Welcome, everyone, to the new Digital Dexterity blog!
This is actually only my second-ever time writing for a blog, so please bear with me. Part of Digital Dexterity is trying new things – maybe only one new thing. But you’ll find that the more things you try (see our forthcoming ’23 Things’ post), the more confident you will be!
What’s Digital Dexterity?
In February 2019, the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) launched their Digital Dexterity framework. The framework consists of six elements
- digital identity and wellbeing
- information, media and data literacies
- collaboration, communication and participation
- digital creation, problem solving and innovation
- Information Communications Technology (ICT) proficiency and productivity
- digital learning and development
More than just Digital Literacy, Digital Dexterity is about developing the skills that are necessary to thrive at all levels in our increasingly digital world.
Who are we?
Sponsored by CAUL and supported by the team at CAVAL, the Digital Dexterity Community of Practice (DigiDex CoP) are a group of enthusiastic, multi-disciplined library professionals from across the tertiary sector with a mission – to build our own capabilities around Digital Dexterity and to share our knowledge with our fellow library professionals and our user communities.
Why a blog?
We take a hands-on ‘learning by doing’ approach to Digital Dexterity. Tech is changing all the time, and being able to respond dextrously and leverage all the tools available to us requires us to have a growth mindset, to be adaptable and work collaboratively across our professional communities.
We want the blog to be like a digital version of the Digital Dexterity Community of Practice, where we can share our ideas, experiences and expertise. It’s about reflecting the wide variety of activities and knowledge that library professionals demonstrate on a daily basis, and sharing new skills and tools in a practical way so we (and our users!) can benefit. And, like all our initiatives, it’s about giving members of the Community of Practice the opportunity to work collaboratively, form new professional connections and learn new skills.
Over the next year we will be posting approximately every month. Upcoming posts include Open Education Resources (OER) from RMIT Library, Curtin University Library’s ’23 Things’ campaign, a series of Libguide how-tos, and ‘What the heck? Wednesday’ where we explore the weird and wonderful world of digital library tools. Look out for guest posts from the GLAM sector and other areas of the industry too.
Want to get involved?
Great! We come from CAUL and the Council of New Zealand University Librarians (CONZUL) member libraries across New Zealand and Australia. Champions are currently nominated by their organisation and usually receive a time allowance for our obligations to the Community of Practice.
If you’re interested in becoming a member of the Community of Practice, get in touch with your local Champion to discuss, or if you’re not sure who they are, drop us a line at DigitalDexterity@caval.edu.au to learn more.
What’s next?
Watch out for our upcoming ALIA satellite events on February 1, 2, 3, 11 and 12 2021, and keep reading!
Authors: Ruth Cameron, University of Newcastle, and Emily Pyers, Federation University