Over the last two decades advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have
contributed to the ideological construct of an emerging knowledge society - one which places a
high value on knowledge and education and promises a better future for humanity. However the
severe economic - and by extension social and political - crisis that occurred at the end of
2008 which brought about rising unemployment and threatened social welfare has changed the
view of an ever-prospering society riding the ICT knowledge wave forcing it to face a sudden
reality check and to reconsider individualism and its consequences cynicism and greed. In
these circumstances it is likely that people will attempt to rediscover their values and
visions and to redefine their hope for the future. As has occurred at other similar historical
junctures the years that follow such a reexamination could usher in a period of radical
economical and societal transformations. It is within this context - the universal desire to
reinstate and reposition our hope for a better future and hence to promote a transformative
vision of education - that the aims and themes of this book lie. Digital technology and digital
media are inevitably and inextricably part of our future a future which is literally defined
by the way we educate our children. As such the aim to provide digital literacy for all
depends upon the re-construction of the school.
