Almost 43% of the world's population is online. Research suggests that the prowess attributed to young people as a tech-savvy homogeneous population is misguided. Many of our students are laboring to utilize the Internet and other digital technologies as tools for literacy and learning. Furthermore, many teachers are struggling to create the…

Being a literacy teacher today means being a teacher of Web literacies. This article features the "Web Literacy Map", an open source tool from Mozilla's Webmaker project. The map focuses on Exploring (Navigating the Web); Building (creating for the Web), and Connecting (Participating on the Web). Readers are invited to use resources,…

While countless new technologies are appearing in our lives and in school classrooms, we argue that we need to keep in mind our goals in reading before we use any of them. We suggest that a primary goal is to develop the ability to read in order to learn with online information. Technologies that support this goal, especially the Internet, and…

Composing with different modes--image, sound, video and the written word--to respond to and analyze literary and informational text helps students develop as readers and digital communicators. This article showcases five multimodal strategies for engaging children in rich literature-based learning using digital tools and Internet resources.

This article showcases the online research and comprehension competencies students will need to successfully engage with Internet Inquiry. The Common Core State Standards, the research on new literacies skills, and the future of technology-based assessments require educators to fully take on the challenges of meaningfully embedding and supporting…

This article describes a literature circle of seven pre-service teacher education students who read "Al Capone Shines My Shoes" (G. Choldenko, 2009). Students used the Internet to complete their roles, shared what they learned as they discussed the book, and then wrote about the digital experience. Four themes emerged from an analysis of…

Since students are continually influenced by the visual culture surrounding them, content teachers should take steps to capitalize on the potential of instructional and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance their effectiveness. The article discusses the importance of integrating visual literacy and identifies the teaching environment needed…

Teachers often miss opportunities to use their classroom computers as teaching partners because of a lack of knowledge or confidence about how the computers can support learning. Internet-connected computers can enable teachers to access well-designed websites that support literacy instruction and involve students in interactive responses to…

Popular technologies offer new and exciting ways to capitalize on the strengths of authentic writing, the power of the writing process, and the engagement of collaborative writing. Blogs are one of those technologies. Blogs are websites that allow individuals to create personal webpages of text, pictures, graphics, videos, and other multimedia…

This article introduces a framework designed to improve students' awareness of the need to critically evaluate websites as sources of information and to improve their skill at doing so. The framework, called the WWWDOT framework, encourages students to think about at least six dimensions when evaluating a website: (1) Who wrote this and what…

The struggling second and third graders in this mixed methods study increased their reading comprehension after a 10-week Readers Theatre podcasting project. Podcasting made the students aware of a wider audience, which enhanced the authenticity and social nature of the strategy, and made their performances permanent so they could be stored and…

Vocabulary knowledge is key to comprehension and expression. For students in the intermediate grades, the need for breadth and depth of vocabulary accelerates as they encounter more challenging academic texts in print and on the Internet. Drawing on research-based principles of vocabulary instruction and multimedia learning, this article presents…

This article describes instructional practices with blogs in elementary classrooms. Schools need to prepare students for the new literacies required when reading on the Internet; blogging is an easy way to begin. A theoretical rationale for blogging with elementary students is provided. Learning from the examples of successful blogs by elementary…

Although wired classrooms are now commonplace, the online tools available to teachers and students are changing more rapidly than ever. However, not all online tools are alike. With the proliferation of the World Wide Web and the advent of Web 2.0, which unlike Web 1.0 enables collaboration and manipulation of online texts, teachers must…

Argues that, as the meaning of literacy changes, the role of literacy educator is also being fundamentally altered. Argues that the Internet is redefining literacy, learning, and teaching. Discusses changes in why people need to be literate, what it means to be literate, and how people become literate. Lists new opportunities on the Internet. (SR)