The document summarizes the Student Ambassadors for Digital Literacy (SADL) program at the London School of Economics. The 3-year program trains undergraduate students to become peer mentors who help other students improve their digital and information literacy skills through workshops. Workshops cover topics like finding and evaluating information, academic research practices, and managing digital footprints. Evaluations found the program improved students' skills and confidence while also providing leadership experience for senior ambassadors. The document discusses challenges like engaging more students and integrating social media platforms to encourage online participation.

1. Understanding student digital literacies:
reflecting on differences, divides, visitors and
residents
Andra Fry and Jane Secker
London School of Economics and Political Science
APT 2016: 5th July 2016

2. Student Ambassadors for
Digital Literacy (SADL)
• Undergraduate
• Collaborative
• Peer support
Completed 3 years
Project Programme

3. SADL aims
• To understand students’ existing digital and
information literacy (DIL) skills.
• To explore how best to support students to
improve these skills and to provide peer support.

4. SADL Welcome event
Workshop 1: Finding and evaluating information
Workshop 2: Academic practices: reading and
research
Workshop 3: Managing and sharing information
Workshop 4: Your digital footprint
SADL Celebration
All resources on the project website:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsesadl/resources/
Programme overview

5. Group
work

6. Workshop activities
Dealing with assignments Managing information

7. SADL Senior Ambassadors
• Completed SADL in a
previous year
• Work alongside staff
• Give input into workshop
content
• Guide and support students
in workshops
• Lead student projects

8. SADL: the impact on students
“I am glad I joined SADL because
I wouldn't have known anything
about copyright or any qualitative
skills if I didn't. So in terms of
study skills that really helped me
a lot like research and managing
information and things. It helped
me through my second year.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALaUhlWRnTg

9. Evaluation – Impact on students
Digital & Information Literacy skills
+ Transferability  Study  Personal lives  Employability
+ Referencing skills  Using new apps  Blogging 
Managing their digital identity  Using LinkedIn effectively
− some expected more technical skills; e.g. Excel, coding
More than ‘tech’ skills
+ Public speaking  Presentation skills  Confidence 
Collaborative working

10. Evaluation – Impact on the SADL
team
Significant impact on Senior Ambassadors
+ Leadership skills  Teaching skills  Managing projects
+ ‘How SADL got me hired’
Important staff development
+ Greater level of engagement with UGs
+ New teaching methods and approaches

11. Evaluation – value of
collaboration
Value of collaborative approach to teaching
+ Friendly, informal approach, peer support and friendships
− Some students wanted more teaching / less discussions
Student project had mixed responses
− Need for greater consistency as dependent on seniors
− Student engagement and effort varied considerably

12. Collaboration in action

13. Improving and enhancing SADL
• Selling SADL in the right way is crucial
• Catering to different levels of knowledge and interests:
entrepreneurs vs academic skills
• What is an ambassador and how can they provide peer
support in year 1?
• Run sessions at different times: evenings?
• Make project more relevant and embedded
• Engage more staff with the programme’s aims

14. Visitors and residents
White, David and Le Cornu, Alison (2011) Visitors and residents: a new typology for online engagement. First
Monday. 16 (9). Available at http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171/3049

15. Students’ online engagement
• Institutional tools – mostly used as visitors
• Social media apps – mostly used as residents
– e.g. Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Skype
• Less likely to use the same app for both personal
& academic life
How can social media apps be used for
academic purposes to encourage engagement?

16. Engaging with SADL
visitor resident

17. Biggest challenges in 2016/17
• Scaling up and broadening the programme: LSE Life
• Developing the peer learning aspects of SADL to
empower students
• Keeping it student-led and student focused
• Maintaining the SADL community

18. Any questions?
Follow the SADL Story!
blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsesadl
@LSESADL

19. Further reading
Lau, Doriane, Secker, Jane and Bell, Maria (2015) Student ambassadors for digital literacy (SADL):
evaluation & impact report. Learning Technology and Innovation (LTI), London, UK. Available at:
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/63357/
LSE SADL Project website and resources (2014) Available at: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsesadl/resources
HEA (2014) Framework for partnership in learning and teaching. York, Higher Education Academy.
Available at: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/students-as-partners
Jisc (2015) Developing successful staff-student partnerships.
https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/developing-successful-student-staff-partnerships
Secker, Jane, Karnad, Arun , Bell, Maria, Wilkinson, Ellen and Provencher, Claudine (2014) Student
ambassadors for digital literacy (SADL): project final report. Learning Technology and Innovation ,
London, UK. Available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/59479/
Bell, Maria and Moon, Darren and Secker, Jane (2012) Undergraduate support at LSE: the ANCIL
report. The London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK. Available at:
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/48058/
White, David and Le Cornu, Alison (2011) Visitors and residents: a new typology for online
engagement. First Monday. 16 (9). Available at
http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3171/3049