The Mozilla Foundation asks “What are the skills, competencies and literacies necessary to read, write and participate in the Web – now and in the future?”  

Thinking about this has made me reflect on areas of my life where I have tried to acquire new skills. In particular the day when I received this feedback which doesn’t accurately reflect that receiving it was one of the best days of my life.   I had been assessed as being a competent walker.

Ok, so it was a bit more than that. On 25th June 2000 I had  ’demonstrated the technical competence to lead walking parties in the mountain areas of the United Kingdom’ by the MLTB. To achieve that award I had to learn a variety of new skills: how to navigate, read weather maps, be self-sufficient in wild mountain areas, to be able to administer first aid in wilderness areas, and more importantly to be able to do so whilst looking after groups of people.

However, simply learning a set of skills does not ensure that the user can apply those skills in a variety of situations. For instance, anybody can learn to use a compass to navigate themselves around the block (and that’s how I practiced when I started), but navigating across a featureless landscape in poor visibility conditions leading a group of inexperienced walkers requires technical and personal skills which can only be acquired through experience.

Similarly, being a competent user of a particular tool or application does not demonstrate digital literacy.

I believe that the MLTB standard which applies to those who want to be able participatants in our physical planet  is just as relevant to those who want to fully participate in the  ’web planet’:

“Not only is it necessary to perform each element in isolation, it is also vital that leaders are able to combine several skills at any one time.”

and that takes experience.

In order to ensure that applicants have gained the necessary experience, the MLTS requires applicants to go through 6 stages, and I think it is worth reflecting on how those stages are designed to ensure that both skills and experience can be demonstrated.

1. Gain personal hill walking experience.

Before registering you should have at least twelve months experience of hill walking, and have experienced at least twenty quality mountain days.

2. Register and be issued with a logbook.
Prior to attending an assessment course candidates must have experienced an absolute minimum of forty quality mountain days. This experience should should include at least eight nights camping, at least four nights of which should be wild camping.

3.3 Attend a training course.
The training course is for potential leaders and assumes basic competence as a hill walker. It emphasizes those skills which a candidate may have difficulty in learning without expert guidance.

3.4 Consolidate experience (usually at least 12 months)
During the period between training and assessment, candidates are expected to gain personal experience in mountain areas. This should preferably include some practice in leading parties in easy hill country.  Prior to attending an assessment course candidates must have experienced an absolute minimum of forty quality mountain days  and should include at least eight nights camping, at least four nights of which should be wild camping.

3.5 Attend an assessment course.
Assessment courses should contain at least a two-night, three-day mountain journey of an absolute minimum of 48 hours duration. As well as demonstrating an ability to be self-reliant for consecutive days, the expedition places candidates in continuous contact with the mountain environment, creating numerous opportunities to explore all elements of the syllabus.

3.6 Continue to gain and record experience and any relevant additional training

It isn’t easy, and it isn’t a quick fix, but can you see how these stages might be mapped to the stages needed to acquire the skills and experience needed to become fluent in digital literacies?

So, to answer the question: “What are the skills, competencies and literacies necessary to read, write and participate in the Web – now and in the future?”  yes, we need people with the necessary skills, but we also need people with the experience to be able to intelligently apply those skills in a wide variety of situations many of which are, as yet, unknown.