Design Features of a Professional Development Program in Digital Literacy.
We had been together for five years before we decided to celebrate. Instead of celebrating with a party, we wrote this article to reflect on, wonder about, and consider what we have built together with the help of many willing hands, including 25 faculty colleagues from around the country and around the world. Every summer since 2013, we have worked with K 12 educators, youth media professionals, school leaders, college faculty, and librarians who share our interests in the intersection of education, information, communication, and media studies. Through designing, implementing, and assessing a professional development (PD) program, we have conceptualized digital literacy in relation to the needs of experienced adult learners whose motives for wanting to incorporate digital texts, tools, and technologies into the curriculum vary widely. Our collaborative work in digital literacy is thus located in pragmatic action focused on PD. Over time and as a result of sustained exposure to the many more than 500 adult learners who have participated in an intensive PD program at the University of Rhode Island's Summer Institute in Digital Literacy (SIDL) we have collaboratively built a joint understanding of digital literacy education. In developing the program, we have taken time to consider the interplay among elementary, secondary, higher education, and informal learning contexts, and our approach spans the disciplines of both literacy education and communication/media studies. A little context may be useful here: The first SIDL was held in July 2013, and the program has run annually since then. As a weeklong, 42hour PD program, the SIDL has enrolled participants from 25 states and 15 countries. Each year, 60 to 120 people have enrolled in the program. It was one of three PD programs showcased in the U.S. Department of Education's (2016) National Educational Technology Plan. The program has included keynote lectures from authors, educators, and activists such as Douglas Rushkoff, Howard Rheingold, Joyce Valenza, Christopher Lehman, Dan Gillmor, and Nuala and Len Cabral. During the week, participants select from among 40 workshops in which they can experiment with digital platforms, tools, and texts and learn about research and program development in digital literacy. Each afternoon, participants collaborate with a partner to develop a Design Studio project that is relevant to their needs, showcasing this work to their peers at the end of the week. A variety of facetoface and online learning activities encourage collaboration and metacognitive reflection on one's identity as an educator, learner, team member, and leader. In the summer and extending all year, the learning community shares ideas and