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ABSTRACT: The teaching of digital literacies is regarded as an important facet of literacy teaching in the 21st century. With many literacy tests continuing to indicate that students' levels of achievement tend to be differentiated along socioeconomic lines, it seems timely to consider the connections between home and school and how these play out in relation to digital literacies. This is particularly important in light of the considerable evidence that has demonstrated how important home-school connections are in ensuring improved traditional literacy outcomes for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. With these points in mind, this article reports on an investigation into the usage of digital technologies in two middle-years classrooms in low socioeconomic suburbs in a regional Australian city. Using a range of ethnographic techniques, the study explored two teachers' approaches to teaching students how to use digital technologies in one school term. Through snapshots of digital practices in the two classrooms, three issues are considered: teachers' pedagogical approaches; students' access to digital technologies at home and at school; and the teachers' recognition of students' prior knowledge of digital technologies. The article concludes by reflecting on the need for teachers to draw on the digital literacies that students are using in their out-of-school lives, to make bridges to school learning and thus address the challenge of preparing students to be literate in the 21st Century.

This is a short literary review of Jason Ohler's 2008 book (title above). For the purpose of organization, Ohler classifies digital storytelling into three sections: Part I-Storytelling, Education, and the New Media, Part II-The Art and Practice of Storytelling, and Part III- Going Digital. According to Ohler, Digital storytelling is important to society, it shares an interrelationship with technology and it has a place in education, tied to literacy. Regardless of the technology advances made in the future, people will use it to fulfill the inherent need to tell their story. (For proof, just look at the progressive advancement of Snapchat. What began as an app allowing users to send cellphone picts to friends using custom contacts lists image display times of ≤10 sec has evolved to allow creation of Sanpchat Stories allowing users to chronicle daily activities via video clips, images & captions available for friends to view over 24 hr.) Ohler identifies fundamentals of a digital story as: Genre, resonance, active/passive viewing, point of view, emotional engagement, tone, spoken narrative, soundtrack, creativity, media grammar, and more. In addition, the reader is able to see how each element connects to literacy development, inquiry, and the backwards design.

Document i​ncludes a list of surveys for assessing the digital literacy skills of adults.

Suhr, K.A., Hernandez, D.A., Grimes, D., & Warschauer, M. (2010). Laptops and Fourth-Grade Literacy: Assisting the Jump over the Fourth-Grade Slump. Journal of Technology, Learning, and Assessment, 9(5).

Cao, M. (2014). Understanding learners' experience in MOOCs: a review of literature. Retrieved from http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/26325 Abstract "MOOCs have become a popular topic in the educational field since 2008. This report reviews the literature from 2008 to March 2014 on the development of MOOCs with a focus on learners' experience. By looking into the topics researchers have been investigating, this review identifies eight themes on this topic: (1) Platforms and Technology, (2) Instructional Materials and Assessment, (3) Instructors, (4) Participants' demographics, (5) Motivation and Engagement Patterns, (6) Self-directed Learning and Learner Interaction, (7) Blended Education, and (8) Completion rates. The review also indicates that MOOC course design (pedagogies, technical support, assessment and instructors) and learner characteristics (motivation, engagement levels, self-directed learning and digital literacy) influence learners' experience. Possible future research questions are also proposed in this report." (p.1) This report is a literature review for a masters by a student at University of Texas at Austin. At the time of writing (March 2014) the author found relatively few references focusing on learners' experience in MOOCs from scholarly journals- 15 in total and she reported on them. These articles disproportionately analyzed cMOOCs as compared with xMOOCs and in both cases data was drawn from relatively early courses. Most references cover only one course. The report identifies 8 themes to categorize the articles' content: (1) Platforms and Technology, (2) Instructional Materials and Assessment, (3) Instructors, (4) Participants' demographics, (5) Motivation and Engagement Patterns, (6) Self-directed Learning and Learner Interaction, (7) Blended Education, and (8) Completion rates. Analysis shows that all these categories are inter-related and affect each other. The author identifies 5 areas for further r

The author believes young people are the most avid users of digital media throughout their daily lives, so we can expect that digital media will be central to their civic lives. Also civic organizations are so deeply enmeshed in the online world that basic participation now requires a certain amountof digital literacy. Civic life is rapidly digitizing, so a crucial component of teaching students the skills to engage as competent civic actors is teaching them how to engage in virtual spaces persuasively, critically, collectively, and before invisible audiences.

Paper on effectively teaching adult learners digital and technology literacy skills

By Michael C. Alewine and Mark Canada

This paper provides a brief overview of the current state of copyright law in the United States, focusing on the negative impacts of these policies on libraries and patrons. The article discusses four challenges current copyright law presents to libraries and the public in general, highlighting three concrete ways intellectual property law interferes with digital library services and systems. Finally, the author suggests that a greater emphasis on copyright literacy and a commitment among the library community to advocate for fairer policies is vital to correcting the imbalance between the interests of the public and those of copyright holders

The new cultural developments problematize the previous policy frames that governed educational technology when the CIPA was set in place. The policy argument of expanding youth access to computing via schools becomes weak if young people prefer to use new media away from school. Furthermore, young people appear to engage in far more creative and compelling learning behaviors with new media outside of school, with few opportunities within classroom walls.

Toolkit designed for afterschool settings on how to use technology

A study that looks at the essential role parents play in teaching their children digital literacy in the online marketplace by sharing consumption experiences.