The precise definition of digital literacy has long been contested. Although early definitions recognised the importance of traditional literacy (the ability to read and write) for engaging in digital practices (Gilster, 1997), this connection is often overlooked in recent scholarship, policy initiatives, and digital literacy frameworks. This article draws on ethnographic data from two secondary schools in England to present a case that highlights the relationship between traditional and digital literacies, underscoring the importance of acknowledging and better understanding their interplay. Situated within a socio-technical approach and complemented by Rosenblatt’s transactional theory of reading (1978, 1986, 1995) to conceptualise technology-as-text and user-as-reader, the article presents analysis of three classroom vignettes to illustrate how students’ interactions with an “adaptive” EdTech platform intended to support literacy learning are shaped by their traditional literacy skills. Our analysis identifies a series of transactional breakdowns between reader and text, each marking a moment in which no meaningful transaction can occur due to insufficient consideration of how traditional and digital literacies intersect. Framing EdTech as a straightforward solution to literacy challenges without attending to the nuanced and context-specific ways students engage with such technologies ultimately risks reinforcing the very disparities they seek to address.
Couceiro et al. (Tue,) studied this question.