Software Literacy: Education and Beyond

Abstract

Software literacy is an essential part of learning and living in the 21st century; something which, we argue, transcends the use of any particular tool and any particular educational, social and cultural context. Software literacy is an increasingly central part of the palette of understandings and skills that comprise the broadening umbrella of digital literacy. It is therefore essential that citizens have a critical understanding of software to make more informed choices about their use, can transfer this critical understanding to software they have yet to encounter, and understand that all software has nuanced affordances and limitations. In tertiary settings this is needed to ensure equitable and critical learning with and through software. This chapter summarises our key insights from our own research into these issues and offers recommendations for future research in the field.