Sheila Curran and Tyrrell Golding have just published a new paper looking at how the growth of digital technology has pot.... 

The abstract is below, and the full paper can be found here.

The last decade has witnessed significant growth in the use of digital technologies. These
changes have impacted on learning and teaching in Higher Education and also impacted on
youth workers’ professional practice and the lives of the young people they are working with.

What are the implications of this growth in digital technologies, which includes the
development of virtual learning environments, for the professional education of youth workers
studying in Higher Education? To what extent do digital technologies present new
opportunities for pedagogical innovation and provide opportunities for students to become
part of a wider, networked community of peers? How can the potential benefits of online
learning environments be harnessed to promote conversation, develop professional
communities of practice and support students’ in developing their professional identities as
youth workers? And what are the implications of the growing use of learning technologies for
the practices of academics teaching on youth and community courses? How can they enhance
their skills in teaching and providing support for students in online environments, building on
their skills and experience in promoting conversation in their face-to-face engagement with
students?

In this paper the authors will draw on a range of research on students’ engagement with
technologies and on the way they make use of it to support their learning, as well as their
experiences of teaching on the Open University’s BA (Hons) in Youth Work. Issues to be
explored will include what ‘participation’ might mean and look like in an online learning
environment; the extent to which digital literacy might be a widening participation issue; and
the development of online identities.