ERIC Number: ED440398
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1999-Oct
Pages: 17
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Literacy and Technology Studies: Past, Present, Future.
Snyder, Ilana
This paper examines what has been learned from research about the complex connections between literacy, technology, and learning. The beginnings of research in this area coincided with the introduction of personal computers (PCs) into educational settings in the late 1970s. For the first decade, researchers asked the kinds of questions best explored using quantitative methods. They set out to determine whether the use of computers enhanced writing. The findings, however, were equivocal. By contrast, sociocultural understandings of literacy, which became more widely accepted in the mid-80s, provoked a different research orientation and different kinds of questions. The Digital Rhetorics project (Lankshear, et al 1997) is an example of research informed by the recognition of literacy as social practice. Further, it exemplifies the shift towards qualitative research approaches in the field of literacy and technology studies. The paper includes an overview of the Digital Rhetorics project, giving particular attention to its sociocultural perspective and qualitative methodology. Finally, it considers future directions for research and practice in this area. The paper concludes that a maturing of the field of literacy and technology studies has been reached. The research agenda is fertile with possibilities. The challenge is to undertake studies that will continue to inform effective practice, mediated by new communication and information technologies, at all levels of education. Contains 60 references. (Author/RS)
Descriptors: Computer Uses in Education, Elementary Secondary Education, Literature Reviews, Program Descriptions, Reading Research, Research Needs, Technological Advancement, Writing Improvement, Writing Research
For full text: http://www.acer.edu.au/acer/workshops.
Publication Type: Information Analyses; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Australian Council for Educational Research Conference on Improving Literacy Learning (Adelaide, South Australia, October 18-19, 1999). In: Australian Educational Researcher, Volume 27, Number 2.