Wondering where you belong on the spectrum between a technophobe and technophile? Curious as to how this affects your teaching? More tech-savvy generations of learners are entering our classrooms bringing not only their rich cultural contexts, but also new preferences of learning and engaging both with each other, and their educators. However, incorporating ed-tech strategies effectively into teaching can seem daunting to many educators. Our experience shows that the development of digital capabilities in educators is highly dependent upon empowering, developing and enhancing the educators’ mindset. This presentation presents theoretical considerations for developing an educator’s digital capabilities and reviews examples of ed-tech professional development models to support and empower educators to successfully implement technology-enhanced teaching practices.

1. From technophobe
to technophile
Lucija Medojevic & Henno Kotze
14 November 2019

2. Presenters

3. Aim
1. Define a Digital Practitioner
2. Share theoretical insights and established tools
3. Inspire colleagues to embrace lifelong learning with
technology

4. https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/blooms-digital-taxonomy
21st Century Skills

6. Page 6

7. o I am confident in my attitudes to TEL.
o I am willing to experiment with technology and how it can be used in teaching
and learning.
o I am able to balance risks of change with its potential.
o I am convinced by the potential of technology to enhance and transform
learning.
o I am willing to invest time in exploring and evaluating TEL.
o I design learning activities to suit my students’ needs using TEL as appropriate.
o I facilitate learning using appropriate technological tools.
o I explore the capabilities of technology.
o I behave ethically in contexts where the digital media is blurring boundaries.
o I evaluate my practices.
o I reflect on innovations in my practice.
o I experiment with tools in my practice.
o I can use TEL tools to suit my needs.
o I can manage the blurring of boundaries between private and work time.
o I have access to networked devices and applications.
o I have access to media devices.
o I have access to people who can support me in using technology.
o I have access to a network of people with ideas for using technology.
The Digital Practitioner Framework

8. Figure 2: The Circle of Critical Reflection
(Saffron-Powell and Varga-Atkins, 2014, p. 17)
The Circle of Critical Reflection
When critically reflecting on digital literacies,
shifts in practices and skills appear to take place
when educators displayed certain attributes
(’open-mindedness’ or ‘losing your fear’), which
further generated awareness regarding
limitations and opportunities of technologies to
which they had access.

9. “A digitally confident practitioner displays a range of attributes
related to confidence, willingness to explore, resilience to failure
and that it is these attributes that characterise them rather than
their technical skills.”
Bennett & Folley (2015, p. 17)

10. JISC Digital Capability Framework
Learner Profile
Teacher Profile
Leader Profile

11. Digital Capability Assessment Tools
The Cambridge English Digital TeacherAll Aboard - Digital Skills in Higher Education

14. How do we inspire colleagues to
embrace lifelong learning with tech?

15. Challenges
Time (e.g. finding
common time) and
teaching
commitments
Differences in
staff ability
Staff buy-in Management
support

16. “A really important step with PD training with emergent
technology is gradual exposure - through taking what we
already have and making it more powerful - and then training.”
Dr Micah Shippee – EDTech Chat Podcast
EXTRA Protocol - Exposure before
Training

17. 30 mins 45 mins
The EXTRA Protocol

19. Page 19Presentation Heading - xx / xx / xx

20. “I love the ed-tech workshops. Really useful and easy to implement straight away”
“I think the Lunchbox Learning series has been an incredible innovation at
UQ. I genuinely feel like our entire teaching cohort has developed
significant skills in the purposeful incorporation of technology in the
classroom as a result”
“Love the short-ish sessions; some casuals are on the run on certain days but these are always easy
to fit in, and definitely activate the brain (and sense of ed-venture).”
Participant Feedback

21. “We talk a lot about empowerment and agency in the
classroom context. What we need to encourage is bringing that
mindset to educators because you can’t empower learners if
your teachers don’t feel empowered.”
Evan Robb – Principal & TEDx Speaker

22. Choice = Voice
Class-based coaching
Microlearning Video Library
10-minute drop-in sessions
Other PD Ideas

23. How many do you know?

25. Conclusion
OR

26. • All Aboard Digital Skills in Higher Education (n.d.). Digital Confidence Profiler. Retrieved from
https://www.allaboardhe.ie/AAlessons/profiler/story_html5.html.
• Bennett, L. (2014). Learning from the early adopters: developing the Digital Practitioner. Research in Learning Technology, 22.
https://doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v22.21453
• Bennett, E. & Folley, S. (2015). D4 Strategic Project: Developing Staff Digital Literacies. Internal Scoping Report. University of
Huddersfield, UK. Retrieved from http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/26266/
• Gordan, N. (2014). Flexible pedagogies: technology enhanced learning. Retrieved from
https://www.heacademy.ac.uk/system/files/resources/tel_report_0.pdf.
• Jisc. (n.d.-a). What is digital capability? Retrieved from https://digitalcapability.jisc.ac.uk/what-is-digital-capability/
• Jisc. (n.d.-b). Learner Profile (Higher Education). Retrieved from http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/7279/1/BDCP-LearnerProfile-110319.pdf
• Jisc. (n.d.-c). Leader Profile (Higher Education). Retrieved from http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/7351/1/BDCP-DL-Profile-230419.pdf
• Jisc (n.d.-d). Teacher Profile (Higher Education). Retrieved from http://repository.jisc.ac.uk/6620/1/JiscProfile_HEteacher.pdf
• Kirkwood, A. & Price, L. (2014). Technology-enhanced learning and teaching in higher education: what is enhanced and how do we
know? A critical literature review. Learning, Media and Technology, 39(1), 6-36. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17439884.2013.770404.
• Maggioli, D. (2017). Effective professional development: Principles and best practice. Cambridge Papers in ELT. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
• Robb, E. (2019). How to Empower Teachers. The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/10mt-the-10-minute-
teacher-show-the-5day-a-week-podcast/e/64435682?autoplay=true
• Saffron-Powell & Varga-Atkins (2013). Digital literacies: A study of Perspectives and Practices of Academic staff’. University of
Liverpool. Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/9403673/_Digital_Literacies_A_Study_of_Perspectives_and_Practices_of_Academic_Staff_
• Shippee, M .(2018). What Every Educator Needs to Know About Virtual Reality. The Ed-Tech Chat Podcast.
https://www.bamradionetwork.com/track/what-every-educator-needs-to-know-about-virtual-reality/
• The Cambridge English Digital Teacher tool. Retrieved from https://thedigitalteacher.com/login.
References