Inclusion and engagement by design: Creating a digital literacy course to inspire diverse learners in an Australian university enabling program

Abstract

A growing demand for digital literacies provides opportunities for new courses which employ innovative pedagogy and value students’ “funds of knowledge” (Gonzalez, Moll, & Amanti, 2005). This case study outlines the design and delivery of a digital literacy course that feeds into both Diploma and Enabling pathways programs at an Australian university. The course was designed using inclusive pedagogies, including key concepts from Universal Design for Learning (CAST, 2011) and critical pedagogy (Freire, 2004; Burke, 2012; Burke, Crozier, & Misiaszek, 2017). Student evaluations of the course convey enjoyment, resilience and positive attitude to challenging tasks, indicating that an inclusive approach, which draws on strong support from teaching staff, is an effective way to engage students from diverse backgrounds with both the foundations of university learning and more advanced discipline-specific concepts and skills. The data suggest that embedding technology and choice in curriculum is empowering for students. As students become familiar with complex ideas and language from diverse fields, they build confidence as digital content producers who can share their work in a professional context. The students develop professional projects, which can serve to inform career directions and development beyond course outcomes.