Digital literacy frameworks in the context of embedding Open Educational Resources within teacher education Anna Gruszczynska and Richard Pountney, Faculty of Development and Society

Introduction and background Local teachers and pupils, teacher educators and teacher educations students involved in: sharing and developing good practice in teaching understanding more about digital literacy developing guidance on Open Educational Resources in the school context Project outputs will be shared via an open textbook (pulling together case studies and supporting resources) and the "Digital Bloom" installation For more information: Project blog Slideshare Contact:

Research questions and framework Key questions What is the relationship between Open Educational Resources and digital literacy within professional development? What understandings of digital literacy and Open Educational Resources emerge through a reflexive approach to project methodology? Research framework Embedded within Bernstein's theory of pedagogic discourse Drawing on the principles of social sciences knowledge production (teacher education as its subset) Exploring tacit aspects of pedagogical practice Exploring the "why" (socio- cultural/institutional context) rather than solely the "how" (technical aspects) of OER/DL

Project methodology: Principles The case study method - “taking a particular case and coming to know it well” (Stake, 1995:8) Schön's 'reflection-in-action' (1983) as a strategy for tapping the 'tacit knowing-in-action’ in the process of learning about digital literacy practices where understandings of DL are shared through stories of "opening up" pedagogical practice Bernstein’s theory of pedagogic discourse (Bernstein, 1990, 1996, 2000) underpinning conceptual framework for analyzing and interpreting the data - exploration of (in)visible pedagogical practices. Caveat - the process is underway (free-coding with the aid of Nvivo) but the project is still ongoing and so any conclusions are emergent

Project methodology: Data collection Reflexive moments Five staged prompts sent out to team members; responses via or personal blogs Each moment is followed by a digest of emerging themes and issues, shared with project participants via project website Materials emerging from the case studies of digital practice: notes from project meetings and school visits notes from rich media content - photographs and videos comments from teachers/team members on project blog and Twitter focus groups with PGCE students

Frameworks for digital literacy Engagement with existing frameworks (JISC, 2011) Digital literacy as a continuum between the purely social and the purely technological Move from the singular ‘literacy’ to the plural ‘literacies’ to emphasise the sheer diversity of existing accounts (Lankshear and Knobel, 2008). Digital literacies as "the constantly changing practices through which people make traceable meanings using digital technologies" (Gillen and Barton, 2010). Critique of the concept of digital natives (Bennet et al. 2008)

DL and the rules of regulative discourse ‘When it comes to e-safety, we seem to live in a culture of fear where we [might be] teaching road safety but never letting the child out’ (project meeting, teacher) Web2.0 filters Technological barriers Access to devices

DL and locus of control over selection of instructional discourse ‘In terms of teaching and digital literacy the ultimate question we constantly need to deal with is - is this going to help the students when they get to an exam? Because what I would like to see happening is the fostering of a community, personal growth etc. but most of the time it is about having to teach "for an exam“’ (focus group with PGCE students).

DL Tensions: sharing resources ‘You don’t know what reaction you would get… can you imagine if you put it on you tube and you got loads of thumbs down?’ ‘you have to be sharing with the kids anyway all the time’ (focus group with PGCE students) ‘polished performance’ vs. accounts of ‘real life’ ’

Locus of control over pacing: Stories of a digital divide ‘My pupils were shocked to discover that I didn’t have a mobile phone as a teenager and when you arranged to meet with your mates you just agreed on a meeting time and point and then waited. You would actually talk to each other, you know, rather than keep texting.’ (focus group with PGCE students)

DL investigations: new avenues Methodological approaches: exploring the ways in which understandings around DL are expressed and shared through reflection in action Re-examining DL in the context of the debate around ICT in the curriculum and the removal of the programmes of study Exploring the place of DL and OERs in professional development of teachers

References. Questions? Comments? Bennett, S, Maton, K, & Kervin, L. (2008). The ‘‘digital natives’’ debate: A critical review of evidence. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39, 775–786. Bernstein, B. (1990). The structuring of the pedagogic discourse: Class, codes and control. London: Routledge. Bernstein, B. (1996). Pedagogy, Symbolic Control and Identity: Theory, Research, Critique. London: Taylor & Francis. Bernstein, B. (2000). Pedagogy, Symbolic Control and Identity: Theory, Research, Critique. (Revised edition). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield publishers. Gillen, J. & Barton, D. (2010). Digital literacies. A research briefing by the technology enhanced learning phase of the teaching and learning research programme. London: London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education, University of London. Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). (2011). Digital literacy anatomised: access, skills and practices. Available from (Last accessed 29 February 2012). Lankshear, C. & Knobel, M. (2010) New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning (3rd Edition). Maidenhead: Open University Press. Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner. New York: Basic Books. Stake, R.E. (1995). The art of case study research. London: Sage.