Literacy(ies) and skills in times of digital education: Exploring communication and interaction in digitally mediated learning worlds

Abstract

This article seeks to explore the notions of literacy(ies) and competences in times of digital education. The aim of the study was to understand, from perspectives of experts, what literacy(ies) and competences are in digital teaching-learning contexts, how they are operationalised, which strategies can be used for their development, and what are the opportunities and challenges for their application in digital education. Through a qualitative approach, four experts were interviewed as privileged informants in their areas of expertise. The individuals interviewed are academics with extensive research in the areas of literacy(ies), digital and infocommunication skills and digital education. The interviews were conducted during the first quarter of 2023, as part of a larger ongoing study - digital and infocommunicational competences in virtual learning environments: practices in e-learning curricular units in Portuguese Higher Education. According to these experts, digital is largely responsible for the recent changes in the world, but the most important thing is not learning or teaching digital: it is developing citizens' skills or competences, exploring communication and interaction in digitally mediated learning worlds. This demands the mobilization of competences to search and exchange information, and to interact with another people in digital environments. This can help citizens become more confident, critical, and open-minded users of today’s technologies.