Digital identity and wellbeing

Digital identity

Digital identity is how you develop and project a digital identity – or several identities – and how you manage your digital reputation. It is the capacity to develop and project a positive digital identity or identities and to manage digital reputation (personal, professional or organisational) across a range of platforms. An understanding of the reputational benefits and risks involved in digital participation. An understanding around inclusion aspects relating to opportunities for developing digital identities

Digital wellbeing

Digital wellbeing is about the impact on you of using digital devices, tools, services and systems. It relates to how you look after your personal health, safety, relationships and work-life balance in digital settings. An understanding of the ways in which digital tools and services can both support additional needs or have negative impacts around inclusion

In practice:

• Understanding the importance of our identities in online and digital spaces, including associated regulation.
• Being able to engage with the tools and services to work more efficiently and productively, enabling you to improve how you manage your work-life balance.
• Develop confidence in your own abilities and understanding you can reduce anxiety relating to the digital aspects of your work.

In teaching:

• Being able to engage with the tools and services to work more efficiently and productively, enabling you to manage better your work life balance.
• Develop confidence in your own abilities and understanding you can reduce anxiety relating to the digital aspects of your teaching.
• Understand this in relation to your students and enable them to better manage their wellbeing.
• Understand the importance of identity across digital spaces and promote secure and heathy practices relating to your teaching.

In learning:

• Understand the importance of identity across digital spaces and promote secure and heathy practices.
• Develop confidence in your own abilities and understanding you can reduce anxiety relating to the online and digital aspects of your life as a student.

The 3E framework can add an additional (optional) nuance to the examples presented. The framework consists of three descriptors: Enhance, Extend, and Empower. These should be seen more as degrees of engagement rather than levels of attainment and it will be more contextual as to which might be the most appropriate for a given circumstance. These should not be seen as levels of achievement where to reach the next level you must first attain the previous.

The enhance component of the framework focuses on increased productivity. Extend goes deeper and focuses on more collaborative practice and working beyond the obvious. Finally, empower highlights innovative practice often involving others in a creative way. Even the same task performed by different people, or the same person at different times may require a different degree of engagement.

Take a look at the examples below for this dimension of the Jisc digital capability framework. Can you think of some other examples which better relate to your own context and practice? You can also use the Discovery Tool to conduct a self-audit of your skills, generating a report with recommendations of resources and developmental opportunities mapped against your own desired developmental outcomes.

Enhance:

• Be actively aware of the need for maintaining and managing online security for both yourself and others. This includes assessing your digital footprint and setting personally appropriate boundaries and limits around the use of technology, including social media.

Extend:

• Be actively aware of the needs of others online and be mindful of their identity and how you might impact them.
• Look at more sophisticated ways to manage and safeguard individual and group identity online.
• Interact and collaborate online in a way that recognises that different people have different needs regarding digital wellbeing.

Empower:

• Contribute to the creation and maintenance of an environment which empowers people to manage and protect their individual or shared digital identities, taking into account any associated regulations.
• Adapt and combine a set of digital tools and systems to create a working environment that protects and enhances your wellbeing, and/or that of others.

Discovery Tool

Assess your digital capabilities with the Discovery Tool. It aims to aid understanding and self-reflection and then highlights opportunities for you to develop your skills. Answer questions relating to your digital skills, understanding and confidence to receive a personalised report. The report provides details of your digital capability levels across various themes and highlights relevant resources, including specially curated resources by OD&PL. The Discovery Tool is based upon the six elements of the Jisc digital capabilities framework.

Case studies

There are some great examples of how the Discovery Tool has been implemented across the sector, find out more by exploring the JISC implementation case studies. We are interested in hearing about your applications of using the Discovery Tool amongst departments, services and with your students.  If you are interested in spotlighting an example of your practice, then please do get in touch: academicdev@leeds.ac.uk.

Further Guidance

• Digital Educations Systems Help site - For how-to guides and practical support in using tools, visit the Digital Educations Systems Help site.
• IT Services - For technical support and to request assistance, visit the IT Services websiteusing your university username and password to log in.
• Organisational Development & Professional Learning (OD&PL) – You can find further development opportunities related to your personal and professional development on the OD&PL website. This includes information about staff and student access to a free LinkedIn Learning
• Embedding into the Curriculum - For support with embedding digital capabilities into the curriculum please discuss with your Faculty Digital Education Enhancement Teams.

Related networks and Communities of Practice

There are several networks and communities of practice at Leeds which can support you and your practice. A list of staff networks on the For Staff website is available, as well as a list of student education networks and communities on the OD&PL Student Education Development website.