Digital literacy in the area of development means knowing appropriate the tools and techniques to produce and transform digital artefacts with attention to quality (content in various media, instructions to machines in the form of algorithms, scripts or programs, etc.).
Literacy in the area of research and innovation means the capacity to solve problems, gather evidence and creatively engage in new forms of innovation and research using technology, such as open science, citizen science, or open innovation.
The Educational Technologies offer a regular course on information design to enhance the skills of the University's teaching and administrative staff in this area. The content of this course is also in part accessible as an online learning resource (in German).
The university offers numerous qualification opportunities to strengthen one's skills in digital production in an academic context (e.g. design thinking, writing techniques, or project management).
The Transferable Skills program offers doctoral students many opportunities to strengthen their own digital production skills (e.g., writing techniques, information design, or filmmaking).
In the Transferable Skills program, doctoral students will find opportunities to strengthen their skills in research, problem solving, and innovation (research techniques, good scientific practice, publication strategies, and career development, etc.).
The book Connected Curriculum Higher Education by Dilly Fung introduces a new concept for universities that emphasizes research, transdisciplinarity, and knowledge transfer. The book is freely accessible.
The Faculty of Psychology presents the basic principles and methods of psychological research in this introductory course. The valuable recommendations in the in-house “Tales” format are also useful for other faculties.
RISE (Research Infrastructure & Support) runs crash courses and workshops on various software that support researchers in their work. Furthermore, RISE offers advice on project planning and implementation.
The Creative Commons Foundation supports open licenses. These allow users to freely copy and distribute written information, artwork, audio and video content in a copyright-compliant manner under certain conditions. Materials under Creative Commons licenses can in some cases also be freely modified and re-distributed.
Matthew Butterick offers an introduction to typography and typesetting for English texts on his website. In addition to purely typographic issues, it includes recommendations for designing websites, PowerPoint presentations, and even résumés. The very valuable bibliography lists some of the best resources in the field.
The website of the Creative Commons Foundation includes a search engine to find images published under one of the Creative Commons licenses. These images can in most cases be freely used, modified and remixed to produce your own materials. The online learning resource Getting stated with Open Educational Resources provides further information and links on free/open images.
Many streaming and download platforms can be searched for music and audio materials published under free licenses. Such resources can in many cases be freely used when producing one’s own materials. For example, the Creative Commons Foundation has a list of useful resources for finding free music or free sound effects.
A classic book on the fundamentals of visual communication is the Handbuch visuelle Mediengestaltung (available at the university library). A comparable source in English is Graphic Design and Print Production Fundamentals: the book can be freely downloaded as an open text book in various formats.
Jean-luc Doumont, an expert in scientific communication, offers first-rate reflections and recommendations on how to design scientific materials in his book Trees, Maps, and Theorems. This book is available at the University Library.
Continue to the next literacy area: Information resources for communication, collaboration and participation