Research Interests

Literacy Instruction for the iGeneration. My big questions are, what are the language and literacy practices of adolescents as they use digital technologies such as instant messaging, “MySpace,” blogs, and applications not yet known? How can our understandings of digital literacies inform in-school literacy instruction? What should literacy instruction look like for members of the iGeneration, and how can we better prepare students for participation in an global information economy? And what can we do to make this globalized world more humane?

My original research involved investigating the language and literacy practices of a youth as she used instant messaging. For the past three years I have been working with a range of youth to understand the broader picture of the digital tools they are using in their every day life and what that tool use means in relation to their school life. This research along with a plethora of literature from scholars who have been asking similar questions, makes it clear that it is impossible to essentialize youth engagement in the new literacies. Youth engage in a repertoire of literacy practices based on the contexts of their lives.

This fall I hope to start a new research project. If all goes well, I will be looking at the semiotic resources college freshmen draw on as they learn college level writing.