Identity Literacy -” Beyond Computer Literacy
London (UK), May 2013 - (by Serge Ravet, ADPIOS, Europortfolio) Nearly twenty years ago, in 1995, the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) was born with the objective of raising the level of digital literacy throughout Europe. Though undoubtedly successful - in 2013 the I/ECDL ('I' for international) enjoys over 12 million candidates from 148 countries - the question arises of whether the ECDL is still fit to address the needs for 21st-century digital literacies, or should it be superseded by another award?
When the ECDL was born, "digital literacy" meant primarily the mastering of a personal computer, word processors, and, to a lesser extent, spreadsheets and presentation tools. Since 1995, the way we interact with technologies, produce texts and graphics, connect, and exploit data has changed dramatically.
- The centre of gravity of the information systems (and computing power) has moved from the centres (corporations, institutions, etc.) to the periphery (individuals, communities, etc.) - social /distributed/cloud computing.
- There is now dialectical movement between the liberation of public data and the reclaiming of private data - free public data from silos, free private data from “digital slavery”.
- We are witnessing the increasing pace of user-generated contents contributing to the data commons - the rise of open educational resources, massive open online courses (MOOCs), and open source.
- The role of digital/networked technologies in the construction/expression of one's identity is growing - the emergence of the subject on the Internet and the ability to create user-generated contexts (beyond contents).
How should these changes affect a digital-literacy curriculum? One approach has been to start from the current definition of the ECDL and to rewrite the title of each of its thirteen modules – and to present an award for the best suggestion. To give the result a catchy name, the new award has been christened the International Digital Literacy Award, or IDL Award (pronounced the "ideal" award).
Of course, most of the associated roles/identities are generic; they are the placeholders for more "concrete" identities such as nurse, researcher, writer, plumber, etc. Taking into account the identity dimension is essential in understanding how people engage in the use of digital technologies. We do not learn to use computers, or a hammer, independently from what it means in relation to our identities, current or projected.
To elicit the relationship among identities, technologies, and literacies (and why "digital identity" is actually a misnomer), let us recall what Terry Winograd, co-director of the Stanford Human-Computer Interaction Group, said in an interview back in 1994.
"The name 'human-computer interaction' is in some ways a misnomer because it focuses on the fact that you have a person using a computer. The fact that the person is trying to do something means it's really 'human-work interaction' with the computer as an intermediary. So I think for me the focus isn't on interacting with the computer, but interacting through the computer."
To paraphrase Terry Winograd, one could now state that the name "digital identity" is in some ways a misnomer because it focuses on the fact that a person is using a computer connected to the Web. The fact that identities emerge as a result of the person trying to do something on the Web means that it's really "identity construction", with the computer and the Web as intermediaries. So I think for me the focus isn't on constructing a "digital identity", but rather constructing an identity through digital technologies.
The new version of the ECDL, the IDL Award, is really about awarding the ability to construct one's identity. The 21st -century literacies are deeply intertwined with identity literacies. The IDL award could therefore be reinterpreted as either the International Digital Literacy Award or the ID Literacy Award.
Assessment of these literacies will have to be addressed with different means than those used to demonstrate computer skills: While automated computer tests are now widely used to deliver the ECDL, they would be irrelevant, even antinomic, to the delivery an IDL Award. The assessment of identity literacies requires a holistic and systemic approach, over time and across different contexts, capturing the outcomes of community involvement. It is about one’s own identity construction as well as the contribution to the construction of others' identities. It requires the subjective feedback from peers and members of one’s networks.
Nothing less than an ideal assessment is required for the delivery of an IDL award! If you want to explore this reflection, join us at ePIC 2013, the eleventh ePortfolio and Identity conference on 08-10 July 2013 in London.
