In 21st century classrooms, students use a variety of languages to communicate their ideas in both the spoken and written word. These languages vary between standard and nonstandard forms of English, and each speaker may alter their language use based on context or intended audience. One unique language form that appears in many classrooms is…

Scholars have long recognized that reading in digital spaces requires unique skills, strategies, and competencies in comparison to those needed for reading printed text. In recent years, the ubiquity of social media and algorithmically targeted content has radically changed the nature of online reading and meaning making. Technological changes…

In this article, we describe a collaboratively developed information literacy curriculum that was embedded into three core 8th grade subjects: Algebra, American History, and English Language Arts. The curriculum was rooted in the concept of generalist literacy and supported students as they developed their curiosity, skepticism, commitment to…

Where teachers were once limited to traditional textbooks, informational texts, novels, and materials passed along by others, today the online marketplace is wide open, flush with copious materials that teachers might choose, often at little or no cost. But practically nothing is known about what these supplemental instructional materials actually…

New York-based education startup Newsela has quickly gained popularity with K-12 educators in the six years since its launch. Its website boasts that it serves 90% of schools in the United States including the 1.5 million teachers they employ and their 20 million students. But what makes it so popular? Teachers are drawn to its Common Core-aligned…

This technical report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and resultant data for the American Instructional Resources Surveys (AIRS) that were administered to principals and teachers in Spring 2021 via RAND's American Educator Panels. The AIRS focused on instructional resources used and supported in English language arts,…

Set in English Language Arts, this article takes up recent trends in literacy toward investigating ontological notions of digital texts. Two teacher educators recently implemented a series of readings and activities in their methods courses designed to help preservice teachers sophisticate their conceptions of texts beyond autonomous, neutral…

This technical report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and resultant data for the American Instructional Resources Surveys (AIRS) that were administered to principals and teachers in spring 2020 via RAND's American Educator Panels. The AIRS focused on instructional resources used and supported in English language arts,…

Researchers found that the integration of internet technology into K-12 classrooms can improve student outcomes. Self-reported statements from 15 teachers and district survey results at the local setting, a rural school in a Southern state, indicated that sixth- through eighth-grade English Language Arts (ELA) teachers were not making effective…

Project OCCAMS (Online Curriculum Consortium for Accelerating Middle School) is a collaboration between the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, the Center for Gifted Education at The College of William & Mary, and Columbus Public Schools with a goal of providing accelerated learning in language arts aimed at increasing…

The Internet and other communication technologies can provide a powerful tool for social justice and civic action. These digital devices and social media have shown enormous potential by activists to mobilize the public, document their activities and the injustices they witness, and spread information to a wider audience. Individuals are often…

In this article, I share the ways in which New Literacies theory served as an interpretive lens to understand how the Internet as a cultural tool mediates the literacy actions of adolescents in English Language Arts classrooms. Data were drawn from a larger study in which students who were considered "at-risk" because of previous…

Internet connectivity has become a critical resource for teaching and learning. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is a prime example, with schools expected to implement online assessments and use online resources for instruction. Yet there is little known about the extent to which local education agencies (LEAs) and schools are taking…

Learning how to teach writing is a skill just as learning how to write is a skill. Without a dedicated composition course in Education faculties pre-service teachers are not getting the training they require to be effective teachers of writing. In this report, a case is made for why teachers have to be more aware of how students learn to write and…

Composing with different modes--image, sound, video and the written word--to respond to and analyze literary and informational text helps students develop as readers and digital communicators. This article showcases five multimodal strategies for engaging children in rich literature-based learning using digital tools and Internet resources.