Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside Our Students

by Sara Kajder

Sara Kajder examines ways in which teachers and students co-construct new literacies through Web 2.0 technology-infused instructional practices.

This book isn’t about technology. It’s about the teaching practices that technology enables. Instead of focusing on where to point and click, this book addresses the ways in which teachers and students work together to navigate continuous change and what it means to read, write, view, listen, and communicate in the twenty-first century. Sara Kajder (a nationally recognized expert on technology and literacy) recognizes that students are reading and writing every day in their “real lives.” Drawing on ideas found in Adolescent An NCTE Policy Research Brief, Kajder offers solutions for connecting these activities with the literacy practices required by classroom curricula. Through extensive interviews and classroom experiences, Kajder offers examples of both students and teachers who have successfully integrated technology to enrich literacy learning. As part of the Principles in Practice imprint, Adolescents and Digital Learning Alongside Our Students offers critical consideration of students’ in-school and out-of-school digital literacy practices in a practical, friendly, and easily approachable manner.

Genres: Teaching, Education

119 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Sara Kajder, Ph.D. is a Clinical Professor in the English Education program at The University of Georgia. A former middle and high school English teacher, her research has examined teachers' pedagogy and students' reading and writing practices with digital media. She received the 2012 James Britton Award for her book Adolescents and Digital Literacies: Learning Alongside our Students. A sought-after national consultant and speaker, she is also the recipient of two technology leadership fellowships in English/Language Arts, the inaugural Divergent Award for Excellence in a Digital Age Research, the NCTE Halle Outstanding Middle Educator Award, and multiple teaching awards and recognitions.

Reviews

[Carrie Honaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! Sara Kajder’s book Adolescents and Digital Literacies explores the dialogue she engages in with NCTE’s Brief on Adolescent Literacy, AL Brief, and how she sees it manifest itself in classrooms across The United States. Kajder opens the book with an overview of the AL Brief and how she sees at as a call to action, and a support structure for that action. Kajder further outlines in her introduction what she considers the “Big Ideas” that have driven her research and, ultimate writing of the book. The three “Big Ideas,” according to Dr. Kajder are: Kids come to us multiply literate, Literacy is social, active, and connective, and kids need to be able to answer “We are doing this in order to…”(6-7). Kajder maintains a close relationship to these values throughout the profiling of all of the teachers and classrooms she visits in each chapter.
I found this book very readable. The style of writing is layman-like and not filled with educational acronyms. Each chapter gives a real image of the classrooms that all of us have taught in. I was especially caught by some of the student interviews. They were quite telling about how students view school. One student, Molly, interviewed by Dr. Kajder spoke of “playing school” (25) because she found the lessons and assignments artificial. Molly felt that school was not relatable to her real life, so she just performed at being a student to achieve a good grade. Dr. Kajder interviewed another student who spoke of her writing outside of school as real and her writing in school as not meaningful (28). These recounts by students lend power to the argument Dr. Kajder makes for refashioning and reimagining curriculum.
Another piece that makes this book a valuable read is that each profile is accompanied by a piece of the AL Brief that supports what the teachers and students are saying. Dr. Kajder, in essence, gives teachers and administrators who are looking for change, a research-based document to provide as support for the push-back they will inevitably get. Another gem of this book is that each profile and tie to the Al Brief is concluded with a page of resources about where to go for further research, and books and websites that would be useful for implementing the activity profiled in that chapter into your own classroom. For this alone, this book would be an invaluable resource for classroom teachers.
Throughout the journey of reading this book, I continually challenged my own ideas against the tenets of the AL Brief. I think the thought process it encouraged is probably the most valuable part of reading this book. Sara Kajder sets forth an argument and a compendium of research that makes you question, as a teacher, where you are on the spectrum of accommodating New Literacies into your curriculum. This book made me think about the future of education and, I think, it will make you ponder as they turn the pages.

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kajder bases her book on Adolescent Literacy: An NCTE Policy Research Brief--and first of all gives me a new way of reading that document. What I like most about her book is her perspective: "[Using technology in the classroom:] isn't about urgent technology use. It is about emergent use of a new literacies practice or new media to move students in ways that aren't possible with 'traditional' practices. We don't roll in the technology because it will 'motivate' kids by its simple presence in the room. We examine their practices. We learn about what makes new media and the literacy practices they evoke and make possible unique, different, and compelling. We think critically about the negative potentials of digital media for learning. . . . We keep learning." I like that way of thinking--it makes me think about classroom practices (even those not related to technology) differently. Although I didn't really see any specific things I will turn around and implement in my classroom (although there are some classroom practices described here), the book instead addresses the principles teachers should think about when they use technology with students: a more relevant point, I think. At one point, I wrote in the margin this note: "So I should be asking myself, 'what kinds of thinking do I want students to do--and what tools will best help them do it?' It seems that, sometimes at least, a pencil might be the best answer!" This is a thought-provoking read, and one I think I will have to read again to get all I should from it.

[Erin Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although most people my age are used to the fact that technology is becoming a part of the classroom, Kajdar shows that there is so much out there that many people still do not know about. She also stresses the importance of sharing what you are doing with other teachers, principals, and administrators.

There are many good ideas in this book, and I now have a few ideas of my own to use when I get into a classroom. It is worth the read for any current teacher, or anyone ready to become a teacher.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When students aren't experienced enough with the 2.0 world and how to bring it into the classroom-- and vice versa-- this is the book they need. Definitely a keeper for many kinds of English Methods courses.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am trying to change the way I'm teaching, and this book has provided several ideas and future projects.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Self affirming quick read for all teachers, irregardless of the age of the students he/she teaches.

I initially picked this title up because the author was supposed to speak at a conference I was attending in Maine in June (which she never appeared at...).