Higher education students and digital literacies: A systematic literature review
Abstract
This study is a systematic literature review of digital literacies and students in higher education. It sought to identify the state of knowledge on digital literacies in higher education including what studies have been conducted in this nexus and what remains to be known. The deductive themes drew on two prominent concepts of digital literacies: the Seven Elements of Digital Literacies (Jisc, 2014), and the Charter for 21st Century Literacies (Burnett & Merchant, 2018). The review’s methodology identified 23 studies published in the last five years across 21 countries. The findings suggest that researchers demonstrated interest in discussing how students utilize digital technologies for generating learning strategies that they can use beyond graduation. Additional pertinent topics include the digital divide, digital natives, information literacy, and media literacy, among others. Core recommendations include the creation of learning spaces that foster meaningful knowledge of digital literacies by universities and colleges.