Title: The pedagogical challenge of digital literacy: reconsidering the concept – envisioning the 'curriculum' – reconstructing the school

Authors: Helen Drenoyianni, Lampros K. Stergioulas, Valentina Dagiene

Addresses: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Education, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece. ' Department of Information Systems and Computing, Brunel Univeristy, UB8 3PH, Uxbridge, UK. ' Informatics Methodology Department, Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, LT-08663, Vilnius, Lithuania

Abstract: There is no doubt that digital literacy represents one of the most significant challenges of our times. Many of the commonly accepted realisations of ||Digital Literacy|| are concerned with the indisputable part-and-parcel relation of digital literacy to the phenomenon of |digital divide|. Yet, one needs to ask: ||Which may be the components and the characteristics of such a unique |curriculum| that could be responsive to such a major socio-economical and political goal?||. This paper attempts to consider in theoretical and practical terms the process of developing an educational framework for digital literacy through the embracement of participatory, bottom-up approaches. In particular, it is argued that the multifaceted task of developing a pan-European digital literacy framework may rest upon the construction of a functional and multifaceted network of education key-stakeholders, which will enable researchers, educationalists and policy makers to pursue the vision of a realistically inclusive pedagogy and a substantially progressive school.

Keywords: digital literacy; digital divide; e-inclusion; social exclusion; inclusive pedagogy; democratic education; compulsory education; social networks; ICT literacy; democratic schools; curriculum; media education.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSHC.2008.020480

International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing, 2008 Vol.1 No.1, pp.53 - 66

Published online: 27 Sep 2008 *

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