Learning at the digital frontier: a review of digital literacies in theory and practice A. Littlejohn, H. Beetham & L. McGill Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK Abstract This paper describes a literature review, institutional audit and analysis of practice in the area of digital literacy provision, based on research across the UK Higher Education sector. It con- cludes that institutions need to place greater value on ‘literacies of the digital’, and better prepare their students and their own organizational processes to thrive in an age of digital knowledge practices. It extends the debate about individual entitlement and provision to ask whether digital literacy offers an opportunity for the academy to redefine its relationship to knowledge in society. Keywords literacies, learning, digital literacies, technology enhanced learning, digital scholarship. Digital literacies Digital forms of information and communication are transforming what it means to work, study, research, express oneself, perhaps even to think. These transfor- mations challenge the core business of universities – to produce and disseminate knowledge through research and teaching – and could have a profound impact on learning. These changes are framed by a number of societal trends. First, workplaces are being transformed such that production and practice are increasingly knowledge driven (Hardt & Negri 2008, p. 290). Not only are work- places making extensive use of networked technology, they are beginning to model themselves on such tech- nologies, becoming distributed, dynamic and highly mediated environments (Fiedler & Pata 2009). Second, work problems are becoming more complex such that people have to constantly build new knowledge to solve these problems, requiring updating of expertise and continuous learning (Fiedler & Pata 2009; Littlejohn et al. 2012). Third, people are regularly and repeatedly transitioning into new roles and careers, necessitating lifelong learning (Kirpal et al. 2007). Fourth, expertise is becoming more distributed, creating a need to learn across sites (Ludvigsen et al. 2011). Finally, learning itself is increasingly mediated by technology and is being redefined by technology. One significance of these trends is that the require- ment to learn is now a lifelong imperative and increas- ingly also a life-wide one, with learning opportunities integrated into work and leisure. Coupled with these emerging demands of the workplace, full political and social participation in society requires digital skills (European Commission 2010). Digital literacy is, there- fore, becoming central to what higher and vocational (further) education can offer. By ‘digital literacy’ we mean the capabilities required to thrive in and beyond education, in an age when digital forms of information and communication predominate. Digital forms of com- munication are ubiquitous and wide ranging, from rela- tively simple communication via email or instant messaging to more complex forms of scholarship that involve sourcing using, evaluating, analysing, aggregat- ing, recombining, creating and releasing knowledge online. Important questions around whether universities and colleges can support learners’ development of digital Accepted: 30 November 2011 Correspondence: Allison Littlejohn, Caledonian Academy, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK. Email: allison.littlejohn@gcal.ac.uk doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2729.2011.00474.x Original article © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 1