Build Your Digital Toolkit – a First-year Induction Workshop
Students now have diverse free literacy-supporting apps, blurring the line between assistive and general tech. MTU’s Build Your Digital Toolkit workshop, embedded in first-year modules, helps students curate personalised digital tools, introducing key apps and their uses. This session will share MTU’s approach and invite participant insights.
Students now have access to a wide range of literacy-supporting software and apps, many of which offer a free version. Additionally, the distinction between ‘assistive’ technology (aimed at people with disabilities) and general technology is becoming increasingly blurred. The development of a personally curated array of digital tools to meet the individual needs of each student is an essential task that has received little attention to date.
At MTU we have delivered a short, embedded workshop, Build Your Digital Toolkit, in several first-year classes in response to this issue. The workshop introduces students to a small range of essential software and apps and provides recommendations about their most effective use and limitations. The workshop has been well received by students and lecturers.
This session will describe the MTU approach to universal technology guidance and invite participants to share their own approaches and experiences.