Smart Learning in the Community: Supporting Citizen Digital Skills and Literacies

Abstract

This paper discusses how smart learning in urban environments can mediate citizen digital skills and competences learning initiatives supported by standards such as the European Commission citizen Digital Competences Framework [8], thus helping a broad range of urban populations to gain essential knowledge and skills for navigating the digitised services of the societal urban systems around them. Smart learning, based on cultural, civic or community interests and placed within a context of ad-hoc urban learning experiences set in authentic learning hyper-local environments might support and develop citizen digital literacies and competences through a wide variety of informal learning activities. This kind of technologically mediated learning acts as an implicit conduit to channel the development of a number of skills and literacies involved in the use of digital apps and devices, and the manipulation of knowledge content both digitally created as well as consumed. Additionally, development of ‘soft’ skills such as community participation, confidence building and language literacy are increased in digitally connected spheres, enabling citizens to act with more self assured agency within these territories. The paper refers to the author’s own doctoral research findings developed from a phenomenographic investigation into smart learning journeys to suggest a ‘pedagogy of experience complexity’ for smart learning as support for these kinds of learning activities.