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Replacing written text with artwork, photographs, or illustrations offers a number of advantages, especially early in the school year.  Visual imagery is very accessible and a lot less intimidating to a wide range of learners including non-readers, struggling readers, and English language learners. This enables these students a greater chance to practice some of the forms of complex thinking that they will need as the year progresses such as using text evidence, identifying theme, and making connections.

Another advantage the visual imagery has over written text is that it is very fast to decode.

Artworks can and should be treated just as a written text. By doing so, students can get their academic thinking started early, laying a foundation for them to build on throughout their school year.

The problem is that screens have been misunderstood by society and even by organizations like the APA. This was uncovered earlier this year when APA member Dimitri Christakis revealed that their research was conducted before anyone knew the iPad, or similar interactive screen devices, existed

Would we ever discuss limiting book time? Would we ever tell children they’re spending too much time learning? Would we say think critically, but only in moderation

What’s important is that we stop judging screens and start looking at and guiding young people in their use of screens

We are in the midst of four distinct generations: Baby Boomers (born 1946-64), Generation X (1965-79), Net Generation (1980-89) and the new iGeneration (born in the 1990s and beyond). The “i” designation represents the “individualized” nature of their media.

The one thing she doesn’t use her cellphone for? Making calls.

For example, although almost 90 percent of households in the United States now have a cellphone, the growth in voice minutes used by consumers has stagnated, according to government and industry data.

Instead of talking on their cellphones, people are making use of all the extras that iPhones, BlackBerrys and other smartphones were also designed to do — browse the Web, listen to music, watch television, play games and send e-mail and text messages.

In relation to classroom practice, students' learning experiences must help them to assume a critical stance when responding to or creating texts. They need to discover how texts are constructed and how they work. Students need to understand what texts are attempting to do and they need to move toward taking an active, meaning-making position with regard to texts. This webcast will explore what critical literacy is, why it is essential, and what it might look like in an elementary classroom. This webcast is intended to promote professional dialogue and positive action toward improving student achievement.