The ‘inventor of the internet’ Robert Kahn believed that ‘new capacities emerge just by virtue of having smart people with access to state-of-the-art technology.’ To us this is the centre of digital transformation – the relationship between access, capacity, and our humanness.
Take a minute to think about this statement for a moment.
As an organisation, much work has gone into expanding Council’s access to game changer technology and there’s more still to come.
It’s also safe to say we are all acutely aware of the importance of maintaining the human elements of our interactions with and through technology.
But where are we with the other side of the digital transformation equation?
What does developing the digital literacy of the staff, communities and stakeholders who use (or do not use) our technology actually look like?
Short answer, we’re all working on it. Long answer, that’s where each of you come in.
The current state of play is we know we have gaps in digital literacy skills and the best way to address them is to commit to skills and knowledge development in this space.
We also know this is not just an ‘IT’ problem and we (Media and Communications, IT and Organisation Development teams) have come together to design and deliver a range of actions and initiatives to address this over the coming years.
To begin, we are rolling out an internal push to enhance communications about technology and digital literacy. Consider this article the official ‘flag on the moon’ moment.
This will include regular articles, resources, learning tools and support. With the articles we are aiming for edutainment (material that is educational but entertaining) and improved accessibility to information for all.
We are also building a Digital Knowledge Hub for all staff on The Source for all of these resources to live. It’s a work in progress but we will add to it as this initiative gathers steam.
Over the next few weeks we will have more to share and introduce around this, but for now I will leave you with the video below as an entrée.
Grab a coffee and settle in for the start of an alternate way of thinking about technology.
The Digital Team
Why you should treat the tech you use at work like a colleague - Nadjia Yousif
Imagine your company hires a new employee and then everyone just ignores them, day in and day out, while they sit alone at their desk getting paid to do nothing. This situation actually happens all the time - when companies invest millions of dollars in new tech tools only to have frustrated employees disregard them, says Nadjia Yousif. In this fun and practical talk, she offers advice on how to better collaborate with the technologies in your workplace - by treating them like colleagues.
