Digital Tools To Enhance and Increase Literacy

Kitt Starnes
North Carolina State University
By 2005, 100% of public schools had internet access, with 94% of them having classroom
instructional access (Handsfield, Dean, & Cielocha, 2009, p. 40). That was ten years ago. As
we move further into the 21st century, both technology and the way students learn will continue
to evolve. Reading a passage and completing a worksheet is no longer relevant. Our students
live in a digital age with technology that allows them to contact anyone, any time. It is important
that educators understand which digital tools are classroom appropriate, but also how to best
incorporate educational technology into their classrooms to increase and enhance student
learning.
Researchers have argued that having students use and produce texts online is crucial to
developing globally competitive citizens. In addition, new technologies can aid students who
have difficulties composing print texts and illustrations, and students may be more motivated to
write when they publish their work online for an audience (Handsfield, Dean, & Cielocha, 2009,
p. 41). While these new emerging technologies can enhance, modify and redefine student
learning, some teachers report that students arent using the technology appropriately. One major
explanation for this is due to teachers lack of professional development. According to Breach,
in a 2011 survey of 1,441 literacy teachers, 81.6% reported that the lack of professional
development created a barrier in their integration of educational technology (2012, p. 47).
Another 73% said that they dont have time to teach the students the necessary skills to complete
the tasks and another 45.7% cited their own inabilities to use technology. Its been ten years
since 100% of schools were connected to the internet. Current and pre-service teachers need to
receive technology training so that they create activities that motivate their students to create
authentic texts and become globally competitive citizens.
Handsfield, Dean and Cielocha highlight students use of Comic Creator, a web-based tool
similar to Comic Life which Ive included in my digital-tools handbook, stating that in addition
to being of high interest and lowering affective barriers, the multimodal nature of comics may
provide scaffolds for children who struggle with print (2009, p. 42). Digital tools like Comic
Life facilitate engagement with new literacy concepts like dialogue and story sequencing,
engaging those students who are normally reluctant readers and writers. Handsfield, Dean and
Cielocha also mention students use of Web 2.0 tools like Blogspot and the critical-thinking,
reading and writing skills that students must develop in order to effectively interact with their
peers in an educated manner on blog (2009, p. 46). Breach also notes that blogs, e-portfolios
and other digital tools help students better organize their work into categories, connect texts and
produce work that comes from a deeper thought process (2012, p. 53).
As the Spanish and STAE (Striving to Achieve Excellence) teacher at Isaac Bear Early College
High School in Wilmington, NC, I have access to an abundant amount of technology. We have
1:1 laptops, SMARTboards in each classroom, an iPad cart, and laptops and iPads of our own.
Because our school is so small, we dont have an Instructional Technology Facilitator. And as
Breach reported in his Uses of Digital Tools and Literacies in the English Language Arts
Classroom, our teachers arent equipped with the skills necessary to effectively integrate
technology into their classrooms to increase literacy and improve student learning. Our schoolwide professional development goal this year is about literacy therefore Ive created a digital-

Digital Tools To Enhance and Increase Literacy

tools handbook where Ive shared various tools that teachers can use to increase and enhance
both general and content area literacy. In addition, Ive created an informal professional
development session that I could present to the staff which would allow them time to explore and
try out the tools in the handbook, as well as ask questions and get feedback on their ideas for the
digital tools in their classrooms.
Click HERE to access the Digital Tools handbook!
Click HERE to access the Google Slides presentation!
References
Actively Learn. (2015). Actively Learn. Retrieved from http://www.activelylearn.com/
Beach, R. (2012). Uses of digital Tools and Literacies In The English Language Arts Classroom.
Research in the Schools, 19(1), 45-59. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/docview/1284529081?accountid=12725
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (2015). Building Reading Skills With Digital Literacy Tools
Retrieved from http://collegeready.gatesfoundation.org/2015/07/building-reading-skillswith-digital-literacy-tools/
Coggle. (2015). Coggle. Retrieved from https://coggle.it/
Comic Life. (2015). Retrieved from http://plasq.com/category/education/
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Handsfield, L. J., Dean, T. R., & Cielocha, K. M.. (2009). Becoming Critical Consumers and
Producers of Text: Teaching Literacy with Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. The Reading Teacher,
63(1), 4050. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40347650

Digital Tools To Enhance and Increase Literacy

Hypothesis. (2015). Hypothes.is. Retrieved from https://hypothes.is/
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