As a frame of reference I will discuss the present situation in Norway where new national curriculum states that digital literacy is as important as reading, writing and numeracy. This raises many issues on knowledge creation and the way we think about schooling. The paper presents a conceptual discussion about digital literacy and its historical developments. In addition some data will be presented which outlines contextual factors for the use of ICT in schools as a framework for implementing digital literacy in school curricula. The objective of this paper is to raise some awareness about what 'digital literacy' is, and start some discussion on its implications for the epistemological foundation of schooling and different subject domains.
indicate the overall national agenda for scaling up activities using digital media in Norwegian schools. The three phases are also expressed in specific ‘action plans’ from the Ministry of Education.
The first phase, from 1996 until the end of 1999, was mainly concerned with the
implementation of computers into Norwegian schools. There was less interest in the
educational context. In the next pha
One immediate challenge in these developments has been the balance between ‘topdown’ and ‘bottom-up’ strategies. One element has been to commit the Ministry of Education in developing ICT in Norwegian schools, another has been to get schools to use ICT more actively. The latter has been more difficult, with too much pressure from ‘the top’ (governmental agencies) initiating projects, without too much happening at ‘the bottom’ (in the classroom). In the last 3-4 years this has changed in the sense that more schools start activities themselves.
As a consequence of such processes a discussion on knowledge creation on a national level has come to the surface in Norway. Some argue, based on PISA results, that knowledge in the basic skills of reading, writing and numeracy has a priority, while others argue that our conception of knowledge is under transition (Østerud 2004). An interesting compromise has been that digital literacy and the ability to use digital tools has been written into the new national curriculum, and defined as important as reading, writing and numeracy. The implication is that all students on all levels and in all subjects should use and relate to digital media in their learning processes in Norwegian schools. The emphasis is mainly on skills in using the technology, but imply also broader issues of competence such as evaluating sources critically when using the Internet and using ICT to collaborate.
In addition the Ministry of Education has initiated a specific ‘Program for digital competence 2004-2008’, with different research and development work on different levels in the education system.
What is digital literacy?
The conceptual development of literacy and technology goes back to the ‘New
Literacy Studies’ in the 1970s and 1980s. Several researchers at that time
In the new curriculum in Norway it is unclear what is meant by digital literacy, and they often use the term ’using digital tools’ as curriculum goal. In the White Paper, making the framework for the curriculum, it is described as;
Digital literacy is the sum of simple ICT skills, like being able to read, write and calculate,
and more advanced skills that makes creative and critical use of digital tools and media
possible. ICT skills consist of being able to use software, to search, locate, transform and
control information from different digital sources, while the critical and creative ability also
needs an ability to evaluate, critical use of sources, interpretation and analysis of digital genres
and media forms. In total digital literacy can be seen as a very complex competence. (2004:48,
my translation)
In a recent book
Digital literacy relates to both an ability to operate technological applications and to use technology to accomplish personal and collective needs. In this sense, it raises important questions about new digital divides in the population, between the ones who knows how to operate the technology and the ones who do not, and between the ones who use the technology to gain relevant knowledge for education and the ones who use it for other purposes.
Important perspectives on this broader cultural issue can be found in the literature
about the changing features of literacy in our culture
The different definitions and conceptions of technology literacy and fluency have
been related to certain frameworks and the development of standards for educational
practices. In January 2001, the Educational Testing Service (ETS), in the U.S.,
assembled a panel to develop a workable framework for ICT Literacy. The outcome
was the report Digital Transformation. A Framework for ICT Literacy (ETS, 2002).
Building on this document one might, as the Australian authorities have done
The concepts mentioned can be described as; Item Description Access knowing about and knowing how to collect and/or retrieve information Manage applying an existing organizational or classification scheme Integrate interpreting and representing information. It involves summarizing, comparing and contrasting Evaluate making judgments about the quality, relevance, usefulness, or efficiency of information Create generating information by adapting, applying, designing, inventing, or authoring information Communicate processing information in a way that highlights main points and process it to others (Figure 1: Key items of ICT-literacy as defined by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in the U.S..) All of these terms are oriented towards information handling. They also relate to the issues of problem solving and self-regulation. This consists of more general competencies that are not connected to specific subjects in school or specific contents in subjects. They can be taught and are not only related to what is learned in school settings, but also to situations outside the school.
Similar points are made in the report by the National Research Council (NRC) in the U.S. with the title Being Fluent with Information Technology (1999). Fluency in Information Technology (“FITness”) covers three types of knowledge: i. contemporary skills: “the ability to use particular (and contemporary) hardware or software resources to accomplish information processing tasks.” (ibid.: 18) Naturally these skills will change over time as hardware and software evolve. ii. foundational concepts: “the basic principles and ideas of computers, networks, and information.” (ibid.: 2-3) These include computer structure, information systems, networks, modelling, algorithmic thinking and programming, the limitations of IT and its social impact. iii. intellectual capabilities, which “integrate knowledge specific to information technology with problem domains of personal interest to individuals.” (ibid.: 20) These are general thinking skills which might be recognisable in many disciplines, and include sustained reasoning, managing complexity, testing solutions, evaluating information, collaboration, anticipating change and expecting the unexpected.
The concept of fluency used in this report (1999:9) connotes the ability to reformulate knowledge, to express oneself creatively and appropriately, and to produce and generate information (rather than simply to comprehend it).
Other frameworks have used ‘digital competence’ as an overall term. One example is
the working group on “key competences” of the European Commission ‘Education
and Training 2010’. This programme identifies digital competence as one of the eight
domains of key competences, defining it as “the confident and critical use of
Information Society Technologies for work, leisure and communication.”
In addition, it is important to stress that technology literacy and fluency is related to situational embedding, that is, the use of technology within life situations. To understand such processes we have to look at different contexts where literacy is practiced and given meaning. This is especially important when relating it to how children and young persons use digital technologies.
Voices of multi-literacies
In order to communicate and make sense of the world we use different kinds of
mediational means. Many researchers from different perspectives have been interested
in this phenomenon. Related to learning and development, the perspective of most
immediate relevance is the socio-cultural perspective first developed by Russian
psychologists during the 1920s -30s. I will briefly highlight four elements of
relevance to my discussion about digital literacy and how we conceptualize this term.
The first is the importance of studying the tools and resources used for human
development in social practices. Any culture incorporates a number of different tools,
or what many call artefacts. In order to study the culture you need to grasp the
knowledge and ideas build into the developments of certain tools or artefacts.
Development of material resources goes hand in hand with the development of ideas
and intellectual knowledge (
The second point, based on this socio-cultural perspective, is that learning is studied
as an interdependence between collective and individual processes in specific
situations. Learning is first evolving as a social process through communication, and
later on, at an individual level
The third point of relevance indicates that the way we organize and understand
learning changes over time according to broader cultural change. Again this is in
contrast to most other theories of learning. These changes could be both the result of
developments in tool structures, and related to broader social and cultural
developments, for example the changing roles of youth in society over time. It has
been common to describe youth as innovators of new technologies. Youth is the first
group in society to take up new technologies and use them in social practice. By doing
so they also get an important role for diffusion of innovations in society.
The fourth element is the concept of ‘mediated action’ elaborated on by James
One could focus on the emergence and influence of a new mediational means in sociocultural
history where forces of industrialization and technological development come into play. An
important instance of the latter sort is what has happened to social and psychological processes with
the appearance of modern computers. Regardless of the particular case or the genetic domain
involved, the general point is that the introduction of a new mediational means creates a kind of
imbalance in the systemic organization of mediated action, an imbalance that sets off changes in
other elements such as the agent and changes in mediated action in general. (ibid. p. 43)
The point to infer is that modern technologies are important cultural tools to take into
consideration, and that they have broad cultural and social implications. In this sense
new technologies cannot only be seen as a continuation of old technologies like the
typewriter or a calculating machine, like most teachers do
The points made above indicate the importance of studying how new technologies
represent new cultural tools that create new meaning structures. These tools create
new possibilities for how people relate to each other, how knowledge is defined in
negotiation between actors and also how it changes our conception of learning
environments in which actors negotiate meaning. Empowerment is related to the
active use of different tools, with persons that have the competence and power to use
them. All this comes together in the term multi-literacies
According to the national monitor in Norway
One problem in Norway has been that teachers do not use available computers much
in their own teaching. The tendency has been that teachers mainly use computers and
the Internet for preparing their teaching and not actually in the classroom. When we
ask the students how much they use computers in school activities during an average
week 54% say that it is about 1 hour or less, and 17% say never at all
Another issue is that students and teachers relate to technology in different ways.
When we asked students and teachers what they use computers for both at school and
outside the school the results show that teachers have a more limited usage of
information- and communication technologies than their students. The students often
(daily or 2-5 times a week) use ICT for different purposes, like writing, surfing on the
Internet, sending e-mails, chatting, downloading music, playing games and making
web-pages. But for the teachers almost 90% use ICT for writing, sending e-mail,
seeking after information on the Internet or surfing for entertainment purposes. But
they almost never use ICT to download music, chatting and playing games. Teachers
use ICT mainly as an extension of technologies they already know, like the
typewriter, calculator, writing letters and searching for information. Young people use the
new technologies to seek out new possibilities of use. Teachers often have negative
opinions of such ICT usage, but they speak less out of personal experience and more
out of a general expectation. At the same time we see that many teachers have a
positive attitude towards computers and the impact it might have on students learning
When working with teachers it often becomes evident that teachers’ attitudes and
convictions towards their own practice is hard to break. As one teacher told us in an
interview at the beginning of one project
My students learned much more before these new technologies were introduced. I had long
experience with teaching and know what works. New teaching method
My girls are academically weak because they both have dyslexia and during the years in primary school they have struggled all the time with not being able to prove themselves in any subject oriented way. I think it was incredibly positive for them to come here . . . to be able to work on computers and film and edit and such things. They have done a bit of that at home before, so they had knowledge that the other students could get from them, and through that they got a higher status in the group. So for them it has been like . . . I don’t know . . . almost like a new life. It is very important that they gain ownership of their work. I think that is one of the keys to create engagement. For adults it is like this, and I do not think this is different for children. (Mother) From a few projects we can see some interesting results of how digital literacy is having an impact in school settings, and how the learning environment is defined. However, in the majority of projects in a Norwegian setting it is very unclear what actual changes in learning activities that are going on.
A lot of focus these days is on changing the role of schools in our society in order to make them better adjusted to the challenges of the knowledge society. In several countries this is both related to strengthening basic skills in core subjects and advocating the need for digital literacy. How this will come out in practical learning activities in schools is still an open question.
The digital divide has been discussed, but only on a very superficial level. Either it has been linked to differences in access to technology, gender issues or the information flow in our world. But what kinds of differences is related to the competence of using new technologies, to know how to navigate on the information ‘highway’ on the Internet, to create, to communicate and so forth. This is where issues of digital literacy and empowerment come in.
By studying digital literacy it becomes evident that young people gain most of their competence outside the formal institutions of knowledge building. Thus, digital literacy among young people today is of direct relevance to discussions about learning in schools, and it seriously confronts earlier conceptions of literacy and learning. Our societies have also become characterized by cultural complexity and knowledge building processes that challenges our education system.
One basic problem in this is the gap between the school as a learning arena and media use outside of schools. There will always be a gap between these two settings. The issue is though, that the experiences and the competencies that young people make outside of schools become increasingly important related to learning processes. However, the school as an institution with all its standards and norms, and the teachers’ habitus has been a barrier for including new media and technologies in school settings. This is still a challenge in order to reach the ambition of digital literacy in schools.