Activities (Skills and Literacies)
Activity 1
Read the following text, copy it to your Student Blog and underline hedges.
Note: ‘can’ has different meanings.
The Difference Between Knowledge and Skills: Knowing Does Not Make You Skilled
It is thought that knowledge is information acquired through sensory input: Reading, watching, listening, touching, etc. The concept of knowledge probably refers to familiarity with factual information and theoretical concepts. Knowledge can be transferred from one person to another or it can be self-acquired through observation and study.
There are many reasons to believe that skills, however, refer to the ability to apply knowledge to specific situations. Skills are developed through practice to some extent, through a combination of sensory input and output. As an example, on the basis of studies in several countries social skills are developed through interaction with people by observing, listening, and speaking with them. To our knowledge trial and error is probably the best way to achieve skills mastery.
To make it simple, knowledge is said to be theoretical and skills are said to be practical. You can know all the rules of a sport, know all the teams and all players, know all the statistics, but this only makes you knowledgeable about this sport; it does not make you any good at it. It is our view that to become good at a sport you must play it, practice its techniques, and improve your skills through experience. You don’t need to know all the teams or all the players to practice a sport and you can easily learn the rules as you play, through trial and error.
(Source: Guy Boulet (2015). https://elearningindustry.com/difference-between-knowledge-and-skills-knowing-not-make-skilled)
You should have underlined 11 words and phrases. If you are unsure about whether you have underlined the correct ones, discuss it with your fellow students.
Activity 2
Make a list of characteristics of a digitally competent student, that is, of a student who has access to and uses information and communication technologies, and has necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes towards using technology for study purposes effectively.
Your list should have 10 items. Then upload it to your Student Blog.
Activity 3
Make a list of (at least 10) criteria to be used for the evaluation of Internet information resources. It is a good idea to start by comparing reliable (with controlled content) and unreliable websites (with uncontrolled, open content).
Collaborate with your fellow students and then make a list. Once the list is ready, upload it to your Student Blog. These criteria should cover the following areas: Authority, Accuracy/Quality, Objectivity, Being up-to-date, Coverage.
Activity 4
Work together with three or four of your fellow students and make a list of different types of visual and a list of various (free) applications to be used for preparing them. You can mention examples of potential instructional uses.
Then upload it to your Student Blog. By comparing it with your fellow students’ versions, you can add more applications to your list.
| Type of visual | Software |
Special uses |
Mind map |
MindView |
Brainstorming, Organizing information |
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Activity 5
Choose 2 different chunks of content – something that is not easy to understand and/or memorize and transform them into visual content. It means you need to prepare 2 different visuals. You can prepare a concept map, a classification diagram, an infographic or whatever.
Forget all about using others’ idea. Try to be as creative as possible. It is not going to be easy, because it needs an absolutely different way of thinking. Suppose that you need to “teach” it to a fellow student, who has problems with understanding it.
Then upload it to your Student Blog.
Activity 6
Watch the short mock presentation and make a list of the mistakes the presenter has made. Don’t forget about the slides either.
When you are ready, upload it to your Student Blog.