This chapter describes the background context for the DefT project, identifying key themes and issues which informed the work. It begins by examining the concept of digital literacy itself, looking at some of the different ways in which it has been defined and implemented. This includes a variety of existing frameworks as well as the ways in which the concept was operationalised in the project itself. Key issues relating to digital practices in school contexts are then identified and explored. The chapter then concludes with an overview of the ways in which ‘openness’ and ‘open practice in education’ is associated with digital literacies.

The sections in this Chapter include:

2.1 Literacy and Literacies: the changing perceptions, understanding and use of the term literacy.
2.2 Defining Digital Literacy: the emergence of the term digital literacy and some shared understandings of its use in current practice.
2.3 Current Digital Literacy Frameworks: frameworks that enable us to explore, describe and gain an understanding of digital literacy.
2.4. Mapping Digital Literacies in the DeFT Project: an explanatory model informed by the work of the DeFT project locating digital into a wider conception of literacies.
2.5 Digital Literacies in Education: a consideration of how practices, identities, and competences are conceptualised in education and the ways in which this might impact on learners and teachers.
2.6 Digital Literacy and Openness: digital practices, OERs, ownership, access, safety and responsibility as digital citizens.

In each section you will find references and links to additional information

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