The multiliteracies approach to literacy education has become established as an accessible and effective paradigm for classroom practice in the 21st century. The Multiliteracies Classroom enlivens this theory with its vivid description of events in a real classroom. Teachers will identify with the lively transcripts of classroom interactions, and…

This article reports on a 4-week class project in which students created Web 2.0 digital stories and shared and discussed them with their peers using VoiceThread, a digital media online tool. Participants were English language learners in an academic writing class at a major research university in the United States. Digital stories provided an…

This paper outlines a four-year study of a preservice education course based on a socio-constructivist research framework. The preservice English Language Arts course focuses on critical literacy and teaching for social justice while employing digital technologies. The research study examines two concepts across all aspects of the course: 1) new…

A growing number of researchers claim that diverse students with potentially diverse literacies are unable to take up the necessary literate practices to be successful in the university and upon leaving they are unable to master these literate practices, specifically the need to address critical thinking, problem-solving, and writing and to…

So many communications channels, so little time and, usually, so few resources is the situation today's communicators face. Educational institutions, places steeped in history and tradition, "have been slow to react." But while the communications channels have changed, the fundamentals of communication haven't. Maintaining perspective about…

This Forum paper explores how Matthew Gaydos and Kurt Squire in their manuscript, "CITIZEN SCIENCE: Role Playing Games for Scientific Citizenship," represent issues of games literacy and science literacy. What is the meaning of expertise in the context of games-based learning? An examination of the studies presented suggests that games, like other…

In her new book, Valerie Kinloch, award-winning author of "Harlem on Our Minds", sheds light on the ways urban youth engage in "meaning-making" experiences as a way to assert critical, creative, and highly sophisticated perspectives on teaching, learning, and survival. Kinloch rejects deficit models that have traditionally…

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…

Social media environments and online communities are innovative collaborative technologies that challenge traditional definitions of information literacy. Metaliteracy is an overarching and self-referential framework that integrates emerging technologies and unifies multiple literacy types. This redefinition of information literacy expands the…

This paper focused on whether the use of online discussion boards can enhance the quality of interaction in the middle and high school English classroom, covering both the characteristics of online discussion boards and potential negative effects of their features. The features of online discussion boards, their effects, and how these boards…

Viewed through a sociocultural lens, this work examines two fourth grade teachers and their newly acquired teaching practices in balanced literacy. With a strong Vygotskian influence and sociocultural perspective, I look at how these practices promote teacher growth and influence student achievement. I argue that method does matter. Therefore,…

Technology may not be a magic wand, but innovative technology programming can genuinely help children become adept at navigating our increasingly wired world while also helping them develop deductive reasoning, math, and other vital literacy skills. One of the simplest and most powerful tools for technology-based public library programming is…

Literacy in Early Childhood and Primary Education provides a comprehensive introduction to literacy teaching and learning. The book explores the continuum of literacy learning and children's transitions from early childhood settings to junior primary classrooms and then to senior primary and beyond. Reader-friendly and accessible, this book equips…

Critical reading of science-based media reports is an authentic context in which to explore the mutual interests of teachers of science and English, who want to use science in the media to promote their subject discipline while encouraging cross-curricular learning. This empirical study focused on 90 teachers of science and English to explore…

A revolution in delivery methods for news and information has created an urgent need for journalism educators to define critical skills for success in the profession. A content analysis was conducted over three-month periods in 2008 and 2009 for all employment opportunities posted by the top ten American newspaper and broadcast journalism…