Teaching Digital Literacies

By Joel Bloch and Mark J. Wilkinson

Teaching Digital Literacies explores different approaches to teaching digital literacies in the second language classroom. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of literacy and the new technologies in an easy to follow guide that language teachers will find very practical for their own contexts. Topics covered include different and multiple forms on literacy including web 1.0 and web 2.0, blogging and Twitter, multimodal literacy, social networking, mobility and digital literacy, as well as assessment of digital literacies. Teaching Digital Literacies is a valuable addition to the literature in our profession.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TESOL Press
• Release date: Jan 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781942223740

Joel Bloch

Joel Bloch has published widely on academic writing and the use of technology in multilingual writing classrooms, including Plagiarism, Intellectual Property and the Teaching of L2 Writing (Multilingual Matters, 2012).

Book preview

learning.

Series Editor’s Preface

The English Language Teacher Development (ELTD) Series consists of a set of short resource books for English language teachers that are written in a jargon-free and accessible manner for all types of teachers of English (native and nonnative speakers of English, experienced and novice teachers). The ELTD Series is designed to offer teachers a theory-to-practice approach to English language teaching, and each book offers a wide variety of practical teaching approaches and methods for the topic at hand. Each book also offers opportunities for teachers to interact with the materials presented. The books can be used in preservice settings or in-service courses and can also be used by individuals looking for ways to refresh their practice.

Joel Bloch and Mark J. Wilkinson’s book, Teaching Digital Literacies, explores different approaches to teaching digital literacies in the second language classroom. It is a comprehensive overview of literacy and the new technologies in an easy to follow guide that language teachers will find very practical for their own contexts. Topics covered include different and multiple forms on literacy, including Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, blogging and Twitter, multimodal literacy, social networking, mobility and digital literacy, as well as assessment of digital literacies. Teaching Digital Literacies is a valuable addition to the literature in our profession.

I am very grateful to the authors who contributed to the ELTD Series for sharing their knowledge and expertise with other TESOL professionals because they have done so willingly and without any compensation to make these short books affordable to language teachers throughout the world. It was truly an honor for me to work with each of these authors as they selflessly gave up their valuable time for the advancement of TESOL.

Thomas S. C. Farrell

1

Literacy and the New Technologies

What does it mean to be a literate person in society today? What is the future of literacy as new technologies emerge?

At one time, a literate person was one who was able to sign a document. Today, the definition includes a variety of functions in different literacy contexts, both print and digital. Changes in a society and its educational institutions have factored into what forms of literacy are considered more important. This book discusses the considerations and practices for teaching digital literacy.

The Internet was designed for sharing information, both between individuals and among groups of people, through e-mail or attaching files. Many actions previously performed primarily orally could now be quickly and easily transmitted through text. Writing short text messages could replace chatting on the phone. Writing an e-mail could replace leaving a message on an answering machine. The Web has provided a variety of tools and literacy spaces for writing. Writers create new forms of literacy that can easily be shared with a seemingly boundless audience.

REFLECTIVE BREAK

Has technology impacted how you teach students to write? In what ways?

Digital Literacy and the Classroom inline-image

Students, who are sometimes referred to with the controversial term digital natives and who