Digital Literacies Network
Hello! We are researchers dedicated to transforming digital challenges into opportunities through the power of critical literacy learning
The Digital Literacies Network is your resource for turning critical understanding into action, supporting practice, sparking dialogue, and building better digital futures with and for individuals and communities.
Critical
A reflective approach that examines both the opportunities and the harms of digital technologies, especially how they impact power, identity, and participation in digital spaces.
Hopeful
Creative, solutions-focused, and driven by the belief that we can shape more just and inclusive digital futures.
Practical
Rooted in applied, co-created practices that support educators, youth workers, and communities in developing critical digital literacies through meaningful, hands-on work.
"In a truly critical fashion, we must approach technology with awareness of its complexities, a commitment to practical, real-world application, and a hopeful vision for shaping more inclusive digital futures". Cristina Costa and Michaela Oliver
Our mission
The Digital Literacies Network is committed to empowering young people and adults alike by co-producing knowledge and creative outputs that reflect their voices, identities, and lived experiences in digital culture. Through participatory, inclusive, and culturally responsive approaches, the Network fosters critical digital literacies that go beyond technical skills to focus on power, representation, and belonging in digital spaces. By bridging formal education and community-based learning, the Network supports innovation, challenges exclusion, and advocates for policies and practices that recognise digital citizens as active makers in today’s digital world.
Research
Our research explores how co-produced, creative approaches can foster critical and culturally relevant digital literacies that empower digital citizens to navigate, question, and shape the digital world.
Resources
We provide co-created, research-informed resources that support educators, youth workers, parents and communities in developing inclusive and critical digital literacies with young people and adults alike.
Our Resources
Our resources are research-led and youth-informed, grounded in a critical digital literacies framework that helps learners move beyond basic skills to understand power, develop agency and participate ethically and safely in digital spaces. Drawing on co-produced, research-informed materials, they support educators, youth workers, parents and communities in exploring key areas of true digital inclusion, such as digital wellbeing, digital safety and privacy, and responsible engagement with emerging technologies, including the ethical and practical dimensions of AI in young people’s lives.
Digital Well-being
Digital well-being is an essential part of critical digital literacy. We work with young people to understand how online spaces shape self-conceptions, relationships and self-esteem and support them to engage with technology in ways that are healthy, autonomous and informed rather than simply encouraging withdrawal or restriction.
Digital Safety and Privacy
We support young people and communities to understand digital safety and privacy, empowering them to make informed choices, protect their data, and navigate the online world with confidence and care.
Digital Footprint
We help digital users explore and understand their digital footprint: how their online actions shape their identity, reputation, and future opportunities, so that they can engage more consciously and responsibly in digital spaces.
Shaping digital futures through critical engagement and curriculum imagination.
In a rapidly evolving digital world, engaging critically with technology is essential to ensure more just, inclusive, and empowering futures for all.