Designing a Pathway to Digital Fluency

Abstract

This chapter addresses the need for developing digital fluency skills in higher-education students in order to best prepare them for real-world success. The pathway to digital fluency is complex and requires a reimagined, collaborative approach to learning design. This chapter considers the elements of authentic learning as a means of developing students' digital fluency and proposes learning design as a pathway to action for teacher-developed authentic learning activities. The chapter begins by exploring the concept of digital fluency in order to develop a definition that informs pedagogical approach. Approaches to digital fluency development are examined through digital literacy and authentic learning frameworks. The pedagogical approach is further examined and conceptualized through the process of learning design. Considerations are presented at the end of each section to illustrate relationships between digital fluency, authentic learning, and learning design, and to allow for further exploration of concepts within unique contexts.