Recorded webinar: What is digital literacy – and why history sits at the centre of it
Historical thinking in a digital world: how history builds digital and media literacy
Session 1: What is digital literacy – and why history sits at the centre of it
This session establishes a shared, research-informed definition of digital literacy and distinguishes related terms (media literacy, information literacy, critical digital literacy, data literacy). Drawing on frameworks including Eshet-Alkalai’s six-component model (photovisual, reproduction, information, branching, socio-emotional, and real-time thinking literacies), UNESCO standards, and the European Digital Competence Framework (DigComp), we examine what digital literacy means beyond basic technical skills.
The session then argues that historical thinking offers a uniquely powerful toolkit for digital literacy: provenance, contextualisation, corroboration, claims-evidence reasoning, and epistemic vigilance. We explore how these disciplinary practices map directly onto the competencies needed to navigate online information environments, making history a ‘home subject’ for digital literacy education.
International perspectives will include reference to ICILS 2023 findings on digital competence, civic online reasoning research from the Stanford History Education Group in the United States, and media literacy initiatives from Finland and Canada. Participants will leave with a simple ‘history-to-digital’ mapping framework they can apply to enquiries, homework, and departmental policy, as well as an introduction to the Digital Literacy Mapping Tool for curriculum audit.
This webinar was the first in the Summer 2026 series on Historical thinking in a digital world: how history builds digital and media literacy. The full webinar series will become available to access on-demand in 2027.This resource is FREE for Secondary HA Members.
Non HA Members can get instant access for £55.83