by Dr. Richard E. Ferdig & Dr. Kristine E. Pytash

Richard E. Ferdig


Kristine E. Pytash

Technology continues to change almost every aspect of our lives. As we adopt these new tools, we also adapt the development and delivery of future innovations. This great recursive relationship plays out like a well-timed dance. Take writing for example. The use of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter have shaped how and when people write. These new writing practices, in turn, beg new questions about what it means to be literate; they also drive questions about how people will use and need new tools in their writing. Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, Castek, and Henry (2013) summarize:

Thus, to have been literate yesterday, in a world defined primarily by relatively static book technologies, does not ensure that one is fully literate today where we encounter new technologies such as Google docs, Skype, iMovie, Contribute, Basecamp, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, foursquare, Chrome, educational video games, or thousands of mobile apps. To be literate tomorrow will be defined by even newer technologies that have yet to appear and even newer discourses and social practices that will be created to meet future needs. (p. 1150).

These changes obviously brings a multitude of new questions. In late summer of 2012, we put out a call for a research book on the relationship between technology and writing. Research articles on technology and literacy obviously existed, but most of the work focused on reading rather than writing. We thought we might receive five proposals; we received well over 105. After a thorough peer review process, selected chapters will soon appear in one of two volumes 1) Exploring Technology for Writing and Writing Instruction; and 2) Exploring Multimodal Composition and Digital Writing. 

The chapters, written by well-respected researchers across the globe, highlight topics ranging from writing practices in and out of school to online writing communities. They feature quantitative and qualitative research on technologies like collaborative writing tools and on concepts like disciplinary writing. And, they discuss the writing practices of various audiences, from young children to in-service teachers. Given this breadth and depth, there is no way we can easily summarize the findings of the books; each author masterfully constructed their own conclusions and implications. We celebrate their research and invite readers to do the same. However, we are often asked what we learned from working with the authors and collecting research on writing and technology. There are five "meta-outcomes" that we believe will influence research, policy, and practice on writing, writing instruction, and multimodal composition.

1. We need to spend time carefully constructing and sharing our definitions of words like writing and multimodal composition. Changes in technology not only impact how we write and how we teach writing, but also how we define such terms. To assume we begin with a shared understanding can be dangerous to building a strong research base.
2. New technologies will require new plans for design, implementation, and assessment of writing, writing instruction, and multimodal composition. Design here refers to a deep understanding of how various audiences use, create, and compose with such tools. It also refers to how we develop instruction, considering the audience as both consumer and producer. Finally, these new technologies bring both the need to reconsider assessment and the opportunity to assess in new ways given the capabilities of the innovations. 
3. Digital writing and multimodal composition can be successful in achieving desired outcomes when implemented properly. Much of the research across both books highlights important growth outcomes across multiple age groups. This did not happen simply by dropping the technology into the existing situation. These chapters detail a strong pedagogical foundation, followed by the training of students and the professional development of teachers, and ending with an innovative and solid assessment plan.
4. Students and teachers need practice in digital writing and multimodal composition. A person who has grown up with technology has been referred to as a "digital native." One of the most confusing aspects of this term is the assumption that because the person knows the technology, they then know how to use the technology for pedagogical purposes. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Audiences need practice and articulate direction in the use and intended and unintended consequences of multimodal and digital writing tools.
5. In addition to redefining our terms, the field needs to draw more deeply across multiple domains to consider the technologies used in digital writing and multimodal composition. Digital writing and multimodal composition are not just about a word processor or a desktop publishing application. It includes writing platforms like blogs and wikis and soapbox delivery tools like Facebook posts and tweets. And, it includes technologies we might not typically consider but are ubiquitous in the lives of our students (e.g. video games, photo creation and sharing, and film-making).

Technology is changing how we write. Changes in how we write force us to reconsider our shared definitions, how we teach writing, how we assess writing, the theories that have driven our work thus far, and the technologies we use and we need for future writing and composition. Providing answers to these questions will not only change practice but will also guide conversations about curriculum and assessment.  The most positive outcome from this work is the recognition that there are scholars answering these important questions as well as inviting others to join in these critical efforts.

References

Ferdig, R.E. & Pytash, K.E. (Eds.). (2014). Exploring multimodal composition and digital writing.  Information Science Reference; Hershey, PA.

Leu, D.J., Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J., Castek, J., & Henry, L.A. (2013). New literacies: A dual-level theory of the changing nature of literacy, instruction, and assessment. In D.E. Alvermann, N.J. Unrau, & R.B. Ruddell (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (6th ed., pp. 1150-1181). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Pytash, K.E. & Ferdig, R.E. (Eds.). (2014). Exploring technology for writing and writing instruction. Information Science Reference; Hershey, PA.

Dr. Richard E. Ferdig is the Summit Professor of Learning Technologies and Professor of Instructional Technology at the Research Center for Educational Technology, Kent State University, rferdig@gmail.com. Dr. Kristine E. Pytash is an Assistant Professor of Adolescent Literacy Education, Kent State University, kpytash@kent.edu. 

by Denise H. Stuart

Teachers today are revisiting instructional approaches and materials as they map and plan curriculum in response to the Common Core State Standards (2012) sweeping districts. Among areas of increased emphasis with these new standards are a focus on non-fiction text, higher level comprehension, and writing development (Calkins, Ehrenworth & Lehman, 2012). Blogs and resources are abundant online, and it is useful to have a guide to engage us in finding our way. Such is Tricia Stohr-Hunt, a blogger since 2006, inspired by young Alice in Barbara Cooney’s (1985) Miss Rumphius who travels the world and wants to make the world a more beautiful place. Stohr-Hunt offers background to this advertising-free blog and information about her own diverse life experiences from being a boat hand to middle school teacher. At her accessible, attractive, and well organized blog site, The Miss Rumphius Effect, this teacher educator discusses issues and ideas for teaching poetry, non-fiction and other literature for early to middle readers (Stohr-Hunt, 2013). She blogs on the value of writing to learn and offers engaging prompts to integrate writing throughout the curriculum. Engaging Educators, a professional development site that emphasizes “21st century students need 21st century teaching” notes The Miss Rumphius Effect as one of the “great literacy blogs to follow.”

This blog is easy to navigate and focused in content and discussion. The home page features timely issues and ideas. For example, as the school year ends and Dr. Stohr-Hunt reflects on its wind down with grading and tests, she shares poems that recall the year’s schooling experiences—humorous, serious, and divers—in review of collections of poetry and in excerpts of individual poems. As part of her “Poetry A:Z” section she blogs about baseball and poetry, and before that birds and biography. She includes links to downloadable writing activities and audio files of authors reading poems. From her home page one can “Browse by Content” using popular tags related to teaching content areas, books and reviews, poetry and a trip she took to China with an extensive photo gallery to give a feel of time, place and culture. Featured in this list are “Non-fiction Monday” with topics like the science of snow and bugs by the numbers and “Poetry Friday” that links poems to teaching ideas, reviews, and more. She offers an extensive set of interviews with children’s poets in “Poetry Makers” giving background information and insight into their poetry process and product. Another major heading, “Thematic Book List,” offers a variety of topics in Math, Science and Social Studies. A section in “Teaching” features ways to encourage reluctant mathematicians at home and one on thinking about graphic novels, among others. The topics are endless and thoughtfully developed. Stohr-Hunt annotates and commentates on individual and collections of thematic texts as she takes us along on her adventure, for example, finding herself on the floor of her office pulling books she is “CRAZY” about related to measurement. 

Not only does the visitor to her blog get an opportunity to read and discuss ideas presented but can travel with Stohr-Hunt as she purposefully links to other current sources of information. She shares “Blogs I Read” organized to focus on non-fiction, poetry, reading inclusively, on writing and publishing, “for and from the classroom” and more and she includes most recent posts. I.N.K. is one such link to a blog of “Interesting Non-fiction for Kids” and leads with a feature article on how to empower girls “with non-fiction, not t-shirts” (Salzman, 2013). The Non-Fiction Detectives is written by “two intrepid librarians [who] review the best nonfiction for children” (Potter & Capizzo, 2013). A list of popular labels helps to find relevant topics among the extensive reviews. The Miss Rumphius Effect blog proves to be a great place to start thinking and exploring to find additional ideas and materials as we continue to develop curriculum and bring high quality children’s literature into the lives of learners.

References:

Calkins, L, Ehrenworth, M, & Lehman, C. (2012). Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement. Heinemann.

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards. Washington D.C.: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/

Potter, C. & Capizzo, L. (2013). The Nonfiction Detectives. Retrieved from http://www.nonfictiondetectives.com/

Stohr-Hunt, P. (2013). The Miss Rumphius Effect. Retrieved from http://missrumphiuseffect.blogspot.com

Salzman, L. (2013). I.N.K. Interesting Non-fiction for Kids. Retrieved from http://inkrethink.blogspot.com/

Denise Stuart is from The University of Akron, Ohio. 

This article is part of a series from the Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG)

by Marilyn Moore

Technology has created valuable tools for the reading and writing classroom teacher. This article will focus on four types of teacher technology tools.

Sites for Teachers

Hundreds of sites exist that present teachers with resources. One of the sites most often used by my college students is the ReadWriteThink site. This site offers lesson plans, games, graphic organizers, and activities. (The International Reading Association partners with the National Council of Teachers of English and Verizon Thinkfinity to produce ReadWriteThink.org.)

Software for Teachers

Word-processing software is probably the most used software by teachers. Other software includes Inspiration which can be used by both teachers and students. It allows teachers to make their own graphic organizers. Software such as RubiStar allows teachers to create rubrics.

Online Communities for Teachers

Teacher Tube is an educator site for sharing content including educational videos, docs, audios, and photos for the classroom. The videos are organized into school subjects and different school levels – college, high school, middle school, and elementary. In a recent article, Kist (2013) points out that the Common Core Standard 6, Grade 8, states that in order to give students practice in collaborative writing, teachers need to use technology including the internet, blogs, or wikis to enable teachers to create lessons where students collaborate on projects such as persuasive writing tasks.

Technology Resources for Teachers

To design effective lessons and to meet literacy lesson objectives with deeper understanding, teachers are using iPads, websites, and SmartBoards. Moore (2012) reported that iPad activities that focus on reading and writing include discussion boards, research on websites, dictionary apps, note taking apps, peer editing, and group essays. We learn from Coiro and Fogleman (2011) that there are three types of websites: informational, interactive, and instructional. They contend that teachers need to use websites to design tasks that make learning meaningful and worthwhile.

SmartBoard use is a very popular technology tool. SmartBoards consist of a touch screen connected to a computer or projector. Software from SmartBoard allows students and teachers to use their hands and fingers to manipulate the screen. While technology tools for teachers are very motivating, it doesn’t necessarily help teachers know how to use them or what these new forms of teaching literacy entail. To keep up with the latest technology tools for teachers, it is important to attend professional development seminars and join professional organizations such as the International Reading Association.

References

Coiro, J., & Fogleman, J. (2011).  Using websites wisely.  Educational Leadership, 68(5), 34-38.

Kist, W. (2013).  New literacies and the Common Core.  Educational Leadership, 70(6), 38-43.

Moore, M. (October, 2012). Integrating iPads into the high-school curriculum. Reading Today Online, 1-2.  Retrieved from http://www.reading.org/readingtodayPublications.

Dr. Marilyn Moore (mmoore@nu.edu) is a Professor at National University in California and serves as the Faculty Reading Program Lead.

This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).

by Jill Castek

Tablet devices such as the iPad promote anytime, anywhere learning and provide educators dynamic opportunities to connect school and home learning activities. Apps have unique affordances that promote maximum levels of interactivity. Coupled with tablets’ multi-touch screens, drawing capabilities, and the integration of audio across a seemingly endless variety of applications, the learning possibilities are endless.

This article showcases apps, specialized programs for tablets and other mobile devices, that help students access information, interpret and share information, and create their own multimedia products. The apps featured actively involve students in reading, writing, listening/speaking, illustrating and creating to support synthesis of ideas, and meaning making. For classroom examples illustrating how to use these tools strategically to enhance literacy and content learning, see Castek & Beach, 2013.

Concept Mapping with Popplet

Concept-mapping apps help students visually represent logical or causal relationships between ideas. Using concept-mapping apps, students identify a variety of keywords associated with an experience, topic, or issue and visually organize the logical relationships between these words. Students may insert the words into circles or boxes, drawing lines between ideas with spokes to which they insert subtopics. These connecting lines serve to define the logical relationships between ideas, for example, whether a subtopic serves as an illustrative example of a major topic.

In content area classrooms, concept mapping offers an important means of tracking concept development and supporting reflection. Popplet offers students a blank canvas on which to create connected nodes within a concept map and an interface that makes the revision process simple. The connected boxes can include images as well as words and can be easily moved around, connected/reconnected, and color-coded to show relationships. Popplet Lite is free at the iTunes store; the full version is $4.99.

Evidence Sorting with iCard Sort

In science and social studies, students are often asked to think in terms of a claim-evidence framework to frame an argument or express understanding. By providing opportunities for students to sort pieces of evidence to determine which pieces of evidence might be organized together to support the claim supports students emerging understanding of content. iCardSort allows students to sort, group, and order, ideas in preparation for writing or discourse activities. This app is offered for $5.99 at the iTunes store.

Annotating an Article with DocAS to Promote Active Reading

Reading actively promotes greater reading comprehension. DocAS is a tool that supports students in marking up reading material to show their emerging ideas. In this process, students are exposed to questions and connections that differed from their own, resulting in their acquisition of new ways of interpreting texts. The result of students’ active reading is a personalized archive that shows their thinking. DocAS can also be used as a personalized notebook for drawing, writing, and making connections. DocAS Lite is free at the iTunes store; the full version is $4.99.

Supporting Implementation

While apps can enhance curricular goals and support students learning in new and transformative ways, we need to be mindful about how to use these tools strategically in ways that best enhance our students’ learning.  It is important to recognize that the learning potential of these apps does not lie within the apps themselves, but rather is fostered by how teachers exploit them to achieve particular learning objectives such as collaboration, multimodal creation, and shared productivity.  Keeping in mind best teaching practices will help facilitate acquisition of content while also supporting the use of 21st century technologies that are essential to our students futures.

References

Castek, J. & Beach, R. (2013). Using apps to support disciplinary literacy and science learning.  Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56 (7), 554 – 564.  Article podcast.

Jill Castek is a Research Assistant Professor at Portland State University with the Literacy, Language, and Technology Research Group. She can be reached at jill.castek@gmail.com.

by Monee Perkins and Peggy Coyne

In the September issue of the Reading Today Online TILE-SIG Feature, Monee Perkins and Peggy Coyne shared their thinking about Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and literacy in a New York City classroom. At that point Monee had just learned about the UDL Guidelines, and she was anticipating applying the principles of UDL to her instructional practices. Here are her reflections on UDL in her classroom.

Monee Perkins


Peggy Coyne

Using the UDL Guidelines as a framework for my instructional practices, I introduced two new tools and one instructional method, which I know have made a difference in my students’ performance. The 88 seventh grade students I teach range from below average to above average, but like many inner city students, they are not engaged with school. My greatest challenge for these students is engagement.

In the first segment of this article, I mentioned how excited I was to introduce Adobe Reader. I have not been disappointed. Students have used the annotation features to address complex text. For example, I introduced close reading of text with "Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin. I first had the students skim the article for unfamiliar words and using context clues define those words. The students were able to use a synonym for those complex words and include it in the article when they read. In addition, the annotation tool provided students with another representation for text commenting, they found it to be very efficient because they were able to use another way listen to the story.

Another tool I have successfully introduced is Wall Wisher (which is now called Padlet). My students use this tool when I introduce a theme or writing prompt. Like Achieve 3000, I have encouraged writing with a poll and have allowed students to gather literary and informational resources to further their understanding of a topic. Wall Wisher allows my students an opportunity to practice responding to a prompt and to the opinions of others in a respectable manner.

Finally, I began using Socratic Seminars as a means to help students interact and engage with the text through questioning. You can read more about these text-based discussions from ReadWriteThink. My students read Chopin’s "The Story of an Hour" twice, once to get the gist and then a second time to develop their own questions. At this point, they have eliminated Level 1 and Level 2 questions and have moved right to developing Level 3 questions.

My colleagues have also noticed my students’ increased engagement. Recently, I invited the principal and social studies teachers to observe one of the Socratic Circles. I love my principal, but she usually points out how we can improve. The day she observed our seminar she stated, "This is what school is about and should look like!"  She observed students who were 95% engaged in the text and thoughtful discussion. She watched students who were challenged taking charge of their discussion. Needless to say she was pleased.

When I think about my lessons, I always think about the UDL Guidelines: multiple means of representation, which ensure my students have many ways to access the text; multiple means of action and expression, which allow me to provide students with appropriate levels of challenge to sustain their motivation; and multiple means of engagement, which prompt me to consider how will I make their learning experiences authentic and meaningful. I am just at the beginning of my UDL journey with respect to changing my teaching practices. I look forward to moving ahead and adding new techniques through my newfound knowledge.

Monee Perkins is a 7th grade ELA teacher in the Bronx, NY.

Peggy Coyne is a Research Scientist at CAST, Inc.

This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).