende kennis en skills zien om die uitdagingen het hoofd te bieden. Met de uitkomsten kunnen kennisinstellingen een helder beeld krijgen van het concept datageletterdheid en hiermee een handvat bieden aan opleidingen om dataskills in de curricula aan te laten sluiten op de behoefte in de arbeidsmarkt van de Metropoolregio Rotterdam-Den Haag (MRDH). We werken toe naar een ontwerp Data Skills-set. Misschien is het beter om te spreken van datacompetenties, hetgeen onderdeel is van de zoektocht in dit onderzoek. Welke terminologie is het meest behulpzaam in het oplijnen van onderwijs en werkveld op het gebied van data: geletterdheid, competenties, skills of een combinatie daarvan. Is het van belang of juist contraproductief om daarin (merk)specifieke tooling een plek te geven? We vragen ons ook af of datageletterdheid als een generiek concept domeinoverstijgend bruikbaar is, bijvoorbeeld tussen het economisch en technisch domein. De verwachting is dat de bevindingen op het gebied van datageletterdheid in de regio Rotterdam te generaliseren zijn naar andere delen van Nederland. Ook die hypothese willen we verkennen in dit onderzoek. Door het beantwoorden van deze vragen willen we een start maken voor het ontwerp van een instrument voor professionele ontwikkeling in het werkveld als ook een referentiekader voor het gesprek met onderwijspartners en overheid. Daarnaast kan zo’n ontwerp DataSkills-set ervoor zorgen dat de onderwijsdomeinen in gesprek blijven met elkaar ten aanzien van nieuwe methoden en onderwijsvormen voor vaardigheden.
The growing use of digital media has led to a society with plenty of new opportunities for knowledge exchange, communication and entertainment, but also less desirable effects like fake news or cybercrime. Several studies, however, have shown that children are less digital literate than expected. Digital literacy has consequently become a key part within the new national educational policy plans titled Curriculum.nu and the Dutch research and policy agendas. This research project is focused on the role the game sector can play in the development of digital literacy skills of children. In concrete, we want to understand the value of the use of digital literacy related educational games in the context of primary education. Taking into consideration that the childhood process of learning takes place through playing, several studies claim that the introduction of the use of technology at a young age should be done through play. Digital games seem a good fit but are themselves also part of digital media we want young people to be literate about. Furthermore, it needs to be taken into account that digital literacy of teachers can be limited as well. The interactive, structured nature of digital games offers potential here as they are less dependent on the support and guidance of an adult, but at the same time this puts even more emphasis on sensible game design to ensure the desired outcome. The question is, then, if and how digital games are best designed to foster the development of digital literacy skills. By harnessing the potential of educational games, a consortium of knowledge and practice partners aim to show how creating theoretical and practical insights about digital literacy and game design can aid the serious games industry to contribute to the societal challenges concerning contemporary literacy demands.
