Today's adolescent student is thriving in a world where information and communication technology (ICT) encourages literate practices. These practices, described and theorized by studies of the new literacies, are not encouraged or supported in most school settings where traditional notions of literacy still dominate. Students in grades 6-8 at a K-8 school in the suburbs of Chicago were surveyed about their uses of ICT and their involvement in reading books. The author of this study, through the results of this survey, an examination of the literature, and observations of her students, encouraged her classes to design and create class projects using digital media. It is best not to try to standardize students' uses of digital media in the English classroom. Instead, let these projects evolve with each new group of students. Student knowledge can still be assessed as students work together to learn new skills from each other. (Contains 3 figures and 3 tables.)