DIGITAL LITERACIES AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN PORTUGAL Preliminary Findings COST-Action FP 1104 “New Possibilities for Print Media and Packaging – Combining print with digital” Zagreb, March 26th and 27th 2015 Pedro Isaías, Paula Miranda and Sara Pífano ISRLab, IADIS, Portugal

Index  Digital Literacy in Higher Education  Threefold Definition of Digital Literacy  The Participants  Access to ICT  Operational Competences  Conceptual Skills  Technology and Learning  Concluding Remarks

Digital Literacy in Higher Education  "Being void of digital…literacy is akin to being handicapped" (Jones & Flannigan, 2006)  Digital proficiency impacts the students’ experience in digital contexts  Digital literacy is an asset for students:  It assists their full engagement in a society growingly dominated by digital contexts  Provides social, cultural and professional benefits  The need for digital skills has been widely recognised, but their generic nature hinders their development

Threefold definition of digital literacy DIGITAL LITERACY Access to ICT Computer Internet Connection Tablet Smartphone Operational competences Computer basics Internet navigation Communication Information search/ management Conceptual skills Critical attitude ICT in daily Life Social interaction Online safety

The Participants  Gender: Female 45.4%; Male 54.6%  Age:  18-24: 48.7%  25-34: 18.5%  35-44: 16.8%  45-59: 16%  Higher Education students enrolled in different courses and institutions in Portugal  Type of computer training:  8.4% - Certification from an independent official entity (ex. E/ICDL)  47.9% - Computer training module/course at the university  19.3% - Workshop  18.5% - Other training  18.5% - No computer training  Self-assessment of overall digital skill level:  Basic %  Good %  Very Good %  Excellent %

Access to ICT Computer Internet Connection Tablet Smartphone

Computer and Internet connection  At home, 98.3% have a computer and 97.5% have internet access  69.7% use a computer at the university vs. 29.4% who do not  The students have been using computers for:  1-5 years 0.8%  6-10 years 24.4%  years 49.6%  Over 20 years 24.4%  Computer usage frequency:  Daily 96.6%  1-3 times a week 1.7%  2-3 times a month 0.8%  Internet usage frequency:  Daily 93.3%  1-3 times a week 3.4%

Different levels of access

Operational Competences Computer basics Internet navigation Communication Information search and management

Level of comfort while performing tasks

Tasks easily accomplished

Level of difficulty of tasks

Conceptual skills Critical attitude ICT in daily Life Social interaction Online safety

Online behaviour

Online profile

Conceptual skills Proficiency

Technology and learning Completed e-Learning CourseCompleted b-Learning Course

Concluding remarks  Conclusion  Overall all students had a positive perception of their digital literacy  Students still have very limited access to tablets and Smartphones  Students feel less confident about their capacity to identify the reliability/quality of information  To be digitally literate, individuals also need cognitive, social and emotional abilities  Students are less engaged in civic participation  Limitations  Use of a convenience sample  Self-assessment tool  Future research  Apply this survey to other countries in the EU  Complement this self-assessment with a quiz or an assessment