RM Winter 2017 FINAL

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Reading Matters
Technology Matters
Reading Matters | Volume 16 • Winter 2016 | |57|
Adjust instruction to focus upon development of
digital literacy practices. Requisite literacy skills within the
21st century go well beyond reading and writing. In order to
participate in a digital society, individuals must be able to:
• Develop proficiency and fluency with the tools of technology;
• Build intentional cross-cultural connections and
relationships with others so to pose and solve problems
collaboratively and strengthen independent thought;
• Design and share information for global
communities to meet a variety of purposes;
• Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple
streams of simultaneous information;
• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts;
• Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by
these complex environments. (NCTE, 2013)
Proficiency with these 21st century literacy skills necessitates
adjustments with traditional approaches to literacy instruction. The
following instructional approaches delineate several ways in which
literacy teachers develop multiple skills through digital literacy
practices that are authentic and relevant to adolescent learners.
Construct media texts. An excellent way to scaffold students’
success with creating media texts is to explore existing forms
of media related to a topic under study (Bruce, 2015). Literacy
teachers may task students with locating various forms of media
related to this topic, such as video clips, scenes from movies or
television shows, audio clips, and/or printed text and visuals.
As students view and analyze these artifacts during class,
the literacy teacher facilitates a class discussion that explores
how these forms of media relate to the topic. Then, students
brainstorm ways to combine and categorize information
generated from the discussion. After this interactive class activity,
students work individually or in small groups to produce a
reconstructed media text related to the topic under study.
Digital book talks. Book talks are a popular strategy used
within classrooms so students may share the context of books that
they have read (Gunter & Kenny, 2008). Similar to the traditional
written book report, books talks are excellent ways to inspire
reluctant readers to hear overviews of books that were read and
enjoyed by others. Literacy teachers are now able to digitize book
talks and engage students in the creation of book trailers using
technology tools. In order to create an exemplary book trailer,
students require a strong degree of familiarity with the book
they read. Students must also negotiate how to reveal enough
information from the book in a way that creates interest for a
prospective reader without giving away too much information.
To prepare for creating digital book talks, students must first
view and analyze several movie trailers. Through teacher-facilitated
class discussions, students identify characteristics and elements of
movie trailers that inspired their interest. Students then become
the director of their own digital book talk, which should:
• be approximately two-minutes in length,
• focus on the main points of the book,
• address the main characters, setting, and context, and
• communicate a purpose for others to read the book.
Once students’ digital book talks are completed, they can
be peer-reviewed and uploaded to a class or school website.
Digital conversations. Literacy teachers have utilized reader
response learning experiences, such as written responses
and literature circles, to deepen students’ comprehension as
they make meaning and connect with readings. With written
responses, learning was limited to teacher-student interactions.
On the other hand, literature circles expanded interactions into
a small group format and included dialogue, collaboration, and
cooperation as vital parts of the learning process. However,
technology tools now enable small group conversations once
held inside the classroom to broaden into digital conversations
that extend beyond the classroom’s walls (Myers, 2014).
Digital conversations take place on websites that host blogs
(Myers, 2014), and literacy teachers have access to many free
website providers that offer blogging features (Author, 2014).
Digital conversations may stem from a teacher-posed: (a) question
before reading, (b) self-reflective question, or (c) questions aimed
to tap into students’ higher order thinking during and after reading
(Myers, 2014). Students may create original posts and reply to the
postings of their peers. Digital conversations have been shown to
increase students’ confidence, expose students to multiple text
interpretations, and provide students with the space to take a
critical stance and assume ownership with their own learning.
Conclusion
Literature has suggested a correlation between adolescent
development and social media use (e.g., Cingel & Krcmar,
2014), and some studies have articulated drawbacks associated
with adolescents’ personal technology use (e.g., Cyr, Berman,
& Smith, 2014; Klorer, 2009). Through multitasking and social
media, adolescent learners have the capability to stay aware
of what others are thinking and doing at any given point in
time, which contributes to their state of “continuous partial
attention” (Stone, n.d., para. 1). According to Stone:
We pay continuous partial attention in an effort NOT TO
MISS ANYTHING. It is an always-on, anywhere, anytime,
any place behavior that involves an artificial sense of
constant crisis. We are always in high alert when we pay
continuous partial attention. (para. 3)
Although the effects of multitasking and social media on
adolescents are not yet definitive, it is likely that this type of