Enhancing digital capability through self-directed learning for initial teacher education and beyond
Abstract: There is an expectation that students entering teacher education will be confident, competent users of digital technologies and that they will possess the skills and knowledge to employ technologies effectively, safely and responsibly. The reality is that students begin their studies with a wide range of capabilities and while many are proficient in social networking applications such as Facebook not all students have the digital skills for professional work and study (Brush, Glazewski & Hew 2008). This paper describes how one university adopted PeerWise, a peer-supported, interactive environment for personalised and collaborative learning. Students participate by contributing questions and answers, rating the quality of contributions, following lead contributors, and interacting using social networking strategies. The aim is to enable pre-service teachers to self-evaluate their digital capability and prepare themselves for learning and teaching with and through technology.
Presider: Lucy Green, Georgia Southern University