Confident
One of my favourite films is The Matrix (1999). In it, there’s a scene where Neo, the hero of the story, realises that he is indeed ‘The One’. He learns that he can re-make the ‘matrix’ as he sees fit. There is a visible change in his body language and demeanour as he realises he has control over the world he inhabits. Knowledge truly is power.
The digital world can be a scary place for those unused to it. We use skeuomorphs — details and designs that make the new look old and familiar — in an attempt to blur the boundaries. The calendar application on Mac OSX, for example, until recently had faux-leather elements right down to the ‘stitched’ detail. We prefix things from the analogue world with e- in an attempt to make a digital concept more understandable. Take e-books, for example. It makes little sense to talk of them as 'books' but, until we get to a stage where we are comfortable about talking about them as something qualitatively different, we need to make sense of the transition. We need to soften the edges so that the jump from one form to another does not feel discombobulating.
All of this actually makes our job of developing digital literacies more difficult. When X is actually different to Y, but is made to seem somehow similar, then problems arise. Instead of attempting to understand the ways in which Y is different to X, individuals will often become frustrated. They will assume that Y ‘should behave’ like X, not understanding that it is qualitatively different.
What has this to do with the Confident element of digital literacies? Far from being merely the result of developing the other elements, the Confident element is instead something that can be focused upon in a similar way to the others. Whilst no element should be worked on purely in isolation, the Confident element involves connecting the dots. It involves understanding and capitalising upon ways in which the digital world differs from the analogue. This can range from the simple (e.g. pressing CTRL-Z to undo an action) to more complex (e.g. creating a personal ‘brand’ using social media).
Developing the Confident element of digital literacies involves solving problems and managing one’s own learning in digital environments. 1 This can be encouraged by the kind of practices that work well in all kinds of learning experiences. Namely, self-review focusing on achievement and areas of development, paired with mentoring. I believe P2PU’s ‘schools’ to be an extremely good example of an arena in which the Confident element of digital literacies can be developed. Not only are learners encouraged to reflect on their practices, but to form a community. Such communities can help build confidence.
1. “Modern society is increasingly looking to [people] who can confidently solve problems and manage their own learning throughout their lives, the very qualities which ICT supremely is able to promote.” (OECD, 2001, p.9) ↩