Children’s Digital Literacy: Interdisciplinary insights for Informed, Productive, and Safe Practices

• In Event: Circling Back and Moving Forwards in Digital Literacies Research

Abstract

Digital literacy is vital for children’s futures, yet shaped by complex histories of learning and technology. This poster explores how children engage with digital technologies, online environments, and texts. The authors first examine research from four interdisciplinary perspectives, including child development, sociology, health, and language arts, that supports the development of children’s digital literacy. They draw on these perspectives to raise questions such as “How can expert support facilitate children’s effective and productive digital engagement for developmental benefit?; “How can children understand, adapt and take up different digital cultures, environments, spaces, and the literacies for participation?” and “How can a harm reduction approach be applied to support children's safe, informed, and productive use of digital technologies?” Then, they connect the four interdisciplinary perspectives with three real-world scenarios that incorporate children’s voices to reveal how they are able to embrace the fluidity of the digital age through technology. These scenarios inspire the authors to reimagine digital literacy education and offer a set of key recommendations designed to empower children as thoughtful, capable participants in a rapidly changing digital world.

Authors

• Lisa K Kervin, University of Wollongong

• Jessica Mantei, University of Wollongong

• Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett, University of Wollongong

• Dylan Cliff, University of Wollongong

• Rebecca Ng, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Digital Child, University of Wollongong