The growth of Twitter and similar sites has influenced many institutions. Many employers, for example, currently value digital literacy and look to hire employees who are skilled in social media. Since corporations increasingly value this type of literacy, researchers such as Greenhow and Gleason (2012) argue that educators need to respond by…

Wikipedia is a web-based, free-content encyclopedia that is openly editable and, thus, provides a unique platform for collaborations. Wikipedia projects are increasingly being integrated into upper-level courses across the country to explore advanced concepts, communicate science, and provide high-quality information to the public. Here we outline…

The paper shows the importance of Storybird, an online platform, for developing writing and storytelling among young learners of a foreign language. Storybird is an extremely engaging collaborative storywriting website that embodies three ideas--creating, reading, and sharing. It is also a collaborative storytelling tool that allows students to…

The original concept of information literacy (IL) identifies it as an enabler for lifelong learning and learning-to-learn, adaptable and transferable in any learning environment and context. However, practices of IL in electronic information and learning environments (e-environments) tend to question the origins, and workability, of IL on the…

"Research Library Issues" ("RLI") is a quarterly report from ARL (Association of Research Libraries), CNI (Coalition of Networked Information), and SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition). This issue includes the following articles: (1) Digitization of Special Collections and Archives: Legal and Contractual Issues (Peter B.…

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…

Like it or not, knowing how to make use of online tools without being overloaded with too much information is an essential ingredient to personal success in the twenty-first century. But how can we use digital media so that they make us empowered participants rather than passive receivers, grounded, well-rounded people rather than multitasking…

Increasingly, wiki technology is being used in education and business settings. Although most students are aware of Wikipedia, many do not understand that a wiki is a malleable platform that has a multitude of uses. Wiki technology is one of many social media tools that students need to not only become familiar with but also be able to effectively…

Reading and writing are being transformed by global changes in communication practices using new media technologies. This article introduces iPed, a research-based pedagogy that enables teachers to navigate innovative digital text production in the literacy classroom. The pedagogy was generated in the context of a longitudinal digital literacy…

This article defines Twitter[TM]; outlines the features, affordances, and common uses; and conceptualizes "tweeting" as a literacy practice, comprising both traditional and new literacies, and impacting both informal and formal learning settings. Also provided is an overview of traditional and new literacies, and insights from a scan of the…

If digital literacy is exploding, the visually disabled are taking the shrapnel. The author wagers that most librarians consider themselves committed to accessibility and make individual and organizational efforts to comply with (and often exceed) the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in their buildings and the Rehabilitation Act Section 508…

The social media environment is much like a coral reef--a living, growing, dynamic entity filled with billions of independent organisms or ideas attaching themselves to each other and creating something glorious. But like a reef, these free-floating ideas need to be nurtured by a robust and healthy ecosystem if they are to remain vital. In the…

As teachers negotiate the integration of new literacies in the classroom, one of their greatest resources may, in fact, be their students. In this essay, the use of dialogue between educators and a student is highlighted in order to demonstrate how classrooms are evolving in the area of new literacies. In regard to the integration of new…

Faced with concerns about Internet predators, cyberbullying, students' sharing of inappropriate content on social networks, and the abundance of sexually explicit or violent content online, many school leaders and technology directors are placing tighter restrictions on Web access to shield students from potential harm. Yet in Trussville and other…

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that is written and edited solely by volunteers who have no qualifying credentials save an internet connection. With over 3.1 million articles in English, Wikipedia is indeed a formidable reference web site. From a research standpoint, Wikipedia is both the sinner and the saint: because anyone can make…