Using digital tools to connect learners: present and future scenarios for citizenship 2.0

With the adoption and integration of mobile and digital tools of the web 2.0 era, along with the scope and uptake of diverse and expanding social media, the higher sector education landscape is transforming itself. This is manifested in moves towards a participatory, interactive learning paradigm where students learn through social networks and by participation, collaboration and immersion in digital spaces to seek, share and create knowledge for self-realisation. Students now expect to assume greater control by becoming co-creators of content and by producing rather than being mere consumers of predetermined resources. Worldwide, higher education providers are now seeking to provide learners with a more customized, personalised learning experience. Students also need to become “citizens 2.0”, with the capacity to participate fully in the social and political activities of their communities. In this work-in-progress paper we portray scenarios for learning using a range of digital tools to engage learners and develop critical digital literacy skills. These scenarios are situated in a tertiary level unit called “social informatics” which investigates areas such as e-government, e-learning and e-law and deals with the social, cultural, philosophical, ethical, legal, public policy and economic issues relating to information and communications technologies. The design of the learning environment incorporates multiple participatory digital social tools where students can share ideas and co-create content to enable them to engage fully in the knowledge society. Recommendations for design of future spaces for development of digital citizenship skills are presented.