Returning to school has been a challenge for me. If you had told me five years ago that I would be pursuing a Master’s degree with a two-year old and seven months pregnant, I would have laughed uncontrollably-then probably cried!

One of my struggles with technology is my impatience. I often want immediate answers, and I tend to rush through directions without taking the time to carefully read each step. While I do not give up easily, I have realized that slowing down and following the process more deliberately would actually save me time in the long run. When I reviewed the BC Digital Literacy Framework (2013) document and Weiss’s The Essential Elements of Digital Literacy for the 21st Century Workforce (2017) some of the other challenges I identified are:

  • Communication/Collaboration: I am somewhat unfamiliar with some of the newer platforms for online collaboration and communication, as I do not use many of them in my work or personal life. I recognize that there are more professional platforms designed for work-related communication, as well as more casual, social media-type platforms designed for everyday use. I realize that becoming more comfortable with using these online platforms in both a professional and personal capacity is an area where I need to improve.
  • Technology Operations and Concepts: Programming is something I have no experience with, and I often struggle with taking the time to follow a systematic approach to troubleshooting technology. This is an area I recognize I need to work on. However, through the courses I have been taking for my Master’s program, I have started to see an improvement, yet I still see room for further growth.

Some of the strengths that I identified for myself are:

  • Photo-Visual Literacy: I am a highly visual learner and have noticed that I perform much better when there is a picture explaining something or when I can make an association in my mind. I enjoy figuring out the underlying meaning of an image or simply having a visual reference to accompany instructions. I believe this concept is especially valuable in nursing, as it is a hands-on profession where visual references for skills or procedures are often crucial.
  • Reproduction Literacy: The countless hours I have spent reviewing medical research articles and synthesizing information to form my own perspective on a topic or problem have made me comfortable with integrating existing knowledge into my work in new ways. During my Bachelor’s degree, we were taught to take plagiarism very seriously, so now it feels almost instinctive to cute sources immediately after referencing any information.

Resources that I believe will help me continue to work on the areas where I struggle include my peers, as many of them are very well-versed in technology. It never hurts to reach out and ask for help from fellow students. The TA’s have also been incredibly helpful in the courses I have taken, always available to guide me through setting up video projects in a way that is straightforward and makes sense to me. Additionally, the professors are very understanding and willing to assist with troubleshooting technology issues. I have also reached out to the IT team at TRU for help with video recording and other project setups, and they have been prompt and helpful in responding to my questions.

 

References:

Government of British Columbia. (n.d.). BC’s digital literacy framework. Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/kindergarten-to-grade-12/teach/teaching-tools/digital-literacy-framework.pdf

Weiss, D. (2017, December 2). The essential elements of digital literacy for the 21st century workforce. [Web log post]. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/essential-elements-digital-literacy-21st-century-worker-weiss

W3 Lab. (2023, February 13). Digital literacy vs digital fluency: understanding the key differences. [Image]. Retrieved from https://w3-lab.com/digital-literacy-vs-digital-fluency/