The five resources of critical digital literacy: A framework for curriculum integration

Abstract

This article sets out a framework for a critical digital literacy curriculum derived from the four resources, or reader roles, model of critical literacy developed by Luke and Freebody (1990). We suggest that specific problematics in academic engagement with and curriculum development for digital literacy have occurred through an overly technocratic and acritical framing and that this situation calls for a critical perspective, drawing on theories and pedagogies from critical literacy and media education. The article explores the consonance and dissonance between the forms, scope and requirements of traditional print/media and the current digital environment, emphasising the knowledge and operational dimensions that inform literacy in digital contexts. It offers a re-interpretation of the four resources framed as critical digital literacy (Decoding, Meaning Making, Using and Analysing) and elaborates the model further with a fifth resource (Persona). The article concludes by identifying implications for institutional practice. ©2013 J. Hinrichsen and A. Coombs.