The need for teachers to engage with digital literacies at all stages of education has been articulated in numerous policy documents and directives in many parts of the world in a drive to transform the ‘information society of today’ into the ‘learning society of tomorrow’ (Bruce 2004: 5). Preparing teachers to be part of this transformation and encouraging them to operate effectively with digital literacies in an ever changing technological landscape presents a number of challenges.

In this chapter we look at some of the driving and constraining forces in teacher education in the 21^st century including professional development and implications for practice in the context of digital literacy, the values, skills and professional learning identified in UK professional frameworks;  and the ways in which open educational resources (OERs) have the potential to support teachers and trainee teachers in developing their capacity to address this ‘digital challenge’ (Abrams & Merchant, 2012).

The sections in this Chapter include:

4.1 Professional Development and Digital Literacy
4.2 Digital Literacy and Teacher Education
4.3 Digital Literacy in Higher Education
4.4 Implications of Digital Literacy for Practice

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

References

Bruce, C (2004) Information Literacy as a Catalyst for Educational Change, in Danaher, Patrick Alan, Eds. Proceedings “Lifelong Learning: Whose responsibility and what is your contribution?”, the 3rd International Lifelong Learning Conference, pages pp. 8-19, Yeppoon, Queensland. Accessed 5/11/12 at:  http://eprints.qut.edu.au/4977/1/4977_1.pdf

Abrams. S. S., and Merchant G. (2012) The Digital Challenge in Hall, K., Cremin, T., Comber, B., and Moll, L. (Eds) International Handbook of Research in Children’s Literacy, Learning and Culture, Wiley-Blackwell.

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