Research and development

DEVELOPING DIGITAL LITERACYIn order to achieve a culture shift in your organisation, where digital is considered a core skill embodied by all staff, a practical and tailored skills development programme is needed, that will address the varying needs and capabilities of individuals across the organisation.

This will not be a ‘one size fits all’ approach, as individuals will possess different levels of digital capability and confidence, and may express different learning styles and requirements.

This paper reviews frameworks created by some organisations to measure the digital competency of their workforce. This will help you measure the digital literacy of your own staff, as well as identify the level of literacy you want them to achieve. Once this has been established, you can start designing the content and delivery of a skills development programme to address these needs.

What is digital literacy?Digital literacy is more than knowledge (about computing devices and networks) and skills (ability to engage in online communities and to find, capture and evaluate information). It is about attitudes, behaviours and ways of working (creativity, collaboration, critical thinking and evaluation and communication).

According to the Joint Information Systems Committee (Jisc), digital literacy looks beyond functional IT skills to describe a richer set of digital behaviours, practices and identities.

It has also been described as ‘the set of knowledge, skills, values and awareness that are required when using ICT and digital media to perform tasks; solve problems; communicate; manage information; collaborate; create and share content; and build knowledge effectively, efficiently and appropriately’ (A. Ferrari, 2012).

NCVO’s digital strategy identifies the below skills as key competencies all staff should be able to demonstrate by 2019.

Designed by NCVO. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Research and development

These were identified by senior managers and the digital and communications team as skills that would help staff deliver NCVO’s wider strategy. They are not set in stone and may need to be adapted in response to external developments and changing internal priorities. It is therefore useful to consider digital capabilities outlined by other organisations.

Designed by NCVO. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Research and development

Jisc InfoNet focus more on a set of behaviours than a set of specific skills:

Mozilla Webmaker defines web literacy as the skills and competencies needed for reading (exploring), writing (building) and participating (connecting) on the web in its Web Literacy Map:

Designed by NCVO. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Research and development

In ‘Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action’ Hobbs defines digital literacy as the ability to:

Make responsible choices and access information by locating and sharing materials and comprehending information and ideas

Analyse messages in a variety of forms by identifying the author, purpose and point of view, and evaluating the quality and credibility of the content

Create content in a variety of forms, making use of language, images, sound, and new digital tools and technologies

Reflect on one’s own conduct and communication behaviour by applying social responsibility and ethical principles

Take social action by working individually and collaboratively to share knowledge and solve problems in the family, workplace and community, and by participating as a member of a community

Existing digital literacy frameworksThe Design Studio created a framework for Jisc-funded programme Developing Digital Literacies, to demonstrate the development of digital literacies in terms of access, skills, and practices as prerequisites to becoming a critical, informed, expert user of digital technologies.

Designed by NCVO. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Research and development The Open University’s Digital and Information Literacy Framework describes five ‘stages of development’ of digital literacy skills, competences and dispositions, and is divided into five competence areas (of which there are four levels):

Understand and engage in digital practices Find information Critically evaluate information, online interactions and online tools Manage and communicate information Collaborate and share digital content

The Department for Health have introduced a ‘digital passport’; a set of digital skills and behaviours all staff must demonstrate:

Understanding what digital means to a civil servant working for the Department

Knowledge of common digital tools and how they can help you do your job

Recognising that digital applications work in predictable ways using familiar designs, and using this knowledge to experiment confidently with new systems

Understanding what users want and designing products and services to meet their needs

Understanding what agile project management is and how it helps to deliver projects and services

Recognising the importance of good content and the ability to write clearly

Recognising and understanding the value of evidence based decision making and planning

Understanding that there are different ways of keeping information appropriately secure

Recognising good quality digital work and projects Knowing where to find digital help and support, inside and outside the

Department

The Government Digital Inclusion Strategy outlines a checklist to help organisations develop the digital literacy of their staff:

Start with user needs, not our own - tailor support around the unique barriers that stop people going online, and adapt to people’s needs which change over time

Designed by NCVO. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Research and development Improve access – stop making things difficult and provide simple, low cost

options for those who are socially and economically excluded to get online

Motivate people - find something they care about and bring digital into people’s lives in a way that benefits them; helping them do things they care about and can only do online

Keep it safe - build trust and make it easier to stay safe online by providing simple and straightforward advice and tools

Work with others - work together to maximise expertise, experience and resources to better meet user needs

Focus on wider outcomes - measure performance and identify wider outcomes that can be delivered by helping people become independently confident online and use data to understand what works

Assessing digital literacy

Lloyds Bank’s UK Business Digital Index 2014 categorises the digital maturity of SMEs and charities, as a set of behaviours and attitudes:

Disconnected Basic adopters Passive Users Starters. Established users Advanced Users. Innovators The Government Digital Inclusion Strategy outlines a digital inclusion scale which considers the different levels of digital literacy for individuals. They consider point 7, basic digital skills, as the minimum capability people need in order to use the internet effectively:

1. Never have, never will2. Was online, but no longer3. Willing unable4. Reluctantly online5. Learning the ropes6. Task specific7.Basic digital skills*8. Confident9. Expert

Designed by NCVO. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

*These people have enough skills to be able to navigate online independently and perform all tasks at a basic level. These people may need some help with new tasks, but they tend not to need ongoing support after they’ve had the

Research and development

According to research commissioned by the BBC and Go ON UK:

14% of the nation is 1-3 on the scale 7% of the nation is 4-6 on the scale 79% of the nation is 7-9 on the scale

Individuals in your organisation may be between 4 -9, depending on their personal use, interest, confidence and nature of role. The skills development programme should aim to get at least 80% of staff to level 8.

In contrast other charities and voluntary organisations could be anywhere between 3 and 9 on the scale, depending on their size, function and resources.

Digital skills assessment toolse-skills UK’s GO ON you can do IT initiative allows people to assess their current online skills (email, internet, document creation and online safety) and access learning material to help them improve.

Recommendations To develop the digital literacy of NCVO staff we need to focus on

motivation, trust and confidence, as well as skills Developing digital literacy should be an ongoing, flexible process that will

evolve over time Different staff/ departments will achieve different levels of digital literacy,

but there must be a basic level that everyone is required to achieve Buy-in from staff at all levels will be critical to the success of this

programme, and motivating and inspiring staff and selling the benefits of being more digitally literate must play a key role

A self-assessment survey or online tool will provide an insight into perceptions and confidence however it may not provide an accurate assessment of actual skills

Training must be accessible, practical and interactive. Staff should be able to put new skills into action in a real work life context

Next steps

Designed by NCVO. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Research and development Develop a digital literacy framework for your organisation (based on the

external frameworks reviewed in this document and the specific needs of your staff and organisational strategy)

Design a staff self-assessment process to identify the current digital literacy of staff (both skills and confidence) and set baseline

Design the skills development programme (content and delivery) Establish KPIs and monitor and review progress against baseline

Additional resources Jisc InfoNet’s checklist of digital capabilities can be adapted for use in

other institutions Mozilla’s web literacy canvas is a resource for organisations to help them

plan the ways in which they can align with their Web Literacy Map Mozilla’s Webmaker training is a free, open source platform for

individuals to help them learn web literacy, digital skills and open practice.

The Big Digital Skills Hub, created by Virgin Media Business is an online tool comprising of 15 learning video tutorials that are split across five key digital modules: build a valuable online presence; maximise your online presence; social media; digital marketing; create your own content

Tinder Foundation’s UK Online Centres run an online course called Become a Digital Champion that is aimed at people who are new to inspiring and supporting people to get online 

Lexington Communications offer pro bono advice to selected charities including bespoke two hour training session aimed at boosting digital literacy

Helen RidgwayOctober 2014

Designed by NCVO. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License