Welcome to the Easy Learning Part of the Digitclue HUB! This is a collaborative learning space on issues related to Digital Inclusion which you are free to use in order to obtain and/or strengthen your knowledge of the digital world and its didactic aspects with a special focus on how to make it more inclusive for pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and university trainers/staff and learners.
In today’s society people are often discriminated against because they do not look or behave according to societal norms. Everything not corresponding to the “norm”, is seen as (too) different and often associated with negative attributes. Lang-Wojtasik & Schieferdecker employ a broad definition of inclusion, as they define it as the right of participation within the society, independent from an attributed or official status. Within this definition, everyone should get the help they need to move forward in life. It is important that the individual does not have to adapt to society, but rather society adapts to the individual. Here, inclusion refers to the unlimited participation in every aspect of society, independent from the individual condition.
Today people must deal with the digital world in many parts of daily life. Areas such as healthcare, school, banks, government, and libraries are using ICT (information- and communication technology), which thus becomes a necessary instrument for citizens to use the respective services. In order to do this, they must know how e.g., to use and access internet browsing, emails, blogs, or social networks. However, not everyone has this knowledge. That is how the Digital Divide or digital gap appears.
Digital age gap means that there are different starting points connected to digital tools based on the age of the users. Digitalisation varies when comparing different countries of the world including Europe. Different factors have impact on the digital tools used by elderly people: gender, socio-economic context, networks avaliability, education level, location (rural/urban), motivation, etc. Digital age gap is appearing very often, especially because the 65+ population is growing, for example in EU member states this demographic increased to 20,3% in 2019. At the same time, developing technology is offering new digital tools to overcome the age gap.
The Digital Gender Gap (DGG) or Digital Gender Divide describes the difference between men and women regarding the possibility of participating in the digital world. This starts with different ways of accessing the internet, as well as using the internet via smartphones, the general ability to own a cell phone, and the resulting disadvantages in professional life (IGI-Global, 2021). Especially in the last two years, the Covid 19 pandemic has made the difference between men and women with regards to digital participation even more pronounced. This is evidenced by the fact that gaps between men and women are reappearing that have already been closed (Global Gender Gap Report, 2021) The gender gap refers to the inequality between women and men in all areas of life.
The Digital Queer Gap is a variation of the Digital Gender Gap, which refers to the differences and inequality in accessing and using digital technologies. It not only considers the differences between men and women, but the entire LGBTIQ+ community is considered. Some companies and organizations try to enhance access to the digital world for people from the LGBTIQ+ community and thereby reduce the DQG. The online presence of the LGBTIQ+ community on the Internet has great advantages, but also implies some difficulties.
Digitalisation is a process that includes the transfer of various contents such as text, photos, sound, and video into a digital record. This is precisely why digitalisation is considered a way of protecting, archiving, and sharing created content. It is important to point out that digitalisation should also encompass the creation of inclusive environments in which everybody can be involved, it enables open communication, and has accelerated the process of creating and exchanging knowledge (Martinoli, 2019).
Digital literacy is often considered as one of the essential skills for the 21st century. In the context of education, it includes not only the use of digital tools in teaching, but also serves the purpose of developing creativity, which aims to refine the teaching process and facilitate the acquisition and expansion of students’ knowledge. It should not be seen as a substitute for the learning process that takes place in person, nor is it a substitute for the written word. Digital literacy should be considered to open and enable the engaged work of teachers and students, during and outside the teaching process. In addition to the knowledge of how to use digital tools, digital literacy also implies the knowledge and certainty of choosing the “right” tools. Creating a safe environment in the digital context is something that teachers can create for the students involved in the teaching process, as well as for them to use the knowledge outside the classroom.
Worldmaking, “making/shaping a world”, is often related to the concept of “reality”. However, this approach to worldmaking implies that at the same time there are worlds that are not real, but rather constructed or invented. Especially when speaking of online worlds, the terms “virtual world” or “non-real world” are often used. Yet, the offline world can be constructed just as the online world can be real.
Digital storytelling is combining the art of telling stories with a variety of digital multimedia such as images, audio, and video. Digital stories bring together a mixture of digital graphics, text, recorded audio narration, video, and music/sound to tell stories on a specific topic. The recommended duration is between 2 to 10 minutes; so digital stories are rather short.
Cyberethics is the philosophic study of ethics pertaining to computers, encompassing user behaviour and what computers are programmed to do, and how this affects individuals and society. Any didactic modelling of digitally processed perception, construction, and evaluation in education, has to consider ethical perspectives. In any educational technology (ed tech) system, ethics are nowadays considered as highly relevant. This orientation may focus on ethical, anthropological, legal (to a lesser extent), and social aspects of socio-technical arrangements. In consequence, educationalists should be prepared with comprehensive (media) didactic expertise.
A digital culture is a concept that describes how technology and the Internet are shaping the way that we interact as humans or groups. It is always a shared, I.e., a collective phenomenon, that is learned from one’s environment. One may narrow it down to a certain context, for example an organization or digital reality, which leads to focused concepts. This means that a digital culture is the way (our everyday culture) we behave, think, and communicate within the current society.
Digitalisation is leading to changes in cooperation. Initial conditions are changing rapidly in all sectors, also in Europe. How can we reach the target groups of education? Which formats are sustainable and also economically feasible? Which developments can we consciously address? Teachers and learners are currently gaining experience with the digital transformation of education on an almost daily basis.
Digitalisation is leading to changes in cooperation. Initial conditions are changing rapidly in all sectors, also in Europe. How can we reach the target groups of education? Which formats are sustainable and also economically feasible? Which developments can we consciously address? Teachers and learners are currently gaining experience with the digital transformation of education on an almost daily basis.