ERIC Number: EJ1132106
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 31
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1559-0151
EISSN: N/A
A Digital Literacy Initiative in Honors: Perceptions of Students and Instructors about Its Impact on Learning and Pedagogy
English, Jacob Alan
Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council, v17 n2 p125-155 Fall-Win 2016
Although the development of digital competencies has become increasingly important in higher education, integrating digital literacies in the college classroom has occurred at a slow pace. Honors programs and colleges represent one area of the academy that typically values a more traditional approach to skill development while resisting technology. This research study describes a digital literacy initiative (DLI) in the Georgia State University Honors College, a large urban research university, and explores its perceived impact on teaching and learning. The study examines the activities introduced in the classroom and various disciplines, and it seeks to determine if the initiative's goals were met. This study does not attempt to make any sweeping claims about whether digital literacy should be a primary focus of honors education; rather, its purpose is to discover how adapting pedagogy to include digital competencies might meet the objectives of undergraduate honors education. The research question asks how the intentional inclusion of digital competencies into the honors classroom affects learning and pedagogy, with the goal of providing a model for other honors programs and colleges seeking to implement and evaluate similar programs. Overall, students and instructors reported that the initiative had a positive influence on their learning and teaching. Student and instructor ratings on the Likert scale items and responses to open-ended questions offer insight into the positive impact and challenges that may accompany incorporating digital competencies in honors courses, leading to recommendations for meeting DLI's objectives and maintaining the integrity of honors education.
Descriptors: Honors Curriculum, Teacher Attitudes, Student Attitudes, Class Activities, College Programs, Program Effectiveness, Program Evaluation, Media Literacy, Skill Development, Undergraduate Study, Competency Based Education, Statistical Analysis, Likert Scales, Qualitative Research, Learning Experience, Problem Solving, Teacher Role, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Access to Education, College Students, College Faculty
National Collegiate Honors Council. 1100 Neihardt Residence Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 540 North 16th Street, Lincoln, NE 68588. Tel: 402-472-9150; Fax: 402-472-9152; e-mail: nchc@unl.edu; Web site: http://nchchonors.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Tests/Questionnaires; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Georgia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A