LD@3 – What does “digital confidence” look like to us?

Using a mapping activity and group discussion, this LD@3 workshop will initiate conversation and reflection on what digital confidence looks like, how this differs from digital competence, and whether we might need to specifically support the growth of digital confidence within learning development. Digital confidence is a concept increasingly discussed across Further and Higher Education in the past decade (Bancroft, Challen and Pearce, 2024), but there is so far little in the way of a shared understanding of what it is or how it operates with related concepts such as digital competence, capabilities, or literacies.

We invited attendees to come together and puzzle out what it means to us in our respective practice contexts, and explore the idea that explicitly building digital confidence could be key to ensuring all staff and students feel empowered when navigating uncertainties and change in the technological and educational landscape (Bancroft, et al., 2025). Attendees will use a collaborative digital tool to complete a mapping activity which supports the development of ideas about digital confidence, along with an invitation to continue the conversation beyond the session for those who would like to share more.

References:

Bancroft, R., Challen, R. and Pearce, R. (2024) ‘Searching for a shared understanding of digital confidence in a tertiary context: a scoping review’, Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (30). Available at: https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi30.1061

Bancroft, R., Witham, B., Challen, R., and Neylon. A. (2025). What digital confidence practice and research has taught us about supporting digital change. In Syska, A., Buckley, B., Sedghi, G. Grayson, N. (Eds.) Transformative Practice in Higher Education: Innovative Approaches to Teaching and Learning. Routledge. pp. 177-185.

Presenters:

Rachel Bancroft and Bethany Witham (Nottingham Trent University)