The nature of literacy in a technology‐rich, fourth‐grade classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of literacy in a technology‐rich classroom. I was a participant‐observer for five months in a fourth‐grade classroom that had 26 students, 35 computers, and a variety of other technologies. Using naturalistic methods, four literacy patterns emerged: (a) the public nature of literacy, (b) the semiotic nature of literacy, (c) the transitory nature of literacy, and (d) the publishing nature of literacy. These findings build on other studies of literacy and technology, provide an overarching framework for understanding several other studies, contribute to calls for new conceptions of literacy, and highlight the need for continued investigations into the match between evolving forms of literacy and current foci in literacy instruction.