The University of Edinburgh’s 23 Things for Digital Knowledge is an award winning (LILAC Credo Digital Literacy Award 2017), self-directed course, run by Information Services Group.
The programme aims to expose you to a range of digital tools for your personal and professional development as a researcher, academic, student, or professional. The aim is for you to spend a little time each week, building up and expanding your skills. We hope that the programme presents a realistic challenge and will allow you to fit it into your schedule. The University of Edinburgh’s ‘23 Things for Digital Knowledge’ is inspired by 23 Things Oxford and based on the original 23 Things program which ran at the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County in the USA in 2006.
- Who can take part and participate?
- How does the course work?
- What do I need to do?
- Will there be a certificate or prize?
- How long will it take?
- How long do I have to complete the programme?
- Do I have to set up a blog?
- How do I register my blog??
- How do I tag my blog posts?
- What if I need help?
- Licensing – Can I re-use your course?
- Who are the 23 Things team?
Who can take part and participate?
The programme is open to all University of Edinburgh staff and students, and free to anyone who has access to a computer and the internet. If you are not a member of the University you are very welcome to participate and finishers will all receive an Open Badge.
University of Edinburgh staff and students will have access to drop-in and training sessions on campus. We will also be running online hangouts via Twitter, Discord, Google Hangouts, and Collaborate Ultra so that no matter where you are across the globe you can contribute towards and participate in our 23 Things community.
Each Thing includes an introduction to each Thing, some reading material and a task to complete. The tasks are intended to not take up much of your time and are designed to encourage you to try out a new Thing or explore a Thing in a new way.
This is an open and self-paced programme. You can work through each Thing at your own pace and share what you have learned on your blog. We’ll help you with setting up and registering your blog as Thing 2. If you want to work through the content in the course but don’t want to blog about it that’s fine too.
At the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) they worked through the course as a team, trying out the Things and discussing it in their weekly meetings. You can read about their approach on the blog post by Maren Deepwell, CEO of ALT, here: How taking part turned into a digital habit
How you approach the content is up to you.
Will there be a certificate or prize?
Every participant who completes and posts a blog entry on all 23 Things will be listed as a 23 Things Winner and awarded with an Open Badge as evidence of their work.
Click here to learn more about Open Badges
Additionally, any 23 Things finisher may choose to provide us with their details in order to receive an original 23Things laptop sticker of their own!
Everyone works at their own pace. Some Things may already be familiar to you and quickly achieved, while others may be new and require more time to explore. We suggest allocating around one hour per week for each Thing.
How long do I have to complete the programme?
As long as you like!
You can work through the 23 Things without setting up a blog. However, reflective and open blogging is a core part of the programme. It is used to create a community of participants, to share different perspectives, uses, and understandings of the Things we will be exploring.
The blog is also used to submit completion of the Things to be eligible for the prize draw, and can be integrated as evidence for reflective learning for CMALT accreditation, or other Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
We have provided a form for you to complete as part of Thing 2. This will register your blog for 23 Things for Digital Knowledge.
We have provided guidance on how to do this as part of Thing 2. If you are unsure or would like further assistance contact us at @EdUni23Things or by emailing 23things@ed.ac.uk.
Writing and posting your questions through your blog is a great way to join in the conversation as it allows everyone following along the opportunity to answer each other’s questions and help.
You can also ask us questions on Twitter at @EdUni23Things or by emailing 23things@ed.ac.uk
Licensing – Can I re-use your course?
Yes! The content of this course by University of Edinburgh, except where otherwise stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY). In fact we actively encourage you to take our Digital Knowledge course and adapt it for your own purposes.
Additionally all of the excellent images used on our website were created by our Interactive Content team at the University are also available on a CC BY licence and can be downloaded from the Interactive Content Flickr account.
Who run the 23 Things for Digital Knowledge course?
Stephanie (Charlie) Farley
Open Educational Resources Advisor
Charlie is leading the 23 Things for Digital Knowledge programme. Charlie provides support and training in the creation and use of Open Educational Resources (Open.Ed), provides copyright and licensing training across the university, advises on the use of Social Media Tools in Learning and Teaching, and runs OER Game Jam sessions. Rarely seen without an electronic device in her hand, Charlie is passionate about the uses of technology to enhance open education, access, and information sharing.
