News and events

The University of Basel is committed to help its members strengthen their digital skills. In order to study or work successfully at the University of Basel, they should have the appropriate level of digital skills and literacy. To help them reach this goal, the University provides learning resources and support.

The Framework Digital Literacies has been developed by the team Educational Technologies to serve as a common ground. It entails precise definitions, establishes a common language and helps evaluating knowledge and skills.

The Framework has been updated this spring. Next to new names for the literacy areas and formal improvements, the use of AI-based tools has now been included as part of the digital skillset.

Teachers as well as administrative staff members can use the framework to define learning objectives or to estimate the skill level that is required to perform certain activities and tasks.

The six areas of digital literacy are:

• General ICT proficiency
• Information, data and media literacies
• Research, development and innovation
• Communication, collaboration and participation
• Learning and teaching
• Identity, safety and well-being

The Framework as well as the “Digital Skills” web portal that is structured according to it can be found here.

The series “Getting started with...” offers basic recommendations and practical tips and tricks on several central areas of digital skills. The following issues are now online:

• Digital learning
• Digital assessment
• Alternative tools
• Software literacy
• Online and hybrid meetings

The publication of “Getting started with digital security” will happen soon: stay tuned!

For teachers and instructors of the University of Basel:
In the spring term, the team Educational Technologies offers several training courses on how to strengthen your digital skills as well as those of your students:

• Opening Higher Education - How to strengthen university teaching with open educational resources: The aim of this course is to explore the new forms of knowledge transmission and new forms of learning made possible by digitalization. (in English)
• Informationsdesign – Gestaltung von Präsentationsfolien, Postern, Berichten und Handouts: This course teaches the basics of information design and its implications for the design of teaching and information materials in digital and print.
• Designing digital activities for student engagement: In this course you will learn to engage students online, both in synchronous and asynchronous settings, and to support the learning of complex ideas and challenging issues. (in English)

You will find more information as well as the registration forms on this page.

In the past months, AI-based tools have received a growing amount of public attention. Questions have emerged about the use of such tools in teaching. To support its teaching teams, the University of Basel has put together various resources, including a course on AI in teaching and Citing AI tools, a document for students that provides guidelines on how to cite generative tools.

For teachers, the central entry point is the Intranet page “AI in teaching” (accessible to University members only).
 
The Project Digital Literacies has also updated some of its resources. On this web portal, you will find recommendations about valuable internet pages and interesting documents on what AI-based tools are and  on how to use them wisely. Check in particular

• our Information Resources on ICT Proficiency
• our Information Resources for Learning and Teaching

Moreover, the Framework Digital Literacies is currently being updated to include AI literacy among basic digital skills. More information will soon appear on this page.