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More on AI literacy

Posted on by Doug Belshaw

I bought a(nother) domain yesterday. The main reason was so that I could have a short, easy to remember, URL for a Google Doc that I’ve been working on with Ian O’Byrne and Tom Salmon: https://unesco.ailiteracy.fyi (also archived here)

It’s a response to a UNESCO call for contributions entitled Definition of Algorithm Literacy and Data Literacy which talks more about ‘AI Literacy skills’ than anything else. It was a 2,000 word maximum, so we didn’t have lots of space to talk about much other than how we approach this area from previous work.

While it’s more considered than the time I literally asked ChatGPT to apply my ‘eight elements’ model to the topic, I’d still like to collaborate on some deeper work in this area. I see a lot of ‘cheat sheets’ being passed around social networks, as if use equals fluency.

Announcing my new e-book: ‘The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies’ (#digilit)

Posted on by Doug Belshaw

The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies
I’m excited to announce that I’ve decided to start writing another e-book. I want to communicate what I’ve learned during my doctoral studies in a way free from academic constraints. I want to empower educators.

The e-book is going to be called The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies and I shall be employing the OpenBeta publishing model I pioneered a couple of years ago with #uppingyourgame: a practical guide to personal productivity.

 

 

 

Invest now for £1 and get each chapter as it is completed FREE!

 

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Can’t see anything above? Click here!

What are ‘digital literacies’? Why are they important? How can I develop them both personally and in other people? These are some of the questions that ‘The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies by Doug Belshaw seeks to address. Informed by his doctoral thesis and experience as an educator, ‘The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies’ Doug is producing a timely resource for those who are interested in both the theory and the practice of digital literacies!

FAQ:

When are you going to finish this?

It depends on many things, but here’s my proposed timescale:

  • v0.2 – April 2012
  • v0.4 – June 2012
  • v0.6 – August 2012
  • v0.8 – October 2012
  • v1.0 – December 2012

I’m erring on the conservative side here. I’d rather under-promise and over-deliver!

In what formats will the book be available?

The OpenBeta version will be available in iPad-friendly (and reasonably Kindle-friendly) PDF format. The finished version will be available in the following forms:

  • PDF
  • Kindle
  • ePub
  • (Paperback/Hardback depending on demand)

How much will the final version be?

£10 – around $15/16 at the current exchange rate

(this is subject to change without notice)

I still don’t understand the OpenBeta process?

More here, but this should help:

OpenBeta publishing model

How long will the book be altogether?

I’m envisaging each chapter being about 1,000 words, so about 11,000 in total. This is subject to change when I start writing but it will be at least 10,000 words.

Are there any refunds? How do I know you will complete it?

No refunds, but I have managed to write several e-books before and have much more free time now I have completed my thesis! You can always wait until it’s finished, but that will cost more…

Image in book cover CC BY { pranav }

Got a different question? Ask it in the comments below!

Read the first complete draft of my doctoral thesis on digital literacies.

Posted on by Doug Belshaw

Update: I’ve now submitted my thesis and it’s available at neverendingthesis.com!

Doug's Ed.D. thesis

In 2006 George Siemens asked a bunch of people (including me) to proofread his book, Knowing Knowledge which he – innovatively for the time – released as a book, PDF and wiki. I happily did so and was credited along with many others who had been following George’s work in progress.

I know that many people reading this blog have followed my doctoral studies which has lasted about the same time as I’ve been blogging – six years. I’m delighted to say that yesterday I sent a complete draft of my Ed.D. thesis to my supervisor at Durham University. It may be a bit rough around the edges and there’ll be some inconsistencies, but it’s a huge relief to me.

Whilst my thesis – entitled What is digital literacy? A Pragmatic investigation – has been online since I started writing it in 2007, I thought I’d take this milestone as an opportunity to point people towards it and ask for some feedback. The major new update is Chapter 9 where I propose an ‘essential core’ of eight elements which make up an overlapping matrix of digital literacies.

I’ve had some great input and made connections with people all across the world during the last few years as a result of sharing my work. It’s a bit like pregnancy: the expectation during gestation is very different from the reality of delivering it. But now’s not a time to become coy and overly-protective about something I’ve been nurturing for so long; it’s time to, as with all my work, share it for the good of mankind. Ideas should be free.

And hopefully, just like a baby, people will admire and smile at it.

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