The Information Professional

"The purpose of this white paper is to define and contextualise what we mean by web literacies - and to inform activities for people wanting to work towards gaining those literacies., It also serves as a reference point for those who want to help create a generation of Webmakers, people who can ‘write’ as well as ‘read’ the web.

We see there being three steps to Web Literacies. First come Web Skills such as searching and using URLs appropriately. Two or more Web Skills combine into Web Competencies that we could call, for example, 'Browser basics' or 'Search Engine basics'. These are bundles of Web Skills for a particular purpose 'assessed' via a lightweight peer review system.

Finally, Web Literacies consist of a range of these Web Competencies - for example, 'Browser basics,' 'Search engine basics,' and 'Web mechanics'. In addition, some element of self-reflection is required here to realise that you’re now able to ‘Explore’ the web at a beginner level."