Digital Literacies

The Open University, 2025

AI literacies are becoming increasingly essential as AI continues to evolve and integrate into a multitude of educational contexts. Rather than viewing literacy as a singular skill, the Dimensions of AI Literacies embrace a pluralistic perspective, recognizing that individuals can develop and apply a range of interconnected, socioculturally-situated competencies. AI literacies encompass the skills needed to comprehend, utilize, and critically evaluate AI within complex environments. The patterns formed by these competencies are what we refer to as "constellating AI literacies"—a grouping of skillsets and mindsets that, when connected, help us navigate the complex realities of AI in education. As educators, learners, and leaders engage with AI, they must navigate both the technical aspects of AI tools and the ethical, cultural, and social implications of their use. AI literacies enable individuals to make informed decisions, adapt AI tools to different contexts, and ensure that applications of AI in academic settings are ethical and inclusive. The Dimensions of AI Literacies (presented below) offer a flexible and transformative lens for understanding teaching and learning practices in an AI-enabled world. We invite you to explore this taxonomy to reflect on the challenges and opportunities presented by AI in education, leveraging a common vocabulary to identify and share effective practices for meaningfully implementing AI-supported approaches into the classroom.

DigComp 3.0 is the fifth edition of the European Digital Competence Framework for Citizens. It describes knowledge, skills and attitudes that are needed to be digitally competent for daily life, participation in society, working and learning. The framework is technology-neutral and is designed to be tailored and adapted for a variety of purposes in education, training and employment contexts. The framework update reflects rapid digital technological developments that have occurred since 2022 and which have wide-ranging implications for digital competence. DigComp 3.0 includes new learning outcomes which provide a more granular view of digital competence than previously, as well as the systematic and transversal integration of AI across the framework. It supports EU policies and initiatives on digital skills (such as the Union of Skills and the Digital Decade Policy Programme) and the societal and economic implications of the digital transformation (such as the AI Continent Action Plan and the European Strategy for a Better Internet for Kids). It is intended for individuals and organisations, whether local, regional, national, European or international, who share the common goal of understanding and identifying digital skills needs and supporting their development.

This repository contains Doug Belshaw's doctoral work around digital literacies:

1. What is 'digital literacy'? A Pragmatic investigation. (thesis, Durham University, 2012)
2. The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies (presentation, TEDxWarwick, 2012)
3. The Essential Elements of Digital Literacies (ebook, 2014)