UV9417 ¨C Digital literacies and cultural transformations in the digital age

Course content

The course is offered in collaboration with the research group "Living and Learning in the Digital Age" (LiDA).

Responsible:?Ola Erstad?and?Kenneth Silseth

Guest lecturers:?Jennifer Rowsell, University of Sheffield, UK, and Julia Gillen, Lancaster University, UK

We live in a social world in which communication and everyday literacy practices have been transformed by the digital turn (Mills 2010). The changes in everyday literacy practices among young people, brought about by the miniaturisation, mobility, personalisation and ubiquitous use of digital technologies, are profound. Recent research show how digital media are central to young people¡¯s everyday interactions with the world, and suggest a sea change in the way that they experience their literacy lives in contrast with previous generations. In line with sociocultural perspectives on literacy as social practice (Street 1994; Gee 1996), this course will adopt the plural form ¡®multi-literacies¡¯ (New London Group, 1996) in recognition of the diversity of contemporary digital literacy practices that young people take part in, and also the plurality of ways that this concept has been interpreted in academic accounts.

During the last two decades, the term ¡®digital literacy¡¯ has become a key term in ways of understanding cultural transformations of literacy practices due to the growth of digital technologies. Within broader conceptions of the interrelationship between culture and mind, it is important to study and understand the practices of reading and writing that young people are involved in across different domains and contexts. As a field of research, studies of ¡®multi-literacies¡¯, ¡®digital literacies¡¯ and ¡®multi-modality¡¯ draw on diverse perspectives and methodological approaches often with a common focus on literacy practices as deeply enmeshed within cultural contexts and resources (Street 2001). The areas of interest therefore extend beyond formal teaching environments, and include the vernacular practices that typify people¡¯s everyday literacy lives.

Given that the ability to be digitally literate will have a profound impact on all young people¡¯s futures (International Reading Association 2001), a core aim of this course will be to explore important contributions to the development of robust theoretical, methodological and analytic frameworks to

• underpin interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research into young people¡¯s digital and multimodal literacy practices at home, in educational settings and in the wider community

• understand how young people develop ¡®emergent digital literacy¡¯ (Marsh 2015) in homes, schools and communities, and how they use digital devices for pleasure, learning, creating and communicating (Chaudron, Di Gioia, and Gemo 2018);

• identify and explore the affordances of digital devices and media as literacy tools and socially-negotiated sites that can promote young people¡¯s operational, creative and critically reflective literacy practices.

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In this course, students will be introduced to theoretical concepts, methodological tools and empirical studies of emerging literacies and learning in the digital age. Through this, PhD students will be enabled to carry out research on emerging digital literacies, and connect their research to emerging societal trends. In the course, learning and literacy are perceived as interactionally constituted phenomena that emerge in practice. As such, the course is related to the course UV9416 ¨C Learning science research in the digital age.

Learning outcome

After completing the course, the students will be able to:

• Identify and analyse emerging literacy and learning practices in institutional and informal settings and relate them to human and societal development.
• Explain how new digital technologies mediate the development of literacy and learning in education, other settings and in everyday life.
• Identify and account for different positions and themes in current debates on digital literacies and learning, and relate them to their own research problems and interests.
• Write literature reviews and summarize research findings.

Admission to the course

PhD candidates at the Faculty of Educational Sciences will be given priority, but it is also possible for others to apply for the course.?The candidates should be enrolled in a relevant PhD programme.

If there are more applicants than the 15 admission places available, a selection will be made based on an assessment of the relevance of the course for the candidate¡¯s research plan and qualifications in the relation to the objectives of the course. The course leaders will carry out the selection process.

Candidates admitted to the PhD programme at the Faculty of Educational Sciences should apply through Studentweb

Other applicants may apply using this application form

The course is cancelled.

Recommended previous knowledge

A basic course in qualitative research methodology and research design or equivalent.

Teaching

The course takes place over three days with physical meetings, comprising a total of 17 hours.

Course structure

During the first day, we will introduce the literature. In addition, groups of students will present reviews of articles focusing particularly on how theories are presented and used.

The second day will consist of lectures and work with the readings.

The last day we will continue to work with the readings and the students will present a draft of their paper.

You will find the timetable and the reading list on the semester webpage for this course.

Examination

3 credit points for course participation and submitted paper (6-8 pages, Times New Roman 12, line spacing 1,5). In addition to submitting a paper, participants are required to present a review of an article and present data in a joint data session. 80% attendance is required.

Papers are to be submitted electronically in Canvas.

Deadline for paper submission TBA

Language of examination

English

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.