Digital Fluency Skills

 

Introduction

The five fluency skills are there to help you adapt to new learning and work environments. These skills also help you work better no matter the circumstances because you will be equipped in the manner of the digital world (the IIE, 2019).

These skills are as follows: 

1. Information fluency

2. Solution fluency

3. Media fluency

4. Collaboration fluence

5. Creative fluency

Pairing the skills also helps with understanding them better and so you can see that they work hand-in hand with one another.

1.  Information fluency

What is information fluency?

Information fluency is the “ability to interpret information in all forms and formats in order to extract the essential knowledge, either from the internet or even a textbook when you are studying for a test (Churches, Jukes & Crockett, 2011: 33). Information fluency as a process will help to determine the credibility, authenticity and veracity of the information you are pursuing to use or understand.

1. The steps that help in Information fluency:

1.1. Ask

1.2. Acquire

1.3. Analyze

1.4. Apply 

1.5. Assess 

An example would be reading, understanding a question on a case study or in an exam and knowing how to answer or knowing what the correct answer is

2.  Solution fluency

What is solution fluency:

Solution fluency is basically problem solving as the name state solution. Solution fluency is built on information fluency because we need information to find solutions to problems (the IIE, 2019).
1. Steps to solution fluency:
1.1. Define
1.2. Discover 
1.3. Dream
1.4. Design
1.5. Deliver
1.6. Debrief 
An example, what is being asked of you in a survey and what is the survey for in the end.

3.   Media fluency

What is media fluency?

Media fluency involves the communication aspect and communication literacy. We cannot produce something without knowing how to use the technology, like sending an Email. Crockett, Jukes and Churches (2011:58). 

1. Two step sequences:

1.1. Message

1.2. Verbalize

1.3. Verify

2. Second 

2.1. Medium

2.2. Form

2.3. Flow

2.4. Alignment

The two steps are what we call the process. The media fluency has both the literate and communication aspects (IIE, 2015). Being Media fluent means, you are a “prosumer” which means you effectively consume and produce digital content (Crockett, 2011).

An example would be being literate to create an email to your boss explaining why you did not attend the meeting that afternoon.

4.  Collaboration Fluency 

What is Collaboration Fluency?

Collaboration fluency has a few aspects you need to grasp before you can be collaboration fluent. These aspects are as follows: Establish, Envision, Engineer, Execute, and Examine we call this the Collaboration Fluency Process.

Establish

• The group (the people in the group)

• Roles & Responsibilities (division of roles between group members)

• Norms (Rules of engagement)

• Scope (the expectations of success criteria, desired result)

• Information needs (the resources need and what is outstanding to complete the project)

• Leadership (Leader’s responsibilities around scope)

• Group Contract (Documentation that every member sign) (IIE, 2015).

Envision

This is where the problems, solutions of the project. These steps will help with the process:

• Defining the problem

• Defining the current situation

• Defining the desired future

• Specify the information needed 

• Checking the information obtained and outstanding required information

• Sharing with the group 

• Create a plan of action (IIE, 2015).

Engineer 

This is the logical part where a workable plan is issued and breaking it into parts where it will be easily accomplished (IIE, 2015)

Execute 

This is where the plan is executed, put into presentation form and presenting it (IIE, 2015).  

Examine

Now the whole group must give feedback about the project and determine if the goal is met (IIE, 2015).

An example of this is when you are given a group ICE task in class, you have an hour to submit. Now you must divide and conquer the work as a team to finish on time and make one task that meet the criteria given

5.  Creativity Fluency

What is Creativity Fluency

Creative fluency makes you aware of the different types of intellectual skills people have instead of focusing on the basic stereotypical math skills. There are a lot of intellectual skills people master namely: Visual, Linguistic, Musical, Interpersonal etc. the list goes on. Companies nowadays doing want/need people who are only logical intelligent but also creative in different areas (IIE, 2015).The Process of Creative fluency are as follows: Identify, Inspire, Interpolate, Imagine and Inspect.

Identify

▪ This is where you acquire information about set problem and store in your brain, then ask the necessary question like wat you must do and what must be done. The data is given to your left brain.

Inspire

▪ This stage is where your right brain takes charge and here you should find sensory information from books, videos, internet etc. and store it.

Interpolate 

Now here you try to find common connections between all the information you have gathered and make a sensible project/task. 

You use sourced information that commonly would not be used together and make patterns. 

Imagine 

▪ This where the information starts to take life in pockets of solutions. This means creating mental pictures and concepts for the information and showing your understanding of the concepts of the task.

Inspect

▪ This stage is where you check if the work you’ve accomplished and meets the criteria set in the beginning stage of Identify. After then you can check if it is achievable and make sense all together.

An example is when you must build or design a certain object e.g., a clinic, you would have to research for the type, the size, what will be done and not to mention the floor plan designs.