Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

Meghan is an associate editor with EdTech. She enjoys coffee, cats and science fiction TV.

Twenty-first-century libraries are unlike those of the past, thanks to edtech.

Once known to bibliophiles as a quiet bastion of well-organized books, modern libraries have transformed in ten surprising ways:

The word ‘precision’ has become a synonym for the application of data to the analysis and treatment of a wide range of phenomena. ‘Precision medicine’ describes the use of detailed patient information to individualize treatment and prevention based on genes, environment and lifestyle, while ‘precision agriculture’ has become an entire field of R&D focused on ‘engineering technology, sensor systems, computational techniques, positioning systems and control systems for site-specific application’ in the farming sector.

59% of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, and a similar share says it's a major problem for people their age. At the same time, teens mostly think teachers, social media companies and politicians are failing at addressing this issue.

What was the first thing you did this morning? For me, it was being woke up by an alarm that I’d set via Alexa. I told her to snooze whilst I caught up on the news on the BBC app. My Google calendar reminded me that my youngest had swimming.

I arranged lifts for the kids to their after-school clubs on Whatsapp, did 10 minutes of Duolingo (learning useful Spanish phrases such as ‘my turkey eats pineapples’) and had a quick check of my emails – all before I’d even got out of bed. And on a device that fits in my pocket! Could we even have imagined this 10 or 15 years ago?

Last year I worked on finding a sustainable new home for the Open Access journal Research in Learning Technology. As part of my work for ALT, this was the third transition I have worked on since 2008 and during this period I have contributed to the thinking around Open Access publishing in Learning Technology, often through ALT’s contribution to initiatives such as the 2012/3 ‘Gold Open Access Project‘. This year I will be working with a new group set up by ALT to steer the future development of the journal: