This qualitative participatory action research study provides two case studies to demonstrate how teachers in Grades 4 and 6 integrated digital tools into everyday, content-focused classroom instruction. The study demonstrates how teachers' technological pedagogical knowledge might combine with a participatory stance to encourage students to design and carry out content-focused projects. Findings indicate that teachers struggle with how to assess new literacies, especially participatory digital literacies that engage learners in collaborative and innovative ways. The study concludes that technology integration in content-area instruction would benefit from a participatory stance.