Why digital literacy matters more than ever
I like to think that I’m a good son, but when my parents ask me a computer-related question, an onlooker might think that I’m not a very good son at all. Despite how I would act in a professional situation, I find myself impatiently instructing them and it sometimes requires most of my patience not to grab the mouse and do it myself.
It turns out I’m not alone though. According to recent research by The London School of Economics and the University of Chile, many of those who don’t use the internet themselves are increasingly relying on ‘proxy users’, who are often their children. Unsurprisingly, those children are not always great teachers, often leaving their parents feeling ashamed about their perceived lack of knowledge, irritated by their children’s approach and more excluded. Yet despite this, 57% of those who used proxy users chose to use their child, while only 6% used a college, teacher or librarian for help. Humiliation in having to ask for help means family support, however inadequate, remains the favourite option.
This small fragment of research is part of a whole wealth of knowledge being developed around the subject of ‘digital literacy’. An established term that is evolving to mean not only basic IT skills, but also the online skills needed to present yourself safely and responsibly, undertake tasks like shopping, or fill out government forms.
The latter is a particular concern. In March, the Welfare Reform Act put in place the framework for a Universal Credit to replace many current benefits in one payment. As part of this, Welfare Reform Minister, Lord Freud, revealed in July that the government is seeking to make Universal Credit ‘Digital by Default’; meaning you’d need to complete the form online as standard. And Lord Freud has said that, where broadband is sparse, the government would seek to support claimants of whom, he said, 62% would be willing to apply online.
However, many support charities have expressed concern, arguing that many claimants will not only lack the skills, but may also have other physical or mental barriers that prevent them from completing the form online.
Completing forms is rarely an easy task for anyone with research indicating that many of those not online have wider literacy and numeracy needs, so we can expect a high demand for proxy users to help complete online benefit forms. This raises questions around confidentiality if others are completing a form on an applicant’s behalf, and around liability, because incorrect information leading to overpayment could, if judged to be negligent, result in a £50 fine.
Another very important question to be raised is around the digital literacy of proxy users themselves. While children and young people are assumed by many to be ‘digital natives’, their digital literacy often extends only to social networking, games and communication platforms. Likewise, many involved in the care or support fields, while highly qualified in their professional line of work, may lack the necessary digital literacy skills.
It’s still not clear quite how widespread these issues may be, but it does seem clear that as time moves on, the ‘digital by default’ philosophy is set to widen and the challenge facing the digitally excluded set to grow.
This is why in the New Year, NIACE will be working with members and providers – including the WEA, Coleg Gwent and Bolton College – to examine how digital literacies can be embedded into wider classroom practice, improving the technology skills of learners, teachers, support staff and volunteers. We’re also managing projects that work with some of the most vulnerable groups, including housing tenants from East Midlands Housing Group, to examine how digital literacy needs can be addressed by providers in an effective way.
One thing in all this is certain. As the digital pace increases, the world is going to become more bewildering, not only for the digitally excluded, but also for those trying to keep up. I can see a day when visiting my parents will be more like running an ICT drop-in session and, like in those professional situations, the key has to be about developing and widening their skills, not just grabbing the mouse and doing it for them.
NIACE’s annual digital learning conference in partnership with the BBC – Innovating Learning - is taking place on 4 December at MediaCity UK. To follow the conversation leading up to and during the event, visit NIACE on Twitter and use #niacedigi12.
Thanks for this thought provoking piece Kevin. I agree with you that the pressure is certainly very much on to deliver more services online by default.
A recent article written by my local authority pointed out that a communication with the public costs them on average over £7 when it is face-to-face, just over £3 when by phone but only pence when it is online.
There is a real interest to learn how to apply for Universal credit and the learning needs are clear cut and rewards pretty immediate(If you get it right you get the money!)
However, I agree with you that a really important and more challenging aspect of digital literacy includes what you describe as .
That management of our own digital online identity is poorly understood and a contested area. Similarly recent high profile cases have shown how every Twitter user has now placed themselves liable to the kind of libel action once only taken against newspapers.
So what of the learning?
Maybe you need to handcuff yourself next time you visit your folks so that you can not lean over to grab the mouse? Whilst still a challenge for some, this .buttonology, has clear boundaries.
BUT – when it comes to digital identity I am much less convinced that this is a job for off-spring and neighbours – this is a matter of self identity, citizenship and communication within your community – this is the stuff of well thought through adult learning programmes and there is a place for skilled and sensitive trained educators. (But the professionals have to prove themselves up to the task and move out of their own comfort zones.)
I believe the art here is to turn the process on its head, which the boffins in the think tanks clearly arnt smart enough to do ! and have a process that’s driven by what people find easy and do naturally i.e. People use apps on their phones every day and use txt speak all the time, so rather than make people go through the pain of lengthy complicated forms sitting at a terminal on a desk, give people an APP that they can use and choose things quickly and simpy from a touchable checklist of stuff, rather than making them type war and peace that someone else has to then sit and cranially process and interpret vice pull down choices that can be quickly and easily be interprited by CPU’s – in the 21st century we NEED to be making the tech work for us rather than us being slaves to the MATRIX – Namaste – Steve
Thanks for those comments Alastair
I think you’re broadly right though we’re in a world where many of the people we once would have described as learners now have more knowledge on technology subjects than the people we once called teachers.
Recently, I went to talk to some housing association workers around e-safety; I did a straw poll on who had facebook and twitter. 100% of them had facebook and about 33% had twitter. Last time I did the same in an FE College, it was more like 33% and 5% respectively. Social media is only one small part of digital identity and digital literacy, but this illustrates that, if we’re wanting those in the professions to support those who are not, we need to urgently look at digital literacy in house.
Maybe, the modern Web 2.0 approach is the answer..if it’s all about working together, couldn’t those with curriculum experience help draw up a curriculum that embeds and supports digital literacy, while supported by those will digital knowledge? That’s part of what we’ll be doing in the New Year, so keep watching this space for more on this subject…
I totally share your concern about the readiness of some professionals to engage in this area of learning. However, this is no longer a ‘geek’s niche’ this is mainstream!
Roll on your plans for 2013!
Steve, many thanks for your comments
That approach is certainly a good one in terms of practicality and in widening access. I also think it is one that all services would do very well to consider, as some of them (but by no means all of them) are.
What worries me, though, is that this could be a “sticking plaster” solution, when in fact there are wider digital literacy skills that may be useful. I wonder whether, if someone has an app from a major supermarket on which they do their weekly shop, they would still be able to cope if they need to set up a direct debit online or if they drop their phone in the sink and need to use a computer in the library to do it?
This does raise an important and, to date, inadequately answered question about what digital literacy actually is. Is it about people being able to do what they need to do on the devices they choose, or is it about wider digital skills to help them adapt to a digital world? It would be really interesting to hear any comments around that.
Kevin, I think you made a key point in the final paragraph of your blog post:
“As the digital pace increases, the world is going to become more bewildering, not only for the digitally excluded, but also for those trying to keep up.”
One of the problems with using the terms ‘digital inclusion’ and ‘digital exclusion’ is that (for me at least) they suggest the image of a wall. You are either on one side of the wall or the other – you are either in or out; digitally included or digitally excluded. But the reality, as you imply, is not like that at all. Rather than a wall we have a sort of slope that keeps on getting higher. You might feel technologically confident and right at the top of the digital hill one month but then find a few months later that there is a new steep hill to climb to get back on top of things again. And the sad fact is that keeping up doesn’t just involve individuals having reserves of confidence and energy, it also requires reserves of cash to buy the latest gadget(s). So no matter how much success we have in addressing issues of digital literacy I don’t think the need to help people keep up will disappear any time soon.
Hi Kevin
I agree with you and Terry – the pace of change is amazingly fast and it is very easy to find yourself out of step after taking your eye off an issue for a few weeks. For me an important aspect of digital literacy is helping people to cope with the dynamic nature of technology.
Cheers
Alan
Kevin, I found your article interesting and glad to see you touch on areas, which I highlighted in an article I wrote in August.
http://the-ap-coach.co.uk/if-i-can-do-it-gran-can-do-it-right/
As I work with older people, I do find more recently even the most capable have trouble with keeping up with new developments in technology.
Yes people are going to lose out with the new universal credit. Not just due to understanding the system to claim, but also moving around and understanding the technology.
Also if people have not got any kind of computing device, how are they going to make a claim? I think it is infringement on privacy, if they are expected to make claims through shared computers, or indeed where computer screens are within on public view. Not to mention the greater risk of identity theft.
A really thought provoking post Kevin which articulates well my experience with my own parents. We cannot underestimate the triple challenge of getting people online (the easy part) , getting them literate and keeping them literate. The latter for me , as you have pointed out , is the longer term challenge and is going to take some well-developed partnerships. I look forward to seeing how your work develops.
Anyone whose parents are immigrants or have poor literacy skills will have been through this. I spent many dull hours as a child writing letters and dealing with issues because my mother had a very brief period of education in Portugal. I really feel for those children who’ll have to do it all online and have the added concern of internet security. I have begun to wonder if relentless promotion by a particular electronics firm during the Olympics will begin to pay off now that people will need to own smartphones or PCs whether they want to or not if they have to deal with benefits, etc. I think the recent success of one of this firm’s products may be down to its being a cheaper alternative. It can be frustrating that whole sections of a community seem locked off from online networks, I’ve spent 2012 blogging about my area in an effort to get local people to think about it differently and when older residents get the chance to see it they are interested. I find it’s concern about fraud that older people who’ve never tried it mention first. Sometimes that’s an excuse to avoid having to get involved but I think that it does need to be taken seriously.