Beyond Digital Literacy

In the article, Beyond Digital Literacy: Investigating Threshold Concepts to Foster Engagement with Digital Life in Technical Communication Pedagogy Danielle Mollie Stambler (James Madison University), Nupoor Rande (Carnegie Mellon University), Daniel L. Hocutt (University of Richmond), Stephen Fonash (Pennsylvania State University), Jessica Lynn Campbell (University of Central Florida), Ann Hill Duin (University of Minnesota), Isabel Pedersen (Ontario Tech University), Jason Tham (Texas Tech University), Saveena (Charika) Veeramoothoo (University of Houston-Downtown) and Gustav Verhulsdonck (Central Michigan University) argue for a significant shift in technical and professional communication (TPC) education. They contend digital literacy extends beyond technical skills to encompass the broader socio technical context in which technology operates, including technological and rhetorical aspects, as well as social dimensions.

Stambler et al (2024) argue for moving beyond traditional, tools-based approaches to digital literacy, advocating instead for the integration of “threshold concepts” that immerse students in the complex, interconnected dynamics of thinking, learning, and interacting in a digitally mediated world. This shift is essential, they say, for preparing students to navigate a posthuman digital landscape, where advancements in data analytics, AI, and immersive technologies make digital interactions more seamless and invisible.  From this perspective, the authors emphasize that educators can guide students in understanding humans and technologies co-create experiences and knowledge in this evolving environment.

As they state: “A posthumanist perspective means understanding that the assemblage of humans and nonhumans intersecting in networked ways extends through and beyond workplaces. For us, these divergent directions underscore the need for a move toward digital life as a framework.”

The authors, part of the Building Digital Literacy cluster at the Digital Life Institute, used collaborative autoethnography (CAE) to analyze personal reflections from 12 instructors teaching digital literacy. The study focused on using Fabric, a digital framework for analyzing and contemplating how media and technology become embedded in everyday life, to explore threshold concepts in TPC pedagogy by analyzing instructor experiences to identify common themes and insights into digital literacy. Their research identified key characteristics of threshold concepts in TPC pedagogy, including the importance of being inventive, adaptive, collaborative, reflective, and embodied.

What is interesting about this approach is that the authors view digital literacy as a continuous, evolving process without a fixed endpoint or completion benchmark. As such, their inquiry is both reflexive and intentionally ambiguous, allowing flexibility in addressing various goals. This process is designed to be adaptable and applicable to a wide range of teaching contexts within technical and professional communication (TPC).

The study concludes that integrating threshold concepts into TPC digital literacy pedagogy enhances students’ ability to navigate complex sociotechnical landscapes, fostering critical and ethical engagement with digital life. It also calls for further research to explore practical applications of these concepts and advocates for collaborative autoethnography as a valuable approach to pedagogical research. As emergent technologies become more deeply embedded in our digital lives, the authors emphasize the need for TPC professionals to develop interdisciplinary knowledge that encompasses not only technical proficiency but also an understanding of how these technologies shape communication, social interactions, and cultural dynamics.