Dimensions of digital literacy based on five models of development / Dimensiones de la alfabetización digital a partir de cinco modelos de desarrollo

Abstract

Digital literacy has been an emerging and increasing priority in many governments’ educational and assessment policies since the first decade of the twenty-first century because it is a priority in citizenship training. The difficulty with understanding and developing it comes from its changing, transversal and flexible nature; for this reason, the fundamental objective of this research is to offer an exhaustive study of the concept by analysing the main models of digital literacy in the international context in order to offer a holistic model that incorporates the contributions from all of these initiatives. The theoretical study presented herein provides an objective, rigorous perspective on the main models of development of digital literacy: the DIGCOMP Project (European Commission), the Krumsvik model (Norway), the TPACK model (USA), the JISC model (UK), the ISTE Standards (USA) and the P21 model (USA). The conclusion offers an innovative proposal of four dimensions that should define digital literacy today, taking into account the five initiatives studied, which could be very worthwhile for researchers, educators and policymakers.     

Performance indicators for research and cultural creation activities in polytechnic higher education institutions: a consensus building approach

Tertiary Education and Management - This article presents a set of performance indicators based on the Portuguese case for managing the performance of research and cultural creation activities and...     

Social exclusion in EU lifelong learning policies: prevalence and definitions

ABSTRACT

The aim of the article is to analyse the concept of social exclusion in EU lifelong learning policies: how the concept has evolved from the 1990s in terms of meaning, definitions and closely connected concepts, what are the implications of this evolution, and whether there is coherence between the conceptual evolution and lifelong learning policy. Using a qualitative methodology, this article focuses on policy documents that form the European Union’s legal and political framework of reference in the lifelong learning area in the last two and a half decades. A total of 59 documents issued between 1992 and 2017 have been analysed using content analysis. The analysis of the documents has been complemented by 6 semi-structured interviews with EU lifelong learning experts. The results show that the concept is narrowly defined in terms of specific groups at risk of being socially excluded and in terms of employability, thus individualising the problem of exclusion and distracting attention from structural factors.     

Toward a more reflective teaching practice: Revisiting excellence in teaching

Excellence in teaching has always been a demanding and absorbing concern in institutions of higher learning. Earlier studies, which are numerous, have often dealt with the measurement of teacher qualities but have largely failed to explain the phenomenon of excellence in practice. This study focused on the outstanding professional teachers’ candid revelations of their subjective experiences of becoming and being excellent in their craft. Findings of the study indicated that love is the touchstone of excellence in teaching: that is, loving the students, loving knowledge and loving the teaching process.     

Sensor-based physical activity,sedentary time,and reported cell phone screen time: A hierarchy of correlates in youth

BackgroundEvidence on correlates relies on subjective metrics and fails to include correlates across all levels of the ecologic model. We determined which correlates best predict sensor-based physical activity (PA), sedentary time (ST), and self-reported cell phone screen time (CST) in a large sample of youth, while considering a multiplicity of correlates.MethodsUsing sensor-based accelerometry, we assessed the PA and ST of 2179 youths. A χ² automatic interaction detection algorithm was used to hierarchize the correlates associated with too much ST (> 50th percentile), insufficient moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) (<60 min/day), and prolonged CST (≥2 h/day).ResultsAmong youth 10–14 years old, the correlates for being inactive consisted of being a girl, not having sport facilities in the neighborhood, and not perceiving the neighborhood as a safe place, whereas in the youth 15–18 years old, the correlate for being inactive was not performing sports (9.7% chance of being active). The correlates for predicting high ST in the younger group was not performing sports (55.8% chance for high ST), and in the older group, the correlates were not owning a pet, perceiving the neighborhood as safe, and having inactive parents (63.7% chance for high ST). In the younger group, the greatest chances of having high CST were among those who were in the last elementary school years, who were girls, and who did not have friends in the neighborhood (73.1% chance for high CST), whereas in the older group, the greatest chance for having high CST was among those who were girls and had a TV in the bedroom (74.3% chance for high CST).ConclusionTo counteract ST and boost MVPA among youths, a specific focus on girls, the promotion of sport participation and facilities, neighborhood safety, and involvement of family must be prioritized.     

The power of Interactive Groups: how diversity of adults volunteering in classroom groups can promote inclusion and success for children of vulnerable minority ethnic populations

Despite the limited success of grouping students by attainment in enhancing educational achievement for all, this practice is still widely followed in European schools. Aiming at identifying successful educational actions that promote high academic achievement and social inclusion and cohesion, part of the EU-sponsored Europe-wide INCLUD-ED project analysed different ways of grouping students in classrooms. A classification was developed that distinguishes between three ways according to two dimensions – homogeneity/heterogeneity and use of human resources. This classification differentiates among mixture, streaming, and inclusion. In this paper, an example of inclusive action, Interactive Groups (IGs), is explored in depth. Based on grouping students heterogeneously and including adults from the community in the classroom, IGs address educational inequalities and enhance learning for students participating in them. Empirical data obtained from three case studies in schools in Spain indicate that IGs are one of the most successful inclusive actions implemented in these schools.     

Resilience does not predict academic performance in gross anatomy

Few studies have evaluated resilience in an academic environment as it relates to academic success or failure. This work sought to assess resilience in regular and remedial students of gross anatomy during the first and second semesters of medical school and to correlate this personal trait with academic performance. Two groups of students were compared: the first group included first‐year medical students in the regular course, and the second group included first‐year medical students who did not pass the regular anatomy course and so were enrolled in the remedial course. Both groups completed anonymous surveys designed to gather demographic data and establish scores on the Connor‐Davidson resilience scale, which includes 25 statements rated zero to four on a Likert scale (maximum score 100). The average resilience score was the same for both groups, 80 ± 9. The average anatomy grades differed significantly between regular students (67± 15.0) and remedial students (61 ± 12.0). While there was no overall correlation between resilience score and anatomy grade, regular students with resilience scores of 75 or greater showed slightly better academic performance than their classmates. Similarly, remedial students with resilience scores of 87 or greater faired better academically. Resilience does not predict academic performance in gross anatomy, and further work is necessary to identify those intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence students' achievements. Anat Sci Educ. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

¿Qué aportan a la psicología cognitiva los datos de la investigación evolutiva con sujetos ciegos?

Resumen

Este artículo ofrece una discusión sobre las posibles causas que pueden explicar por qué el desarrollo cognitivo de los ciegos presenta retrasos importantes en el período de las operaciones concretas, mientras que no presenta diferencias respecto a los videntes en tareas de tipo proposicional. Para ello se examinan tres posibles explicaciones: la influencia del modo de escolarización, las características del tacto y la remediación verbal. Se acaba concluyendo que estas dos últimas hipótesis son de las que ofrecen una explicación más convincente. Los datos que aquí se aportan parecen sostener la hipótesis dual sobre la representación de la información en la memoria.     

Information literacy in managers’ education

This research reflects on information literacy (IL) when taking business decisions and, on the education of future managers. We focus on two aspects; characterizing IL skills and their link to academic performance. This research provides interesting conclusions. First, IL may be broken down into various dimensions – access, evaluation and use – and these skills are not independent: our research shows how persons skilled at applying information will lose their advantage if they are not skilled at interpreting or at prior selection. Second, our study also shows how the IL skills have differing effects on the different components of the academic performance.     

Technology transfer in schools: from research to innovation

Technology transfer should be a central objective of research into educational information technology, as it is generally acknowledged that the quality of this process is a critical factor in effectively bringing about innovation. The central focus of this paper is on this problem. In particular, we discuss the peculiarity of information technology transfer in schools as opposed to the transfer of technology in companies; we indicate some central problems of this transfer and discuss a typology of approaches to the transfer of educational information technology from research to school.