Prelims

Best Practices in Teaching Digital Literacies

Literacy Research, Practice and Evaluation

Series Editors: Evan Ortlieb and Earl H. Cheek, Jr.

Previous Volumes:

Literacy Research, Practice and Evaluation Volume 9

Best Practices in Teaching Digital Literacies

EDITED BY

Evan Ortlieb

St. John’s University, USA

Earl H. Cheek, Jr.

Louisiana State University, USA

Peggy Semingson

The University of Texas at Arlington, USA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan India – Malaysia – China

Emerald Publishing Limited

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First edition 2018

Copyright © 2018 Emerald Publishing Limited

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78754-434-5 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-78754-551-9 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-78754-720-9 (Epub)

ISSN: 2048-0458 (Series)

Evan Ortlieb is a Professor and Coordinator of the Literacy Program in the Department of Education Specialties at St. John’s University in New York City. He has previous work experience in Singapore and Australia and expertise on literacy improvement, literacy teacher preparation, language diversity, and differentiated literacy instruction. He currently serves as the President of the Specialized Literacy Professionals SIG of the International Literacy Association, a Member of the Board of Directors of the International Innovative Community Group of the Literacy Research Association, and the Section Editor of the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. His outreach efforts are highlighted by serving as the President of the Ortlieb Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides college scholarships for cancer patients.

Earl H. Cheek, Jr. is a Patrick and Edwidge Olinde Endowed Professor Emeritus in the Department of Educational Theory, Policy, and Practice at Louisiana State University. As a lifelong literacy leader, he has published widely across fields of content area reading, reading teacher education, diagnostic-perspective methods, and dyslexia. He has graduated over 75 PhD candidates and has served on various prestigious editorial boards as well as committees within the International Literacy Association, the Literacy Research Association, and the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers.

Peggy Semingson is an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Texas at Arlington, where she teaches online courses in Literacy Studies. Dr Semingson has experience as a classroom teacher and reading specialist in both Southern California and Texas. Her research interests include social contexts of literacy learning, digital pedagogies, and online literacy teacher education. She was awarded the Jeanne S. Chall Research Grant from Harvard University in 2009–2010 and was awarded the prestigious 2013 USDLA Best Practices Platinum Award for Excellence in Distance Learning Teaching. In 2010, she was awarded the President’s Award for Excellence in Distance Education Teaching at UT Arlington. Most recently she won the 2017 International Literacy Association (ILA) Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award.

Living in a digital era with constant dynamic flux means that we must stay up to date with the ever-changing approaches to teaching literacy both in PK-12 settings and teacher preparation. Texts, curriculum, and literacy practices both in and out of educational spaces in PK-12 and teacher education are moving toward paperless, interactive, multimodal, and generally high-tech mediums. No longer is technology an add-on to instruction; it is essential to communication and creates new platforms and possibilities for learning. Indeed, classroom instruction and teacher preparation must embrace the digital turn to stay current and relevant. It is essential that we seek to understand and implement meaningful digital-based literacy instruction in the classroom and understand both the benefits and constraints of such practice within teacher education programs.

This volume showcases cutting-edge research that focuses on aligning PK-12 instruction and teacher education with digital pedagogies and literacy learning. The research setting varies from elementary and secondary classrooms (field-based research), pre-service teacher preparation (university-based settings), and cyberspace (e.g., social media). Across the chapters, the authors seek to connect theory to practice toward innovative teaching with emerging technology tools, digitally connected curricula, and reimagined teacher preparation processes. This volume is mindful of the possibilities of technology-based literacy learning while offering caveats and cautions when implanting this type of practice.

Peggy Semingson