In the spring of 2020, schools across the country and world closed. COVID-19 reached pandemic proportions. Were schools prepared? Was there a research base available to help schools prepare students for reading and writing digital texts? The ability to read, analyze, compose, and communicate with digital texts requires digital literacies. However,…

For the past 20 years, Dr. Jack Cassidy and his collaborators have surveyed leaders in the field about the issues in literacy that are receiving attention and those that are no longer in the limelight and presented the findings in the annual "What's Hot, What's Not" column. This tradition has continued into 2017 as 25 literacy leaders…

The digital age has impacted education and how teachers prepare students to master 21st century literacies. Numerous national, state, and local entities have made the integration of technology into the literacy curriculum a priority, and teachers are becoming more proficient with their use of digital tools. However, integrating technology to…

The terms multiliteracies, multimodal literacy, digital literacies, and technology integration are often confused with one another. In this column, the author argues that understanding the differences between the concepts can help build clarity when designing instruction. Position statements by the National Council of Teachers of English and the…

The study investigated the present position of literacy, information and communication technology (ICT) in prisons by examining the perception of inmates. The study adopted a descriptive survey using structured questionnaire and observation guides on a randomly and purposively drawn sample of 664 inmates out of a population of 47,628 inmates…

The structure of lessons where teachers integrated the digital literacies is examined here. Twelve graduate teachers participating in an after-school practica were observed over a six-week period. This manuscript identifies the structure of their lessons and describes the kinds of digital literacies children learned when completing them. Teachers…

With an eye toward contemporary skill building to meet community centered economic needs, organizations such as Literacy Volunteers of America are increasingly pressured to examine new avenues in promoting employment readiness skills for the newly literate. These organizations and countless others have come to the realization that being prepared…

In investigating how to best support the learning of digital competences at school, it is paramount to take into account the concrete reality (cultural, technological, and institutional) that teachers face in their daily struggle to prepare students for the information society. Hence case studies are needed to inform us on the complex relationship…

Traditionally, children's books are in a printed format and shared book reading is done with an adult. In recent years, interactive E-books have become a common medium for children's books and shared book reading is diminishing. This study compared the contribution of book format to the development of literacy in kindergarten children. We…

This study reports the results of a needs analysis of literacy programs for a library system serving three rural and suburban counties. It examines the computing skills and needs of literacy tutors as well as native-speaking and English language learner (ELL) literacy tutees enrolled in the programs. Paper surveys were mailed to tutors, who were…

Literacy skills honed from reading books and writing papers has long been recognized as invaluable to building and sustaining intellect. Educators are charged with strengthening literacy programs, and they typically rely on conventional practices and increased time focusing on text-based media to do so, yet their efforts have not significantly…

This paper explores the numerous definitions of digital literacy, discusses its relationship to information literacy, and describes applications of digital literacy instruction in institutions of higher education. It also offers opportunities for academic librarians, and especially those in junior and community colleges, to enhance students'…

Information literacy is a concept that has evolved as a result of recent efforts to move technology-based instruction and research to a level above the long-held concepts previously associated with "computer literacy"; the focus of information literacy education being the development of students' abilities to construct/collect and…

Teachers often miss opportunities to use their classroom computers as teaching partners because of a lack of knowledge or confidence about how the computers can support learning. Internet-connected computers can enable teachers to access well-designed websites that support literacy instruction and involve students in interactive responses to…

Technology is a way of life for most Americans. A recent study published by the National Writing Project (2007) found that Americans believe that computers have a positive effect on writing skills. The importance of learning to use technology ranked just below learning to read and write, and 74 percent of the survey respondents noted that children…