Estimated study time: 50 minutes
From the discussion in the previous section, it’s evident that educators must engage with digital literacy and promote its practices among students. So, it may surprise you to learn that ‘There is little agreement about what constitutes digital literacy in academic literature or pedagogic practice. Whereas conventional literacy skills are well-established, digital literacy skills are ‘diverse and less clearly defined’ (Neumann, Finger and Neumann, 2017, p.475). In a moment, you will consider why this concept has been difficult to define, and why a consensus on this term still eludes scholars. However, it will first be useful for you to articulate your own understanding of the term.
Task 1 [10 minutes]
How do you understand the term ‘digital literacy’?
What comes to your mind when you think of the term ‘digital literacy’? How do you understand the concept? You will need a text editor (like Word) or a pen and note paper. Follow these steps:
Well done! Keep your notes handy, as you will revisit them later on in this course. |
Task 2 [40 minutes]
Reading: Considering the various terms for digital literacy
Digital literacy is variously described as computer literacy, technological fluency, network literacy, information literacy, media literacy and design literacy. These range from simply knowing how to use digital tools to critique and creation. However, ‘…the exact nature of the concepts remains inadequately defined’ (van Dijk and van Deursen, 2014, p.21). Moreover, these terms are often used interchangeably, confusing educators looking to inform their classroom practice. Understanding digital literacy is further complicated because ‘the spaces, texts and tools which contextualise such practices are continually changing’ (Pangrazio, 2016, p.163).
Look at the word cloud in the image. All of these are terms that have been used to describe digital literacy at different points. How many of these terms are you familiar with? Which ones are less familiar? Make a note of them. Some of these concepts will be made clearer in the subsequent reading. |
Read Chapter 4: The history of ‘digital literacy’ in the thesis What is ‘digital literacy?’ (Belshaw, 2011, p.70-92). This chapter gives a brief overview of the various terms associated with digital literacy, while discussing the historical contexts of their emergence. As you read, note the various concepts, especially any which may be less familiar.
Belshaw, D.A.J., 2011. Chapter 4: The history of ‘digital literacy’ In: What is ‘digital literacy’? A thesis submitted in 2011 to the Department of Education at Durham University for the degree of Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Connected Learning Alliance, pp.70-92.
Belshaw, D.A.J., 2011. Chapter 4: The history of ‘digital literacy’ In: What is ‘digital literacy’? A thesis submitted in 2011 to the Department of Education at Durham University for the degree of Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Connected Learning Alliance, pp.70-92.
The rest of this course focusses on an urgent need to broaden the understanding of ‘digital literacy’ in education, from the narrow teaching of technological literacy or ‘operational proficiency’ (Pangrazio, 2016, p.163) to encompass more critical concepts including information literacy and media literacy.
This course does not attempt to arrive at any absolute description of what digital literacy ought to be. Lankshear and Knobel (2015) point out the futility of trying to define ‘digital literacy’ as a specific and finite concept. This is because, from a sociocultural perspective, there are multiple social practices requiring different types of literacies. To illustrate their point, they propose the example of doing an internet search. Using an online search to write a scholarly article is obviously very different from looking up a recipe for your favourite cocktail and requires a different set of skills. ‘Rather than conceiving digital literacy as some unitary phenomenon it is better to think in terms of diverse digital literacies’ (Lankshear and Knobel, 2015, p.8). Therefore, moving forward in this course, rather than trying to arrive at a single definition of ‘digital literacy’ or even ‘critical digital literacy’, we will consider various terms that are closely aligned.
While the course does not provide an exhaustive discussion of all definitions, it critiques the most prevalent ones and suggests broadening current educational practice to encompass wider definitions. While these broader conceptions of literacy are not new (Martin and Madigan, 2006), the reality is that educational practice often lags behind.
This course does not attempt to arrive at any absolute description of what digital literacy ought to be. Lankshear and Knobel (2015) point out the futility of trying to define ‘digital literacy’ as a specific and finite concept. This is because, from a sociocultural perspective, there are multiple social practices requiring different types of literacies. To illustrate their point, they propose the example of doing an internet search. Using an online search to write a scholarly article is obviously very different from looking up a recipe for your favourite cocktail and requires a different set of skills. ‘Rather than conceiving digital literacy as some unitary phenomenon it is better to think in terms of diverse digital literacies’ (Lankshear and Knobel, 2015, p.8). Therefore, moving forward in this course, rather than trying to arrive at a single definition of ‘digital literacy’ or even ‘critical digital literacy’, we will consider various terms that are closely aligned.
While the course does not provide an exhaustive discussion of all definitions, it critiques the most prevalent ones and suggests broadening current educational practice to encompass wider definitions. While these broader conceptions of literacy are not new (Martin and Madigan, 2006), the reality is that educational practice often lags behind.
Additional reading (optional)
Brown, M., 2017. The Challenge of Digital Literacy: Beyond Narrow Skills to Critical Mindsets [blog]. LinkedIn Pulse. Available through
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/challenge-digital-literacy-beyond-narrow-skills-critical-mark-brown/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/challenge-digital-literacy-beyond-narrow-skills-critical-mark-brown/
Digital literacy for digital futures: Key implications for educators by Neenaz Ichaporia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.