Reflections on Digital Literacy

Parallel to the societal diffusion of digital technologies, the debate on their impacts and requirements has created terms like ICT literacy, digital literacy or digital competence. This paper intends to sketch some of the broader framing conditions for discussing the conceptualisation of digital literacy. It refers to selected implications and challenges when trying to document or even measure the performance of dealing with digital technologies in our society. The argumentation starts from a sociological perspective and positions digital literacy in the intersection of various societal discourses, which shape the connotations and implications of the term. Depending on these connotations, the concepts of technology, the settings and the level of analysis, a number of possible methods for observing digital literate activities might arise. (1) Knowledge and information have become essential factors of production besides the traditional factors land, labour and capital. These "new" economic factors are directly linked to digital technologies which store, process and distribute information in order to create knowledge. If the EU intends to "become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion" (EU Council 2000), and research clearly indicates that there is a positive correlation between economic growth and educational outcome, the educational systems have to adapt to these Proceedings of the 3rd International workshop on Digital Literacy