Preparing students and teachers for continuously new literacies:

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• Preparing students and teachers for continuously
  new literacies
• Rethinking the nature of literacy education in
  school classrooms

Donald J. Leu Ian OByrne Katina Zammit
University of Connecticut University of
Connecticut University of Western
Sydney Douglas Hartman Greg McVerry Lisa
Zawilinski Michigan State University University
of Connecticut University of Connecticut America
n Reading Forum, 2008
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I. Introductions
Lisa Zawilinski
Katina Zammit
Doug Hartman
Greg McVerry
Ian OByrne
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II. The Internet Is This Generations Defining
Technology For Reading and Learning
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Our Students Have Changed

• Students aged 8-18 spend more time reading online
  per day than reading offline 48 minutes per day
  vs. 43 minutes per day. (Kaiser Family
  Foundation, 2005).

This generations defining technology for reading.
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The World Has Changed

• Finland provides all teachers with 5 weeks of
  paid, release time professional development at
  integrating the Internet into the classroom,
  using a national training model (Svedlin,
  Personal Correspondence).

This generations defining technology for reading.
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• Japan has broadband in nearly every home that is
  16 times faster than the broadband in US homes
  for 22 per month. (Bleha, 2005)

This generations defining technology for reading.
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• e-Mexico, a policy to provide every citizen and
  every school with an Internet connection (Ludlow,
  2006).
• More than 90 of school classrooms in the Baltic
  nations, the Netherlands, UK, and Ireland have an
  Internet computer.

This generations defining technology for reading.
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• 2009 PISA International Assessment of Reading
• In Accra, Ghana
• 66 of 15-18 year olds in school report having
  gone online previously
• 54 of 15-18 year olds not attending school,
  report having gone online previously
  (Borzekowski, Fobil, Asante, 2006).

This generations defining technology for reading.
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Has the U.S. Changed?Not a single state
measures...

• ...students ability to read search engine
  results during state reading assessments.
• ...students ability to critically evaluate
  information that is found online to determine its
  reliability.

This generations defining technology for
reading.
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Not a single state measures...

• ...students ability to compose clear and
  effective email messages in their state writing
  assessment.
• Only 1 state in the U.S. permits all students to
  use a word processor on the state writing
  assessment.

This generations defining technology for reading.
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NAEP

• Recently, NAEP made a deliberate decision to
  exclude online reading comprehension from the
  2009 NAEP reading framework in the U.S.

This generations defining technology for reading.
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What can we conclude?

• The Internet is this generations defining
  technology for reading.
• We place our students at risk by our continued
  inaction.

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III. The Internet Requires New Literacies
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New Literacies Is An Evolving Theoretical
Construct

• Sociolinguistics (Street, 1995 2003)
• Semiotics and Social Semiotics (Kress, 2003
  Lemke, 2002)
• Ethnographies of cyberspace (Leander, 2008)
• Adolescents out of school media and digital
  lives (Alvermann, 2002)
• Computer Mediated Communication (Kelsey St.
  Amant, in press)
• ELL research (Castek, et. al, 2000)
• Reading research (Coiro Dobler, 2007 Henry,
  2006)
• Informatics (Levy et. al, 2004)

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IV. New Literacies Research Benefits From
Multiple Perspectives
Advances A Richer, More Complex Understanding Of
Literacy In An Online Age

• Coiro, J., Knoble, M., Lankshear, C., Leu, D.
  J., Jr. (2008). Handbook of research on new
  literacies. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ.

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At The Highest LevelFour Common Elements

• New skills, strategies, dispositions, and social
  practices are required by new technologies for
  information and communication.
• New literacies are central to fullparticipation
  in a global community.
• New literacies are deictic they rapidly change
  as defining technologies change.
• New literacies are multiple, multimodal, and
  multifacetedthey benefit from multiple points of
  view.
• (Coiro, Knobel, Lankshear Leu, 2008)

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New Literacies Definitions

• Larger, generally common, definition of New
  Literacies.
• Narrower, more specific definitions, e.g. the new
  literacies of online reading comprehension, the
  new literacies of social semiotics, etc.

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V. Examples Of Some Of The Many Issues Currently
Being Explored In The Field.

• Donald J. Leu Ian OByrne Katina Zammit
• University of Connecticut University of
  Connecticut University of Western Sydney
• Douglas Hartman Greg McVerry Lisa Zawilinski
• Michigan State University University of
  Connecticut University of Connecticut

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The Challenges Of Change
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The Changes Ahead

• Research
• Instruction
• Curriculum
• Professional Development
• Reading Standards
• Reading Assessments
• School Leadership and Vision
• State Funding for 1-1 computing
• The Reading Community

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As challenging as change appears, we need to keep
in mind that what the reading/literacy community
choses to do today
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determines the future our students achieve
tomorrow!