Subject Guides: Digital Literacy: Trends &amp; Tools

Trends in Digital Literacy in Higher Education

Digital competence and digital literacy in higher education research: Systematic review of concept use
This paper presents a systematic review of global research in which the concepts of digital competence and digital literacy are used in higher education research. It aims to establish an understanding of digital competence and digital literacy over time, disciplines, countries, method, and level of analysis.
Digital Literacy in Higher Education: A Report from the University of Rhode Island Winter Symposium
This report documents the challenges and opportunities regarding the future of digital literacy on college campuses, outlines the research needed in this area, and recommends new approaches to professional development that may advance digital literacy in higher education.
Digital Literacy An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief Volume 3.3, October 2016
Commissioned by Adobe, this independent research builds upon the established baseline definitions of digital literacy from the 2016 brief, examining digital literacy through a global and discipline-specific lens to reveal new contexts that are shaping the way learners create, discover, and critically assess digital content.
The NMC’s research examines the current landscape of digital literacy frameworks to illuminate its multiple dimensions — technical, psychological, and interpersonal — around which students’ ability to produce new content generates a sense of empowerment.
The 2017 Digital Literacy Impact Study: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief
The 2017 Digital Literacy Impact Study: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief uncovers the learner’s perspective of how digital literacy training influences work life after graduation.
From Written to Digital: The New Literacy
In this article from 2016, the authors describe the rise of digital media and the importance of digital literacy.
Digital Literacy for All Learners
An initiative of the Center for Digital Inclusion at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois

Tools for Digital Literacy

Adobe Photoshop: Leverage and edit photos/images to visually convey stories
Adobe Premiere Pro: Create, edit, and publish interactive videos of instructor lectures and student work
Adobe Illustrator: Create vector graphics to share data/content visually, e.g., infographics and diagrams
Adobe InDesign: Design pages for reports, poster sessions, and ebooks
Adobe Muse: Create code-free, mobile-ready websites to showcase student work
Adobe Lightroom: Edit, organize, and share photos at a professional level
Podcasting: The modern day equivalent of a talk show where one or more people discuss a given topic. These are usually uploaded to specific platforms for distribution at the user's convenience.
Live streaming: Live streaming refers to online streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real time.

Da Vinci Resolve
Free video editing software.
Digital Literacies Toolkit
A great online tool for teaching/fostering digital literacy, offered by the American University in Cairo.
GiMP
A free and open-source raster graphics editor used for image manipulation and image editing, free-form drawing
Open Broadcaster Software
One of the programs available to livestream and record videos at your computer.
Paint.NET
A freeware raster graphics editor program for Microsoft Windows
Toolkit for Digitally Literate Teachers
The University of South Carolina created a Digital Literacy toolkit for teachers. While this has resources for instructors, non-teachers can use this as well.