Background: Previous research indicates that students lack sufficient online credibility evaluation skills. However, the results are fragmented and difficult to compare as they are based on different types of measures and indicators. Consequently, there is no clear understanding of the structure of credibility evaluation. Objectives: The present…

In this action research study, I designed, taught, and analyzed results of a unit in my eighth grade English language arts classroom. The unit focused on supporting students' critical reading of online texts. My research questions were: (1) Within a focal unit, how did I support my students' critical reading of online sources? (2) Within a focal…

School rating websites are increasingly used by parents to assess the quality and fit of U.S. K-12 schools for their children. These online reviews often contain detailed descriptions of a school's strengths and weaknesses, which both reflect and inform perceptions of a school. Existing work on these text reviews has focused on finding words or…

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine how skilled adolescent readers draw on their prior knowledge of multimodality and narrative text structure when navigating an intentionally designed digital narrative text. We know that skilled middle-school readers have been taught narrative text structure and that adolescents who use the…

In this article, I share the ways in which New Literacies theory served as an interpretive lens to understand how the Internet as a cultural tool mediates the literacy actions of adolescents in English Language Arts classrooms. Data were drawn from a larger study in which students who were considered "at-risk" because of previous…

The widespread availability of high-quality Web-based content offers new potential for supporting teachers as designers of curricula and classroom activities. When coupled with a participatory Web culture and infrastructure, teachers can share their creations as well as leverage from the best that their peers have to offer to support a collective…

The purpose of this study was to create a valid and reliable survey to measure third through fifth grade students' attitudes toward reading across three mediums: print, e-reader, and Internet. The theoretical framework pulls from self-determination theory and affective models to guide the development of a survey intended for use with intermediate…

The pairing of print and online reference resources is becoming more prevalent with the bonus for students and educators in the publishers' ability to keep the online information current. The availability of print resources along with companion online resources allows multiple access points that promote both choice and variety. Traditionally,…

This article features Khan Academy which offers an online math program and short video lectures embedded in the "module", or math concept, that fit students' goals. By now, more than 1 million people have watched the online video in which Salman Khan--a charming MIT math whiz, Harvard Business School graduate, and former Boston hedge-fund…

This phenomenological ethnographic multi-case study's purpose was to gain insight into experiences of rural junior high History Fair participants as they searched for and evaluated online primary sources. Drawing on the theories of Dewey and Kuhlthau, the study examined how the participants searched the Internet, what strategies they used to…

1:1 Laptop initiatives continue to grow throughout Nebraska schools. There are many questions regarding their effectiveness in improving student learning, justifications for expenses, and the process to guide such an initiative. The purpose of this case study was to explore students' perceptions of academic self-efficacy and self-regulation while…

On November 28, 2008, Jdimytai Damour, age 34, was killed by a stampeding mob of customers running to get the day-after-Thanksgiving bargains. Even after customers in the store were informed that four people were injured and one man died, most chose to keep shopping. Looking at the root causes of this unfortunate death, it seems clear that…

Homework is an important way for teachers to develop relationships with their students' parents and other caregivers. The learning activities teachers assign for homework provide parents a window into the content and skills their children are learning at school. Parents have a chance to participate in their children's schooling by…

Adolescent writing proficiency is widely considered to be in a state of crisis nationally, and new instructional approaches are needed to raise writing proficiency among all adolescents, with special attention to those students who struggle most (Graham & Perin, 2007). The affordances of digital communication media, such as online discussion…

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…