Developing digital literacy in work integrated learning
When Dr Bahareh Nakisa, lecturer in Applied Artificial Intelligence, was designing the Engineering AI Solutions unit as part of the Master of Applied Artificial Intelligence course, she drew on her practical experience working in industry. She chose to integrate Microsoft Office and Azure Cloud services into work integrated learning tasks, which allowed students to build applications and collaborate effectively.
In a shifting job market, it’s more important than ever for students to develop their digital skills. A quick scan of job advertisements shows that positions across various sectors call for proficiency in the use of the Microsoft Office suite, which is fully supported by Deakin.
As part of the Engineering AI Solutions unit, students learn how to use Computer Vision, a Microsoft Azure Artificial Intelligence service that allows them to embed specific features into their webcams, such as the ability to recognise faces, gender, age, and emotions.
Bahareh also uses Microsoft Teams, an industry-leading collaboration tool, to extend classroom discussions about artificial intelligence techniques. The integration of Microsoft Office skills within the curriculum, which aligns with Deakin’s graduate learning outcome of digital literacy, supports the development of our learners’ employability skillsets as they step into a competitive job market.
Digital tools for learning and teaching
Learning activities using tools such as Microsoft Teams not only make for a good resume and better employability, they can also nurture essential transferrable skills such as creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking, which are central to student success. For example students can let their creativity bloom using Sway (web authoring tool) or manage projects using Planner (project management tool).
Online collaboration can happen using Microsoft Teams and One Note (digital notebook) and learn socially through Yammer (social networking service) communities, among others. For more information on about using Microsoft Teams in teaching and learning take a look at the articles on Microsoft Teams student support and the Microsoft Teams use case library.
A key benefit in using Microsoft Office tools is that they integrate seamlessly into and complement one another. Microsoft and LinkedIn Learning offer a wealth of resources in the form of instructional videos and other resources that can help you tailor your learning pathway. Deakin staff are able to access LinkedIn Learning for free using the Deakin single sign-on.
View the Digital Learning Environments Guide for a range of digital tools available at Deakin and their pedagogical uses. Deakin staff can also access extensive training resources to support the use of digital tools in their units.