Integrating Digital Literacy in the Disciplines

“Teaching…non-traditional literacies led me to an important realization: I had been assuming—incorrectly—for years that all of my students possessed the more traditional literacies used in typical writing assignments. Why hadn’t I been scaffolding those assignments as intentionally to teach those skills and mindsets? I don’t have a good answer to that, but this is one reason it’s critical that educators teach new digital literacies in their disciplines. Doing so gives us a much greater appreciation of the importance of teaching all kinds of literacies to our students, to prepare them for complex and challenging futures.

This work isn’t easy, as it requires us to challenge ourselves to learn and teach new literacies that aren’t always familiar to us. But it’s important work, and that’s why I’m excited to see this volume. I hope it will inspire and equip more educators to add [such] assignments and activities to their courses, ones that will empower students to navigate their increasingly complex digital lives.”

From the Foreword, Derek Bruff

"Being a digital native does not equate to digital literacy. It is imperative that we teach our students to be digitally literate, if not fluent, as digital literacy is one of the most important issues our society currently faces. Integrating Digital Literacy in the Disciplines is a goldmine of information. Written by colleagues from throughout the world, this comprehensive book integrates habits of mind with multiple frameworks of digital literacy to deliver descriptions of programs, initiatives, classroom assignments, student projects, research, teaching strategies, frameworks, digital materials, course design, and more. Most impressive is the consistent focus on student learning."

Todd Zakrajsek, Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine

UNC-Chapel Hill

"Integrating Digital Literacy in the Disciplines is a must have guide for academic librarians, academic developers, and instructors interested in the topic. Novices will be introduced to the breadth of the term digital literacy while experts will find novel applications situated in disciplines. Hays and Kammer have done a fantastic job of compiling a variety of voices on an increasingly critical skill set."

Shannon Sipes

Director/Lead Instructional Consultant, Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) Program Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, Indiana University Bloomington

“While the book lends itself to skipping around, in reading all chapters it is edifying to see the hard-earned “classroom wisdom” that recurs across disciplinary lines. For example, most authors observe that “digital natives” are neither reliably competent nor confident with the digital tools used in their courses, and therefore they recommend building in plenty of time to teach students how to use the learning management system, etc. In many cases, a librarian or a more knowledgeable student from outside the class was contacted to support students in their efforts to learn new digital tools.

Authenticity is another major theme. The capacity for case studies to engage students is attested to by multiple authors; even better if they are supplemented with photo and video to create an immersive “digital story.” Students in the courses typically work on their own digital stories, collaborating as they would in a professional environment, and products are based on authentic disciplinary/professional texts.

As students are learning how to communicate in new ways (and/or to new audiences), the authors speak to the importance of consistent feedback.

The digital world of today consists of unfathomable amounts of information shared with a group of people no less diverse than the human race itself. As educators, we have the seemingly impossible task of trying to understand this world so that we can predict what literacies will be relevant in the world of twenty years from now (and beyond). The technology our students will use is constantly changing, and the audiences for their digital stories add new facets daily. Therefore, the goals of instruction are constantly changing.

Integrating Digital Literacy in the Disciplines contains valuable wisdom from those who are fighting the good fight to prepare students for the future. The 18 chapters in this volume offer accounts of courses and programs that have clearly been the subject of deep thought and continuous revision on the part of the authors. Readers will find themselves frequently feeling the relief and gratitude that comes with the realization that someone else’s work has spared you countless mistakes and many long hours of frustration.”

Teachers College Record