Presented at LILAC 2018

1. Becoming a
digital citizen
Jesper and Halfpenny

2. Premise…
University strategy 2014-2020 made a commitment to GROW
distance and online provision…
ENTER
FutureLearn [pilot to develop 4 MOOCs]
AIMS
> To enhance the university’s reputation for innovation
in teaching and the provision of a rich student
experience
> To showcase the strength of York’s programmes, with the
potential to engage new and diverse audiences
> To support the University’s objectives in demonstrating
research impact and to enhance student recruitment
> To develop partnerships with other institutions, and
identify potential commercial and scalable distance
learning opportunities

3. From: Michelle Blake <michelle.blake@york.ac.uk>
Date: 7 April 2016 at 09:25
Subject: Future Learn
To: Susan Halfpenny <susan.halfpenny@york.ac.uk>
Hi,
I have just found out that John Robinson is very interested in us producing a
MOOC on digital literacy as part of the Future Learn partnership.
Cheers,
Michelle

4. From: Susan Halfpenny <susan.halfpenny@york.ac.uk>
Date: 13 April 2016 at 10:57
Subject: Re: Future Learn
To: Michelle Blake <michelle.blake@york.ac.uk>
Hi Michelle,
This sounds like an interesting opportunity. Do you know what he has in mind?
I'm not sure about the concept of delivering a MOOC to develop digital literacy
capabilities as such. I think it would be interesting to maybe take this kind of
approach if we decided to develop a MOOC at York - something about digital
citizenship?
Cheers,
Susan

5. From: Michelle Blake <michelle.blake@york.ac.uk>
Date: 20 April 2016 at 19:26
Subject: Re: Future Learn
To: Susan Halfpenny <susan.halfpenny@york.ac.uk>
This is really interesting.
I like the digital citizenship angle - is this something you think we could
confidently develop?
My other thought (not fully thought through) is something around how to think
critically/question things (including society!) - would that be along/included in
the kind of thing you were thinking?
Thanks,
Michelle

7. Our motivation
We wanted to move beyond the sphere of skills
teaching to engage with a topic of social interest.
Saw this as an opportunity to:
> Showcase the academic research areas from across a
range of departments;
> Engage with a wide audience and potential
applicants;
> Develop participants’ digital literacies

8. The ‘digital citizen’ is a person who has
developed the skills and knowledge to
effectively use the internet and digital
technologies, who uses digital
technologies and the internet in a
responsible and appropriate way in order
to engage and participate in society and
politics

9. Weeks and topics
Week 1:
Digital access
Week 2:
Digital identity and
security
Week 3:
Digital participation
and ethics

10.  Very much about the library
– safe digital skills
 Involvement of academics and support
staff to get video content and spice
things up
 Articles and discussions
 Starting point
Week 1:
Digital access
 Introduction
 Digital society &
citizenship
 The digital divide &
the skills gap
 Finding information &
critical appraisal

11.  Very much about the library
– safe digital skills
 Involvement of academics and support
staff to get video content and spice
things up
 Articles and discussions
 Starting point
Week 1:
Digital access
 Introduction
 Digital society &
citizenship
 The digital divide &
the skills gap
 Finding information &
critical appraisal

12. Week 1:
Digital access
 Introduction
 Digital society &
citizenship
 The digital divide &
the skills gap
 Finding information &
critical appraisal
Dr Sara Perry
Director of studies,
Digital Heritage
Prof Chris Kyriacou
Dept of Education
Brian Loader
Lecturer & Researcher in
Political Psychology
Dr Darren Reed
Lecturer & Researcher in
Sociology
Dr Philip Garnett
York Management School
Millie Beach
YUSU President
Tom Banham
Director of
Employability & Careers

13. Weeks and topics
Week 1:
Digital access
Week 2:
Digital identity and
security
Week 3:
Digital participation
and ethics

14. Week 2:
Digital identity and
security
 Now we’re into the swing of things
 We’ve got the hang of the medium
 And we’re full of ideas…!
 Digital literacies
 Digital identities &
personas
 Information security &
protecting yourself
online
 Challenges &
responsibilities

15. Week 2:
Digital identity and
security
You are in a MOOC. It looks like there
are some interesting ideas here. There
are articles North, South, East and
West.
>
You are on the internet. Somebody
approaches from the darkness. Or maybe
it’s a dog. On the internet you can
never be quite sure.
>
 Digital literacies
 Digital identities &
personas
 Information security &
protecting yourself
online
 Challenges &
responsibilities
N
GIVE BONE TO DOG

16. Weeks and topics
Week 1:
Digital access
Week 2:
Digital identity and
security
Week 3:
Digital participation
and ethics

17. Week 3:
Digital participation
and ethics
 Digital engagement
 Online responsibility
& ethics
 Democracy & free
speech
 Becoming a digital
citizen
 By now we’ve totally got the hang of
engaging with people on the course
 ...of engaging with political topics

18. Week 3:
Digital participation
and ethics
 Digital engagement
 Online responsibility
& ethics
 Democracy & free
speech
 Becoming a digital
citizen
Whoop! Whoop!
We have a MOOC!
12 activities,
22 videos,
66 steps, and
34,114 words later...

19. Week 3:
Digital participation
and ethics
 Digital engagement
 Online responsibility
& ethics
 Democracy & free
speech
 Becoming a digital
citizen
female
56%
male
43%
other
1%
under 18
2%
18-25
18%
26-35
22%
36-45
15%
46-55
14%
56-65
16%
over 65
13%
GB
30%
EU
22%
AS
21%
AF
11%
NA
7%
OC
5%
SA
4%
Gender
(where disclosed)
: Joined
: Started
: Engaged
: Completed
5955
3180
923
644
Participation
Location
(where disclosed)
Age
(where disclosed)

20. Week 3:
Digital participation
and ethics
 Digital engagement
 Online responsibility
& ethics
 Democracy & free
speech
 Becoming a digital
citizen

21. Week 3:
Digital participation
and ethics
 Digital engagement
 Online responsibility
& ethics
 Democracy & free
speech
 Becoming a digital
citizen
“I would like to thank both the educators for their
immense contribution and also my fellow learners, for
their insightful and knowledgeable contributions put
with both conviction and politeness.
“They, perhaps more than anything, demonstrate what a
digital citizen should be in the internet age. The
challenge now is to make this the norm out there in
cyberspace.”
“I've really enjoyed my first MOOC and definitely feel
more informed and aware about the pros and concerns of
being a digital citizen and how to get the best out of
digital technologies without falling foul of the
potential hazards. Whether we're on the brink of a
brave new world, an Orwellian dystopia or some
nightmarish hyper-reality, only time will tell but I
certainly feel better equipped to deal with the
challenges and opportunities ahead. Thank-you to
everyone involved! :) ”

22. NEXT EPISODE:
Digital Wellbeing