Due to the rapid development of new media and information technologies, the efforts of educating pupils in this field need to be monitored and evaluated continuously with up-to-date and relevant content. Media education and media literacy need to take into account the use of current information — and communication technology (ICT), and new digital media for teaching and learning (see e. g. BLK, 1987; European Commission, 2007; Gesellschaft fur Informatik, 1999b), particularly as there are differences in the media use and competences of female and male pupils.
ICT in schools is mainly introduced by specific curricula. In German schools, digital literacy and ICT competence is taught in the context of media
education, which also includes traditional media, and the subject of informatics. However, because of Germany’s federal structure and the educational autonomy of each German state, there is no unified curriculum for media education or informatics across Germany. Informatics, for example, is part of the upper secondary curriculum in each state, but not always compulsory. Besides the differences in the respective state curricula, there is one common concept about what competencies in informatics pupils should have developed to obtain a university entrance degree (Abitur). In Greece, ICT has been integrated into the curriculum on all levels of education, mainly through the subject of Informatics. ICT is introduced into both levels of compulsory education (primary and lowersecondary) under the scope of providing students with opportunities to develop basic computer literacy as well as critical thinking skills, and to enhance their motivation for creative action at a personal and social level (Insight, 2007). It was recognized, however, that in everyday secondary life, ICT is present solely as a separate subject (not as a tool for other subjects). The skills intended to be developed in the frame of the Informatics lessons extent beyond what might be considered as basic computer skills as the curriculum calls for the use of standard applications and the Internet as well as programming and data base usage.