Purpose: Digital texts are increasingly widespread and research is needed on how students use digital texts, particularly in school-based classwork. The purpose of this study is to challenges persistent myths about young people's affinity with digital tools by investigating the factors that condition or limit the ways students interact with and…

Although technology has been commonly used to teach reading skills to students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the overall quality and evidence base of research supporting this practice has not yet been fully investigated. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the effects of technology-based reading interventions for students with…

The theme of this year was educate to liberate. A reminder to the literacy community that education, and literacy extend beyond the content and courses we teach. As Freire puts it, "Leaders who do not act dialogically, but insist on imposing their decisions, do not organize the people--they manipulate them. They do not liberate, nor are…

A variety of computer-based models of Extensive Reading have emerged in the last decade. Different Information and Communication Technologies online usually support these models. However, such innovations are not feasible in contexts where the digital breach limits the access to Internet. The purpose of this paper is to report a project in which…

This article provides a statistical analysis of the reading gains observed at one American school in the Caribbean that was using Accelerated Reader. It provides an estimate of the number of hours students needed to read to advance their reading performance an additional year. The authors estimate how much Accelerated Reader contributed to the…

There are three strategies for critically evaluating information on the Internet: (1) examining initial markers (superficial characteristics of a website that can help make an initial judgment); (2) corroborating information (looking to other trusted sources to verify information); and (3) determining author bias (analyzing the author's intent for…

Students with disabilities benefit when technology is used to promote their literacy learning. The authors describe TECH, a framework educators can use to select, implement, and monitor the impact of technology in relation to literacy goals. The framework is shown in action for mathematics vocabulary and reading comprehension skills for a student…

The theme for the 62nd annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers was Educating for a Just Society. Connie Briggs, previous Program Chair, reminded us that, "Education has always been the foundation of a democratic nation. It is important that our students understand the principles upon which our nation was…

This article explores the use of digital poetry in a secondary English classroom and its implications for adolescents' multimodal composition and identity development. The authors--an English teacher and a library media specialist--collaborated over the course of three years to design, implement, and reiterate a digital poetry curriculum. Through…

Mobile technology-enhanced literacy initiatives have become a focus of efforts to support learning for students with literacy difficulties. The "Laptops Initiative for Post-Primary Students with Dyslexia or other Reading/Writing Difficulties" offers insights into and addresses questions about ICT policy making regarding m-learning technologies for…

Empower students to take ownership of their reading and learning with "Teaching Students to Read Like Detectives." In this comprehensive guide, the authors explore the relationship between text, learner, and learning through discussion and rhetorical writing at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Prompt students to become the…

Cross-age tutoring, in which older and younger students work together to improve their ELA skills, is not a new concept; Linda D. Labbo and William H. Teale explored it as a tool for poor readers as early as 1990. The author has found that using tutoring with video games also works well. Students have the opportunity to read aloud collaboratively…

This article reports on findings from a school-based action research project with aboriginal adolescent students attending an alternative school in Canada. As a Freirean response to these marginalized students' school failures, the researcher engaged students in a critical multiliteracies approach to language and literacy learning. Based on…

In this study we examined how good and weak students of literature interact with short literary stories. We focused on differences in the use of cognitive and affective reading activities, and in the extent to which good and weak students adapt their activities to (parts of) the story they are reading. 19 Dutch tenth-grade students from 8 classes…

The U.S. Departments of Commerce and Education (who co-chair the NSTC Working Group) and NetDay formed a partnership aimed at analyzing K-12 student views about technology for learning. These views are analyzed in this second report, "Visions 2020.2: Student Views on Transforming Education and Training Through Advanced Technologies." In…