TECHNOLOGY LITERACY : INFORMATION LITERACY: Critical Issue: Using Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction

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TECHNOLOGY LITERACY :

INFORMATION LITERACY:

Critical Issue: Using Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li300.htm

Date posted: October 2001

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This Critical Issue was coauthored by Ann Holum, Ph.D., and Jan Gahala,
M.A. Holum's doctoral work on the use of interactive media to improve
children's story-understanding skills sparked her ongoing interest in
integrating technologies in K-12 literacy settings; she currently is an
independent educational consultant. Gahala is a technical specialist in
NCREL's Communications department.

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ISSUE: Educational technology is nudging literacy instruction beyond its
oral and print-based tradition to embrace online and electronic texts as
well as multimedia. Computers are creating new opportunities for writing
and collaborating. The Internet is constructing global bridges for
students to communicate, underscoring the need for rock-solid reading and
writing skills. By changing the way that information is absorbed,
processed, and used, technology is influencing how people read, write,
listen, and communicate.

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Although technology promises new ways to promote literacy, educators'
reactions to it have been mixed. Some have embraced technology with
unbridled enthusiasm while others have held it at arm's length with a
healthy skepticism. Yet the growing influence of technology has caused
many educators to acknowledge that they need information on teaching
literacy skills in the Digital Age. To serve that need, this Critical
Issue offers research, best practices, and resources that support
integration of new technologies into literacy instruction.

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Content Sections

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Overview

Goals

Action Options

Pitfalls

Different Viewpoints

Cases

Contacts

References

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Overview

OVERVIEW: Literacy instruction traditionally refers to the teaching of
basic literacy skillsreading, writing, listening, and speaking. In today's
digital world, however, technology has contributed to an expanded
understanding of literacy. Besides having basic literacy skills, today's
students also need technology skills for communicating, investigating,
accessing and using information, computing, thinking critically about
messages inherent in new media, and understanding and evaluating data. As
policymakers and educators ponder what it means to be literate in a
digitized society, an array of literacy definitions is emerging. Among
them are the following examples:

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Information Literacy: The ability to access and use information, analyze
content, work with ideas, synthesize thought, and communicate results.

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Digital Literacy: The ability to attain deeper understanding of content by
using data-analysis tools and accelerated learning processes enabled by
technology.

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New Literacy: The ability to solve genuine problems amidst a deluge of
information and its transfer in the Digital Age.

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Computer Literacy: The ability to accurately and effectively use computer
tools such as word processors, spreadsheets, databases, and presentation
and graphic software.

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Computer-Technology Literacy: The ability to manipulate the hardware that
is the understructure of technology systems.

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Critical Literacy: The ability to look at the meaning and purpose of
written texts, visual applications, and spoken words to question the
attitudes, values, and beliefs behind them. The goal is development of
critical thinking to discern meaning from array of multimedia, visual
imagery, and virtual environments, as well as written text.

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Media Literacy: The ability to communicate competently in all media
formsprint and electronicas well as access, understand, analyze and
evaluate the images, words, and sounds that comprise contemporary culture.
Edyth E. Young, Ph.D., NCREL program director/research, Center for
Literacy outlines "Content Literacy"
[QuickTime Video and text, information about QuickTime is available].

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For additional information on digital-age literacy and skills that
students will need to effectively function in today's world, refer to
21st-century skills.

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Whether these new definitions of literacy will evolve new curriculum,
crystallize into an enhanced general definition of literacy, or spawn
offshoot subjects taught under the umbrella of literacy instruction is not
yet clear. But most educators today agree that literacy instruction, at
minimum, should include computing skills. Other forward-looking educators
see a greater role for technology in the literacy classroom; they believe
that technology has the potential to connect students to reading and
writing. Meyer and Rose (2000), for example, point out "the potential of
new technology to revitalize reading instruction and to make reading more
relevant to the lives of children growing up in the Electronic Age." Bruce
and Peyton (1999) state, "Teachers can use network-based approaches to
literacy instruction to support authentic reading and writing,
collaboration, student-centered learning, writing across the curriculum,
and the creation of classroom writing activities."

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Questions raised by educators as they consider integrating technology into
literacy instruction focus on three specific areas: research, practice,
and professional development.

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Research: What empirical evidence exists to confirm that new technologies
can be effective in support of literacy instruction? What technologies
actually improve literacy programs? What technologies have little or no
effect? Are any technologies, in fact, harmful to development of
successful literacy instruction?

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Practice: Precisely which technologies, to date, are being used
successfully to support literacy instruction? What technologies hold
promise for the future? How are teachers integrating them into literacy
instruction?

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Professional Development: How has professional development in
literacy-based contexts been influenced by the advent of educational
technologies? What skills do teachers need for integrating technology into
literacy instruction?

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Research on Technology and Literacy

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Educational researchers and practitioners alike assert that the potential
of new technologies for learning is likely to be found not in the
technologies themselves but in the way in which these technologies are
used as tools for learning (Means & Olson, 1995; Owston, 1997; Valdez et
al., 1999). In literacy instruction, technology has both traditional and
authentic uses (see Singh & Means, 1994). A traditional use of technology
is skills reinforcement; for example, students who need additional
practice in reading might work individually on computers equipped with
reading-comprehension software. An authentic use of technology is using it
as a tool to accomplish a complex task; for example, students who are
creating a written report might use the Internet for research,
word-processing software to write and format the text, and hypermedia
software to add images. Therefore, it makes sense to consider the variety
of uses as they illustrate best practices.

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Although many reviews of empirical studies and volumes of observations
relate to the use of new technologies in support of literacy education
(see Kamil, Intrator, & Kim, 2000; Leu, 2000), two challenges emerge when
educators look for evidence that might anchor recommendations for using
technologies in literacy instruction. These challenges are the "moving
target" problem that is inherent in the subject being researched, and the
scarcity of comprehensive literacy studies offering informed commentary.

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The "Moving Target" Problem. Much of the evidence that the researchers
have been able to generate with regard to educational technologies is
about innovations that aptly are described as a "moving target" (Valdez et
al., 1999, p. 1). In other words, even as researchers begin to describe
empirical evidence supporting the effects a particular technology on an
educational practice, that technology itself is changing and in some cases
even becoming obsolete. In addition, the evolving nature of educational
technologies precludes any efforts to predict the success of, and
establish guidelines for, subsequent educational practices. "As newer
technologies of information and communication continually appear, they
raise concerns about the generalizability of findings from earlier
technologies," notes Leu (2000). "It is important to be cautious about
generalizing findings from traditional texts to different forms of
hypermedia because each technology contains different contexts and
resources for constructing meanings and requires somewhat different
strategies for doing so" (p. 749).

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Scarcity of Comprehensive Literacy Studies. Not only does technology
change faster than guidelines for innovations can be established, but
relatively few thorough studies have evaluated the efficacy of new
technologies for literacy education. For example, a review by Kamil and
Lane (1998) examined literacy research during the years between 1990 and
1995. (For a discussion, see Kamil, Intrator, & Kim, 2000; Leu, 2000.)
This review looked at four mainstream literary journals with the highest
citation rates for literacy research: Reading Research Quarterly, Journal
of Reading Behavior (since changed to Journal of Literacy Research),
Written Communication, and Research in the Teaching of English. In the two
reading journals, only 1 percent of the articles dealt with technology
issues. In the two writing journals, only 5 percent of the articles dealt
with technology issues. In summary, Kamil and Lane (1998) note, "Research
into the problems and processes of literacy and technology has advanced
little beyond what it was 10 years ago" (p. 338).

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Some researchers suggest that the challenges related to technology and
literacy must become more integral to mainstream literacy research.
Collins (1992), for example, suggests that research should shift from an
emphasis on traditional summative evaluation (in which data is acquired at
the end of an activity) to include more formative design approaches (which
are informed by data acquired during the planning and development of the
activity). In fact, the formative-design experiment approachin which
research questions focus on the resources needed to make a specific
implementation succeed (see Reinking & Watkins, 1996)is likely to become a
trend in future educational research. As Kamil and Lane (1998) comment,
"It is too late to ask questions such as whether we should allow students
access to the Internet. Rather, we should be conducting research that asks
questions such as, 'What does it take to use Internet connections
successfully in teaching literacy?' " (p. 339).

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Some educators believe that schools should provide students with exposure
to current technologies used in the business world regardless of whether
those technologies have been proven effective through research. Leu (2000)
states, "It may become unimportant to demonstrate the advantages of new
technologies for educational contexts if it is already clear those
technologies will define the literacies of our students' futures" (p.
762).

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snip

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The complete document may be read at the URL above.

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Sincerely,
David Dillard
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