Digital projects and assignments

Welcome to our guide for digital projects and assignments. We hope it will serve as inspiration for those creating and implementing digital projects and assignments in the classroom. If you have any questions or would like support please contact the librarian listed on this guide or our Digital Scholarship Hub. 

• They allow for the implementation and integration of multimedia artifacts.
• They encourage creativity, which allows students to incorporate their own ideas, identities, previous knowledge, and questions. 
• They have a wider audience, which gives students ownership and responsibility over their content. This encourages students to create better work.
• They help students develop digital literacy skills that will be useful for their lives outside of the classroom.
• Creation are long lasting, which allows students to create digital scholarship portfolio.  

According to a digital literacies guide by Jisc, "digital literacies are those capabilities which fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society". There are seven elements of digital literacies:

• Media literacy
• Communications and collaboration
• Career and identity management
• ICT literacy
• Learning skills
• Digital scholarship
• Information literacy 

In addition to gaining skills related to the seven elements, becoming digitally literate can help foster adaptability and ability to learning new skills or dealing with new situations. The project ideas listed in this guide address many of the elements mentioned above.  

• Design digitally: Do not try to adapt a print project to a digital medium; instead, conceive your project digitally so it can make the best use of the opportunities digital tools afford. 
• Scaffold: Build small stake goals for students to accomplish before handing in the final project. 
• If introducing a new technology, have in-class training of that technology. 
• Group work may help alleviate concerns regarding technology. 
• Make sure your grading rubric includes the evaluation of elements concerning the use of technology. 

Suggested reading: 12 Steps for Creating a Digital Assignment or Hybrid Class