Literacy Now

Outside of the classroom, young adults are writing stories, creating art, producing songs, and engaging in role playing games to express their affinity for popular media franchises, such as The Hunger Games. Within and across diverse online spaces, they are connecting with others around this common interest and finding global audiences for their creative work.

p: somegeekintn via photopin

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 80% of adolescents use online social network sites, 38% share original creative work online, and 21% remix their own transformative works, inspired by others’ words and images (Lenhart, Ling, Campbell, & Purcell, 2010; Lenhart, Madden, Smith, Purcell, Zickuhr, & Rainie, 2011).

Recent research indicates that out-of-school writing has a tangible and positive influence on in-school writing. In fact, a survey of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers found that 96% believe that technology offers students a wider audience and 78% agree that digital tools foster student creativity and personal expression (Purcell, Buchanan, & Friedrich, 2013).

As literacy researchers, teacher educators, and former classroom teachers, we are interested in understanding how writing in the wild shapes young adults’ writing processes and products (Curwood, 2013; Curwood, Magnifico, & Lammers, 2013). From FanFiction.net to Figment.com to Wattpad.com, fanfiction has emerged as a powerful way for adolescents to share their creative writing, connect with eager readers, receive formative feedback, and participate in fan culture.

As Henry Jenkins (1992) argues, fanfiction practices blur “any clear-cut distinction between media producer and media spectator, since any spectator may potentially participate in the creation of new artworks” (p. 247). More recent research by Angela Thomas (2007) shows how fanfiction can promote collaborative writing and role-playing across a range of online and offline spaces, while Rebecca Black’s (2008) research highlights how FanFiction.net can help adolescent English language learners develop identities as English writers.

In our own work, we explore how adolescent writers leverage the technology in spaces such as FanFiction.net (FFN) to interact with their readers in ways that shape their fanfiction writing, as well as the ways in which their reading and writing practices reinforce each other (Lammers, Magnifico, & Curwood, 2014; Magnifico, Lammers, & Curwood, 2013).

We have found that spaces like FanFiction.net, Figment.com, and Wattpad.com are designed to facilitate interaction between authors and readers across time and space. Writing is highly collaborative, and authors’ writing processes are significantly shaped by the private feedback they receive from beta readers and the public feedback they receive from a global audience.

Fanfiction writers directly engage with their readers through Author Notes and Postscripts, which often appear at the beginning and end of new chapters. Consequently, technology positions adolescent authors “among the audience” (Lunsford & Ede, 2009), and fanfiction sites promote both small-scale collaborations and large-scale collective collaborations (Kafai & Peppler, 2011).

Since its founding in 1998, FFN has become the most popular fanfiction website, with over two million users and stories in more than 30 languages. Alexa, one of our primary study participants, is a fanfiction writer (all names are pseudonyms), and she actively shares her creative work on FFN, Tumblr, and Deviant Art. She has been working on her main FFN story for two years, and it is currently over 170,000 words and has garnered 1,500 reviews from readers all over the world.

For Alexa, the FFN practice of having beta readers allowed her to see writing not as a solitary activity, but as a collaborative way of engaging in the writing process. In particular, Alexa was able to take on the identity of a writer in The Hunger Games fandom because FFN gave her the freedom to pursue the plots and characters in which she was most interested whenever she wanted to write (Lammers et al., 2014).

While classrooms are typically “vertical” writing spaces, in which teachers ultimately evaluate student writing, online peer review allows students to comment on each others’ work and can be instrumental in creating “horizontal” writing spaces in both out-of-school and in-class contexts (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012). Today’s fanfiction writers can readily access an authentic audience, directly engage with reviewers, and remix characters, settings, and plots from novels and films. Fanfiction is one example of how technology can empower young adults to attend to the craft of writing in new and powerful ways.

We propose teachers draw on the principles and practices inherent in fanfiction sites to promote writing that connects students to a wider audience while fostering creativity and personal expression. At the same time, we suggest that teachers are mindful of the dangers of co-opting fanfiction and popular culture into school spaces. Ideas for exploring more about fanfiction in K-12 public schools can be found in an online article series in School Library Journal: 

• What Educators Really Need to Know About Fanfiction (Drew Emanuel Berkowitz, 2013)
• Ways to Welcome Fanfiction in Schools (Drew Emanuel Berkowitz, 2013)
• You Don’t Need to Go to Comic.con to Have Fan Literacies (Drew Emanuel Berkowitz, 2013)

References

Black, R. W. (2008). Adolescents and online fan fiction. New York: Peter Lang.

Curwood, J.S. (2013). Fan fiction, remix culture, and The Potter Games. In V.E.

Frankel (Ed.), Teaching with Harry Potter (pp. 81-92). Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

Curwood, J.S., Magnifico, A.M., & Lammers, J.C. (2013). Writing in the wild: Writers’ motivation in fan-based affinity spaces. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 56(8), 677-685.

Jenkins, H. (1992). Textual poachers: Television fans and participatory culture. New York: Routledge.

Kafai, Y.B. & Peppler, K.A. (2011). Beyond small groups: New opportunities for research in computer-supported collective learning. In H. Spada, G. Stahl, N.

Miyake, & N. Law (Eds.), Proceedings of the 9th Conference of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning - Volume I (pp. 17-24). Hong Kong, China: International Society of the Learning Sciences.

Kalantzis, M., & Cope, W. (2012). Literacies. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Lammers, J.C., Magnifico, A.M., & Curwood, J.S. (2014). Exploring tools, places, and ways of being: Audience matters for developing writers. In K.E. Pytash & R.E. Ferdig (Eds.), Exploring technology for writing and writing instruction (pp. 186-201). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.

Lenhart, A., Ling, R., Campbell, S., & Purcell, K. (2010). Teens and mobile phones. Pew Internet and the American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org.

Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Smith, A., Purcell, K., Zickuhr, K. & Rainie, L. (2011). Teens, kindness and cruelty on social network sites. Pew Internet and the American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/.

Lunsford, A.A. & Ede, L. (2009). Among the audience: On audience in an age of new literacies. In M.E. Weiser, B.M. Fehler, & A.M. Gonzales (Eds.) Engaging audience: Writing in an age of new literacies. (pp. 42-69). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Magnifico, A.M., Lammers, J.C., & Curwood, J.S. (2013). Collaborative learning across time and space: Ethnographic research in online affinity spaces. In N. Rummel,

M. Kapur, M. Nathan, & S. Puntembekar (Eds.), Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning – Volume 2 (pp. 81-84). Madison, WI: International Society of the Learning Sciences.

Purcell, K., Buchanan, J. & Friedrich, L. (2013). The impact of digital tools on student writing and how writing is taught in schools. Pew Internet and the American Life Project. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org.

Thomas, A. (2007). Youth online: Identity and literacy in the digital age. New York: Peter Lang.

TILE-SIG will host a special session on Sunday, May 11 at 3:00 p.m. at the International Reading Association 59th Annual Conference in New Orleans. The session includes the presentation of the 2014 Technology in Reading Research Award, "Changing the Landscape of Literacy Teacher Education: Innovations with Generative Technology" with keynote Dana Grisham (National University, TILE-SIG 2013 Reading Research Award Winner), and 18 roundtable discussions about research findings and practical classroom ideas. Visit http://www.iraconference.org to learn more about IRA 2014 or to register.

Jen Scott Curwood is a senior lecturer in English education and media studies at the University of Sydney in Australia. Her research focuses on adolescent literacy, technology, and teacher professional development. She is online at jensc.org and on Twitter at @jensc3.

Jayne C. Lammers is an assistant professor and director of the secondary English teacher preparation program at the University of Rochester. She studies adolescents’ literacy learning and can be reached at jlammers@warner.rochester.edu or on Twitter at @URocProf.

Alecia Marie Magnifico is an assistant professor of English teaching at the University of New Hampshire. Her research interests focus on adolescents’ writing, audiences, and new literacies, and her work can be found at aleciamagnifico.org and on Twitter at @aleciamarie.

As nearly every teacher knows, students with disabilities have been increasingly included in general education classrooms. Nearly 6.4 million students, 13% of the total student population, are identified with disabilities and receive special education services in schools across the nation (US Department of Education, 2010). General education teachers are therefore often seeking ways to support students struggling with decoding and comprehension, especially as they access content area curricular materials. The good news is that there are now many cost-effective technologies to help students access these texts.

Just because a technology is available doesn’t mean that it enhances learning or is appropriate for every learner. Before jumping into specific technological solutions, I encourage educators to think about integrating technology within a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework, which promotes a technology-enhanced curriculum that is accessible and appropriate for all learners, including those with disabilities. See the thoughtful TILE-SIG posts already exploring UDL for further information.

Students with disabilities who struggle with grade-level, content area texts can improve their reading comprehension by using technology to have texts read aloud (e.g., Anderson-Inman & Horney, 2007; Higgins & Raskind, 2004). Over the past ten years, rapid innovations in text-to-speech (TTS) technologies have created new and affordable ways to help students read print-based or digital texts that have no audio equivalent. TTS technologies provide students with the ability to hear virtually any text read aloud with a synthesized voice.

Students can access PDFs, word processing docs, EPUB files, webpages, emails, and more from virtually any computer, phone, or tablet. There are many TTS readers available and the following list provides recommendations for teachers and students that are either already integrated into common classroom devices or are offered as low-cost add-ons that still provide comparatively high voice quality.

Speak Selection (free) available on all iOS X devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Mac computers). There are options for multiple voices, pace control, and simultaneous text highlighting.

Screen Reader (free) available on the Kindle Touch, all second generation Kindle Fire devices, and available as a software upgrade for the first generation Kindle Fire. The Screen Reader provides multiple options related to the voices, pace, quantity of text to read at a time (word, line, paragraph, etc.), and more.

Ivona MiniReader (free) & Text Reader ($59 for one natural voice, additional voices for a fee) are available for Windows only. Ivona TTS products read a range of text files. The MiniReader is designed with an easy-to-use floating text bar that allows students to read text from any open program. The Text Reader integrates seamlessly with multiple applications and provides options to convert text into mp3 files.

NaturalReader - (free, $69.90) compatible with MAC OS or Windows. NaturalReader reads a range of texts including word processing applications, emails, websites, and even printed-text scanned into PDF format. The NaturalReader upgrade provides students additional options to convert files into audio files, an add-on specific to Microsoft Word, and extra voices. The upgrade is recommended for students that frequently rely on TTS software.

Voice Dream Reader - ($9.99, additional voices for a fee) available on iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touch. This app reads PDFs, EPUB, Microsoft Word & PPT, Apple Pages & Keynote, and more. It is known for its high quality voices, multiple language options, and intuitive and functional design and use.

Each of these tools has their own strengths and limitations but they all have the potential to help students learn content that might otherwise be unavailable to them because of their reading ability. These tools also serve as a reminder that teachers should actively seek solutions for overcoming students’ individual learning barriers because the rapid changes in technology are constantly creating new opportunities for all learners.

References

Anderson-Inman, L., & Horney, M. A. (2007). Supported eText: Assistive technology through text transformations. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(1), 153-160. doi:10.1598/RRQ.42.1.8

Higgins, E. L., & Raskind, M. H. (2004). Speech recognition-based and automaticity programs to help students with severe reading and spelling problems. Annals of Dyslexia, 54(2), 365-388.

US Department of Education. IDEA Part B Child Count, 2010, Students ages 6-21. Available at www.IDEAdata.org

Kara Sevensma is an Assistant Professor of Education at Calvin College. She can be contacted at sevensma@calvin.edu.

TILE-SIG will host a special session on Sunday, May 11 at 3:00 p.m. at the International Reading Association 59th Annual Conference in New Orleans. The session includes the presentation of the 2014 Technology in Reading Research Award, "Changing the Landscape of Literacy Teacher Education: Innovations with Generative Technology" with keynote Dana Grisham (National University, TILE-SIG 2013 Reading Research Award Winner), and 18 roundtable discussions about research findings and practical classroom ideas. Visit http://www.iraconference.org to learn more about IRA 2014 or to register.

One of my favorite benefits of having a digital classroom is the opportunity to find creative ways to use new technology tools. Recently, I started noticing some of my fellow teacher bloggers talking about using augmented reality in the classroom with an app called Aurasma. With this app, students can create a video, animation, or other interactive material that will be linked with a particular image. When the device camera hovers over the image, the interactive material pops up.

p: Barrett.Discovery via photopin

I immediately wanted to know how teachers were using this app in the classroom. When I started digging deeper, I came across a post by Erin Klein, who had used the app to create an interactive word wall with her students. I loved this idea, because I have often found that word walls fall a bit flat with my older students. What a fantastic way to make it truly useful and engaging!

The interactive word wall was going to take some time and rearranging in my classroom, so I thought it would be best to introduce that particular project next fall. However, my mind was spinning with ideas for how I could use augmented reality in my classroom right now. I was getting ready to start an in-depth study of informational text features, and felt that this app could help my students become more engaged with the content.

For this particular project, I asked my students to work with a partner. I gave each team a different text feature to focus on. They were to learn what their text feature was, and what purpose it served. Once they had reported to me their findings, the partners found an example to use as their trigger image—most students took a picture of a textbook or other non-fiction text and used an annotation app to draw an arrow pointing out the text feature. Then, they created a short video to define and explain their text feature. The more outgoing students recorded themselves, while those who are more reserved took video of a non-fiction text as they pointed and explained. In this way, everyone could feel comfortable being part of the process.

Once the images and videos were done, they could be combined in the Aurasma app to create "auras." I printed out the trigger images, and students then went on a treasure hunt, using the iPads at different stations to trigger auras, matching up text features with descriptions on a recording sheet. This allowed all students to become familiar with all of the text features we were studying. I also asked the teams to upload their images and videos to our shared Google Drive account. This way, I could create an Aurasma channel online and post the trigger images on a wall in the classroom, allowing my students to use this as a reference resource as needed.

Augmented reality could be used in so many creative ways in the classroom, and I am already making a list of new ideas. I have visions of a similar project for learning the different types of figurative language, and the potential uses for creating interactive ELA content are numerous. But perhaps the most intriguing idea for me is how I can use this app to generate more enthusiasm for book clubs and independent reading. Rather than requiring traditional book reports, I love having student-created reviews and book trailers for the titles in my classroom library, and have ambitions of expanding to our school library.

Aurasma provides an innovative platform for allowing students to share their book-based projects with each other, and having those projects stored for on-demand access. By using technology tools creatively, we can enhance the learning process in such a way that leads to a higher level of student engagement and the creation of not just lifelong learners, but lifelong readers.

Lindsey Fuller is a sixth grade teacher in Decatur, Illinois. Her interests are classroom technology integration, literacy instruction, and Common Core curriculum development and implementation. You can read more from Lindsey on these topics at her blog, Tales of a 6th Grade Classroom. 

Have you wanted to get involved and connect with others on Twitter? Do you want to play, create, and share digital content while identifying instructional opportunities for this work?

I’d like to invite you all to a social networking and connected education challenge that we’ve been conducting online. In this challenge, we are exploring the use of digital texts and tools as a means to connect, collaborate, and share globally. This challenge is part of a research initiative I’m conducting with a group of researchers and educators. The results of this project will be shared at the conferences for IRA, NCTE,  and the Literacy Research Association.

Share a “walk” in your “world”

p: gilad cc

Welcome to the #WALKMYWORLD project. Once a week, for ten weeks, we would like you to share with us a “walk” in your “world.” There really are no rules to this challenge. The only real rule is that we ask that you share this “walk” publicly on Twitter, and include the hashtag (#WALKMYWORLD) in your post. In your post we ask that you share an image or video that captures this walk in your world once a week. In this challenge we start by sharing and connecting, and then slowly move to poetry writing and response.

The beauty of this challenge is in what you decide to share. In terms of what you share, there are multiple options. Educators and students have been sharing photos, or content from Vine and/or Instagram. Participants have shared audio clips on Soundcloud, and reflective blog posts. There really is no limit to what you share. For more ideas and support, please visit the original blog post for the #WALKMYWORLD project by clicking here.

Be thoughtful in your posts
Please keep in mind that in this challenge you are openly posting information to the Internet. I believe that it is important that we educate, empower, and advocate for the use of digital texts and tools as a literacy. I also believe that teachers and students should think critically about how they create and curate their online brand. That being said, please thoughtfully and carefully select what you share online. Please do not post or share anything that you feel does not represent you in the best light. Please also do not share content of others, or photos of students that you do not have permission to share. In short…think carefully before posting content online.

Play…and then share
In this challenge, you are playing with, creating, and sharing digital content in online spaces. The key element here is to have fun, connect, and experiment with the digital texts and tools. Be sure to be thoughtful and protect yourself as you share online. Include the #WALKMYWORLD hashtag in your posts. Please follow the prompts for each week of the #WALKMYWORLD project by following the tag from my blog by clicking here.

When you search Twitter for #WALKMYWORLD you will find a collection of teachers, pre-service teachers, and students that are all allowing us to take a walk in their world. On a personal note, I love the gems that Kate Booth shares from her cherubs. I’m jealous of the picturesque scenery that Alison McCandlish shares. Kevin Hodgson always pushes the boundaries of what we could/should do with digital texts and tools. Finally, Molly Shields is able to push my thinking about literacy and digital storytelling. Along with these experts from the community, there are also many others learning how to interact, learn, and share using Twitter for the first time.

Come and join us as we connect and share together online. Enjoy!!!

W. Ian O'Byrne is an assistant professor in the Department of Education at the University of New Haven. You can read his blog at wiobyrne.com, follow him on Twitter (@wiobyrne), at Google+, or contact him at wiobyrne@gmail.com.

This article is part of a series from the Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG).

In today’s world, the topic of using technology in the classroom can be intimidating. In this monthly column, join one teacher on a quest to discover the best way to meet the needs of her digital-age learners…moving beyond the technology tools to focusing on supporting each student’s learning. 

When February rolls around in Alabama, minds turn towards the big celebrations surrounding Mardi Gras. A little-known fact is that Mardi Gras actually began in Mobile, Alabama, not New Orleans, Louisiana—a fact that any Alabamian will gladly share with anyone who thinks that New Orleans is the birthplace of Mardi Gras in the United States.

p: andy castro via photopin

In spite of having been one of those who needed educating in the true origin of Mardi Gras, I find myself thinking fondly of travelling to New Orleans to attend IRA’s 59th Annual Conference. Even though Mardi Gras will be a memory for many by May, I can’t help but think of all the beads, costumes, and masks that are found year round.

The masks are masterful works of art that disguise the wearer while still allowing him/her to actively participate in festivities. As a classroom teacher, I am immediately reminded of how that parallels with what we want for our students in their online learning; we want for them to be present and actively engage in a world of possibilities for their learning while also learning in a safe environment.

Many ask, How can you include learning activities that include digital and social media when there are so many seemingly potential dangers lurking? The fact is that students are already engaged in these mediums with or without us. With us, they are in a safe environment where there are filters and safeguards put into place. If a student makes a poor choice, we have the opportunity to have a discussion where they can identify an unsafe practice and determine why they need to make a change. When in our classrooms, we are giving them the opportunity to build safe habits that they carry with them once those safeguards are absent, which for many of them is when they return home. It is not uncommon for students to come and express to me how unsafe they had been in their online profiles or practices and how they have immediately made changes to protect themselves.

Because safety is a topic about which I am most often asked, I thought I would share a few of the practices that I have put into place to help students develop an understanding of the rules in this digital playground.

Let them set expectations. Even though I teach middle level students, it surprises me how much they do not know about making good choices online. Quite often they express that no one has ever talked to them about digital choices. Sometimes learners may know not to do something, but they have no understanding as to the “why” of the discussion. I often write about the importance of students taking ownership over the practices in the classroom. They need to discover and understand how the choices they make could impact them or those around them. I do not believe in scare tactics, but I do believe that students need to have a clear understanding of the potential ramifications that something they put out in cyberspace can have, positive and negative (and yes, these need to be age appropriate).

At the beginning of the school year, I guide my students in a discussion about the world of possibilities available to them through digital mediums. We start with a beginning activity where they work in small groups creating a list of what they know about online practices and opportunities. Then they share their list with the class. A crucial part of this conversation is having the students share the “why” behind each of their ideas. They need to begin connecting the dots between their choices and the impact that they could have.

After a week of these conversations, my learners create a list of expectations for their online behavior; they are building their mask. Because we have discussed this over the course of several days, they have a clear understanding as to why each element is included on their list. Each year the list is a bit different because my students are different each year. You will notice that the list my students created this year includes a lot of positives. Yes, safety is addressed and each one of my students can enumerate in a very detailed explanation of each characteristic, but this is their list, not mine. They have complete ownership over this process and they hold one another to these practices.

Let them create a safe profile. So many of the tools that students use, from Voice Thread to blogging to Google apps have users set up an online profile. Since this is a part of connecting with other people, it is important that students have the opportunity to build a profile that gives them some individuality while still providing the protection that he/she needs.

One way that we create individuality while staying behind the mask is through various online avatar creators. Students have the ability to create an online avatar that is unique to them to use in all of their accounts. That becomes their mask where other students can identify them with just their profile photo while not putting their photo out for anyone to view.

My learners’ favorite avatar creator is Build Your Wild Self. On this site, users have the opportunity to select a cartoon version of different boys or girls and then add fun animal parts to their avatar. It is something that can be as unique as each of your students. And who wouldn’t remember a girl with peacock feathers and octopus tentacles?

If your students are into superheroes like many of mine are (and let’s face it, who wouldn’t like to be a superhero?) Marvel’s Create Your Own Superhero and Hero Machine are both really super options. Many of my learners are into Legos or Claymation characters. If they would like to become a Lego character, the Mini-Mizer is fun, while creating a clay version of themselves on ClayYourself (like the ones in the Hotels.com commercials) may appeal to other students.

Whatever their interest, there is a way for them to create a safe, fun, and memorable profile “photo” that helps them to connect and build relationships with a parade of learning opportunities from around the globe.

Let them communicate and collaborate through class accounts. When discussing social media, many teachers shy away from bringing these tools into their classrooms. There are students whose parents do not feel comfortable in having their students on social media. Once I explain that we will be using our class account where I am the only one with the login and I am the one controlling what content comes into and out of our learning environment, I have never had any students denied access to all of the learning opportunities possible through these tools.

One tip that I would suggest is that you set up accounts separate and apart from your own accounts. For example, my Twitter name is @JulieDRamsay while the class account is @RamsaysClass. The audience needs to know that the tweets, posts, or photos are coming from students, not an adult. It changes how individuals or groups respond to content put out through different feeds.

I’ve written in previous columns about the amazing learning opportunities that have resulted because my students are on Twitter, blogging, and Instagram, which are all done on our class iPad. An incredible amount of in-depth, real world, authentic learning would not have occurred had we not been actively involved with connecting with other students, authors, and experts through social media.

One more idea I’d like to share is that the purpose of social media is to be, well, social. That is what appeals to today’s students. They know they have an authentic audience; someone who will be reading, commenting, and questioning their thoughts and ideas. When you create a blocked account, you are extremely limiting the individuals who can connect with your students. If you are using a class account, you are already serving as the filter. You will quickly be able to identify those trolls who will offer no learning experiences for your students. Blocking them is a matter of a couple of clicks.

So as the Mardi Gras parades and festivities march on, let us remember that we can open up a world of possibilities for our learners through digital resources while providing them the protection they need from behind a mask of sound online practices. Until I see you in May, Laissez les bon temps rouler!

Are you a fan of Plugged In? Come see Julie D. Ramsay present “The Global Read Aloud: One Book to Connect the World” at IRA’s 59th Annual Convention, May 9-12, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

Julie D. Ramsay is a Nationally Board Certified educator and the author of “CAN WE SKIP LUNCH AND KEEP WRITING?”: COLLABORATING IN CLASS & ONLINE, GRADES 3-8 (Stenhouse, 2011). She teaches ELA to sixth graders at Rock Quarry Middle School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She also travels the country to speak, present, and facilitate workshops in applying technology to support authentic learning. Read her blog at juliedramsay.blogspot.com.