Elinet Reports on Digital Literacy

Research on digital literacy for children 

• Rohlfing, K. J., & Müller-Brauers, C. (Eds.). (2021). International Perspectives on Digital Media and Early Literacy. Routledge. 
• Byrne, J., Kardefelt-Winther, D., Livingstone, S., Stoilova, M. (2016). Global Kids Online Research Synthesis, 2015-2016. UNICEF Office of Research Innocenti and London School of Economics and Political Science. 
• Livingstone, S., Mascheroni. G. & Staksrud E. (2015). Developing a Framework for Researching Children’s Online Risks and Opportunities in Europe, EU Kids Online, London.  
• Kumpulainen, K. and Gillen, J. (2017) Young Children’s Digital Literacy Practices in the Home: A Review of the Literature. 

• Kontovourki, S., Garoufallou, E., Ivarsson, L., Klein, M., Korkeamaki,R.L., Koutsomiha, D., Marci- Boehncke, G., Tafa, E. and Virkus, S. (2017) Digital Literacy in the Early Years: Practices in Formal Settings, Teacher Education, and the Role of Informal Learning Spaces: A Review of the Literature. COST ACTION IS1410.

• O’Neill, B., Dinh, T. (2018). The Better Internet for Kids Policy Map: Implementing the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children in European Member States. 
• Mascheroni, G., Livingstone, S., Dreier, M. and Chaudron, S. (2016) Learning versus play or learning through play? How parents’ imaginaries, discourses and practices around ICTs shape children’s (digital) literacy practices. Media Education: Studies and Research, 7(2): 261-280. 
• Livingstone, S., & Third, A. (2017). Children and young people’s rights in the digital age: An emerging agenda. New Media & Society, 19(5), 657–670.
• Buckingham, D. (2010). Defining Digital Literacy. What Young People Need to Know About Digital Media. In: Bachmair B. (eds) Medienbildung in neuen Kulturräumen. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
• Livingstone, S. & Bulger, N. E. (2013). A Global Agenda for Children’s Rights in the Digital Age: Recommendations for developing UNICEF’s research strategy, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti, Florence.
• JRC, European Commission: Young Children (0-8) and Digital Technology A qualitative study across Europe (2018). 
• Alexander, B., Adams Becker, S., and Cummins, M. (2016). Digital Literacy: An NMC Horizon Project Strategic Brief. Volume 3.3, October 2016. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Part 1 and Part 2.
• UNESCO: Media and Information LIteracy: Policy and Strategy Guidelines (2013)

Policy documents on digital literacy in general

• UNESCO: Global Framework of Reference on Digital Literacy Skills for Indicator 4.4.2 (2018). 
• Council of Europe: Digital Citizenship Education: 10 Domains (2018), Short brochure with a 10 DL domains divided in 3 areas, useful inspiration for a possible DL framework for children 
• UNESCO: Building tomorrow’s digital skills – what conclusions can we draw from international comparative indicators? (2017). Based on five international studies, contains an international benchmark of the factors underlying to the level of skills (distinguishing youth and adults), some lessons learnt, and a set of best practice initiatives and policies identified among top performing countries.
• European Commission: DigComp 2.1: The Digital Competence Framework for Citizens with eight proficiency levels and examples of use (2017). A detailed and comprehensive Digital Competences Framework aimed at inspiring all EU countries. Does not distinguish between children and adults.
• ITU Broadband Commission Working Group on Education: Digital skills for life and work (2017). Providing a good overview of the digital skills and competences terminology and debate, plus some recommendations to implement DL policies
• OECD: Which skills for the digital era? (2018) and also Skills for a digital world (2016) and New skills for the digital economy (2016). Contains the OECD position on the needed skills for the digital age and some guidelines for policy making in the field of digital literacy. It does not consider children specificities.
• ITU: Digital Skills Toolkit (2018), a very practical set of tools and guidelines targeted to policy makers and stakeholders who want to develop a digital skills strategy at country level. It does not target children specifically, but provides a few examples of initiatives targeting youth.
• EU: Report on education in the digital era: challenges, opportunities and lessons for EU policy design (2018), some good points in here, e.g. the need for better policy; a more strategic and coordinated approach to digital skills training, assessment, funding; a lifelong learning approach; balanced use of technology by children; more research needed in neurological impacts of tech usage; etc.

Guidelines on digital literacy for citizens

• Council of Europe: Internet Literacy Handbook (2018)
• Building digital capability online self assessment tool and guidelines by JISC, UK, targeting mainly higher education students

 

Repositories of digital literacy initiatives

• European Commission: DigComp into Action: Get inspired, make it happen. A user guide to the European Digital Competence Framework (2018), a collection of 38 existing inspiring practices of DigComp implementations
• O’Neill, B., Dinh, T. (2018). The Better Internet for Kids Policy Map: Implementing the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Children in European Member States collects eight initiatives on DL (focussing on internet safety) from EU countries (see from pag 64).
• Digital Skills & Jobs Coalition initiatives repository, a repository of Europe’s best digital skills projects. The repository is searchable by target group and keyword, making this a valuable resource to find projects targeting children and youth.
• The Digital Inclusion Newslog by the ITU, also searchable by topic and target group of initiatives. This database lists plenty of initiatives, most of which are nevertheless not large enough for our study.

ITU Broadband Commission Working Group on Education: Digital skills for life and work (2017), containing with nine case studies of successful initiatives, including 6 targeted to children).

Policy documents on digital literacy for children

• Council of Europe: Guidelines to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment (2018)
• Council of Europe: Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)7 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on Guidelines to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child in the digital environment (2018) 
• UNICEF State of the World’s Children: Children in a Digital World (2017) 6 key actions/areas, one of which is digital literacy and skills
• UNICEF Policy guide on children and digital connectivity (June 2018) More on the 6 key actions/areas from SoWC, plus some text defining DL 
• Raising Learning Outcomes: the opportunities and challenges of ICT for learning (Sept 2018)
• Less relevant but containing reflections and cases on DL: Discussion paper “Access to the internet and digital literacy” (2017) and Young and Online: Children’s perspectives on life in the digital age, the SoWC 2017 Companion Report (2017)

Research on Pedagogical Practice in the classroom