Research in Comparative
and International Education

ISSN 1745-4999

Volume 2 Number 1 2007

CONTENTS [click on author's name for abstract and full text]

SPECIAL ISSUE
International Aspects of Digital Literacy Research
Guest Editor: MANUELA PIETRASS

Manuela Pietrass. Digital Literacy Research from an International and Comparative Point of View, pages 1‑12
Aleksandra Gnach, Esther Wiesner, Andrea Bertschi-Kaufmann & Daniel Perrin. Children’s Writing Processes When Using Computers: insights based on combining analyses of product and process, pages 13‑28
Burkhard Schäffer. The Digital Literacy of Seniors, pages 29‑42
David Buckingham. Digital Media Literacies: rethinking media education in the age of the internet, pages 43‑55
Cornelia Gräsel. The Use of Computer Tools in Implementation Projects in Schools, pages 56‑67
Armin Weinberger, Douglas B. Clark, Päivi Haekkinen, Yasuhisa Tamura & Frank Fischer. Argumentative Knowledge Construction in Online Learning Environments in and Across Different Cultures: a collaboration script perspective, pages 68‑79
Ben Bachmair & Cary Bazalgette. The European Charter for Media Literacy: meaning and potential, pages 80‑87

Digital Literacy Research from an International and Comparative Point of View

MANUELA PIETRASS Universität der Bundeswehr and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Germany

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.1.1

The fear of a growing digital divide between those having access to the Internet and those who do not results from the still uneven distribution of digital media. Though the number of Internet users is rapidly growing, there is evidence for the further existence of a digital divide caused by the lack of digital literacy. Thus, the digital divide cannot be closed by access alone and becomes a matter of media education. To find appropriate methods for increasing digital literacy demands knowledge about the ways users deal with computers and the Internet. This knowledge is gained by empirical research in different formal and non-formal contexts of computer and Internet use. This introductory article to a special issue of Research in Comparative and International Education devoted to ‘Digital Literacy Research’ gives an insight into international data on Internet use and outlines a theoretical framework of digital literacy. It also discusses the single studies collected in the special issue. It shows that further research will profit by an international and comparative approach which considers national, cultural, social and age differences between the users.

Children’s Writing Processes When Using Computers: insights based on combining analyses of product and process

ALEKSANDRA GNACH University of Berne, Switzerland
ESTHER WIESNER University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Aarau, Switzerland
ANDREA BERTSCHI-KAUFMANN University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Aarau, Switzerland
DANIEL PERRIN Zurich University of Applied Sciences Winterthur, Switzerland

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.1.13

Children and young people are increasingly performing a variety of writing tasks using computers, with word processing programs thus becoming their natural writing environment. The development of keystroke logging programs enables us to track the process of writing, without changing the writing environment for the writers. In the myMoment schools project, children in primary school grades one to five were provided with a web-based interactive writing environment, which they could use to read and write stories and comments. The parallel study on myMoment suggests that interviews and analyses of writing processes can provide detailed information about the effect that writing environment and instructions have on writing. An individual case study illustrates the potential that triangulating product and process analyses can offer in the teaching of literacy skills at elementary school level.

The Digital Literacy of Seniors

BURKHARD SCHÄFFER Universität der Bundeswehr München, Germany

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.1.29

This article describes national and international comparative quantitative and qualitative empirical results for media use and media behaviour of elderly people against the background of demographic change and development in the sphere of information technology. Besides gender, professional position and educational qualification, age and affiliation to a generation are – in terms of ‘country’, origin or culture – the most significant predictors of whether someone is familiar with the computer and the Internet and whether he or she is using it in a competent way in private life and in their occupation. In addition to the international studies covered, this article focuses principally on the German situation, because the relative increase in the proportion of elderly people in that country has advanced the furthest in comparison with the rest of the world. Germany is playing a pioneering role in this respect. Searching for explanations which go beyond quantitative interpretation, a generation-specific model of cultures of media practice is being developed which favours the generation concept, in comparison with the ‘pure age’ concept, thus enabling a theory-based perspective with regard to demographic change. A generation-specific culture of media practice means approaching the current media technologies with those competences and restrictions which have been learned during adolescence and with the media available at that time.

Digital Media Literacies: rethinking media education in the age of the Internet

DAVID BUCKINGHAM Institute of Education, University of London, United Kingdom

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.1.43

This article considers how media educators can respond to the new challenges and opportunities of the Internet, and of digital media more broadly. It begins by exploring the value and limitations of the notion of ‘literacy’ in this context. It argues that ‘competence-based’ definitions of literacy tend to neglect the social diversity of literacy practices, and to retain a narrow focus on ‘information’, and it suggests that a broader definition of literacy necessarily entails a more critical approach. It then moves on to consider the nature of digital literacy more specifically. It argues that definitions of digital literacy have tended to take a rather limited view of information, and of issues of reliability and bias, and it proposes a broader approach which recognises the social and ideological nature of all forms of mediated representation. Following from this, it then provides some concrete indications of ways in which media education approaches might be applied specifically to the analysis of the World Wide Web, using the established framework of ‘key concepts’ (representation, language, production, audience). Finally, it considers the potential of digital media production in the classroom as a means of promoting digital literacy. It distinguishes between the approach adopted by media educators and more instrumental or expressive approaches. It then considers the difficulties of such work in a context where a ‘digital divide’ in access to technology continues to exist, both within and between societies. It argues that the benefits of digital technology in this respect depend crucially on the pedagogic and social contexts in which such technology is used, for example, in the opportunities that are provided for collaborative production and for students sharing their work with a wider audience. The article concludes by arguing that digital literacy needs to be seen as part of a broader reconceptualisation of literacy, and of the use of technology in education.

The Use of Computer Tools in Implementation Projects in Schools

CORNELIA GRÄSEL University of Wuppertal, Germany

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.1.56

In recent years, some endeavours have been made to overcome the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge. In many countries projects have been conducted that aim to disseminate research-based knowledge in the practical field of education. This article presents an approach to the implementation of research results. This approach is referred to as ‘symbiotic implementation’, because teachers and researchers are seen as partners and aim to jointly advance teaching and learning in classrooms. Teachers and researchers form a community of learners with the goal of enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in classrooms. In addition to face-to-face cooperation, the computer is used as a tool for communication and collaboration in teachers’ communities of learners. The computer provides several tools which facilitate different functions for the communities: (a) mutual sharing of information among participants, (b) planning and documenting lessons, and (c) commenting upon and revising products. In two studies in Germany the process of teacher collaboration was investigated. As expected, face-to-face collaboration was pivotal for the success of the implementation. In contrast, teachers used the available computer tools only to inform themselves or to obtain material; the cooperation and collaboration tools were only used to a small extent.

Argumentative Knowledge Construction in Online Learning Environments in and across Different Cultures: a collaboration script perspective

A. WEINBERGER Knowledge Media Research Center, University of Munich, Germany
D.B. CLARK Arizona State University, Tempe, USA
P. HÄKKINEN University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Y. TAMURA Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
F. FISCHER Knowledge Media Research Center, University of Munich, Germany

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.1.68

In recent years, information and communication technology has established new opportunities to participate in online learning environments around the globe. These opportunities include the dissemination of specific online learning environments as well as opportunities for learners to connect to online learning environments in distant locations. These dissemination and distance learning scenarios create potential challenges, however, in terms of the cultural differences in the internal scripts that learners of different cultures bring to these environments. This article considers these issues and challenges specifically for online environments focusing on argumentative knowledge construction. It discusses the importance of cross-cultural research in this area and proposes that a collaboration script perspective may prove extremely valuable for this research.

The European Charter for Media Literacy: meaning and potential

BEN BACHMAIR University of Kassel, Germany
CARY BAZALGETTE United Kingdom

doi: 10.2304/rcie.2007.2.1.80

This article offers a brief outline of the background, origins and purposes of the European Charter for Media Literacy. The Charter constitutes a new approach to the formation of a network of media educators in Europe. Rather than proposing a bureaucratic organisation with formal membership, it offers a consensual definition of media literacy to which organisations and individuals can demonstrate their affiliation simply by signing the Charter online. The steady growth of registered visitors to the European Charter for Media Literacy website, and the number of Charter signatories nearing 200, indicates widespread interest and support for the concept; however, the effectiveness of the Charter as a catalyst for debate and collaboration remains to be proved.

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