New Media & New Literacies

In my current literacy unit, my small-group students—who receive support in a resource-room setting—are reading a modified version of White Fang . Much of our work centers on understanding survival, character decision-making, and how individuals respond to hostile or unpredictable environments. To extend these ideas beyond the text, I incorporated Gimkit , an open-source game platform that blends quizzing with strategy, and paired it with a hands-on culminating task: students designing their own survival-themed board games using a blank game board kit purchased from Amazon. Together, these two experiences give my students multiple entry points into the same conceptual learning, while honoring their diverse processing, reading, and engagement needs.    Gimkit , originally developed by high-school students, is an interactive digital game environment where players answer questions to earn “currency,” power-ups, and advantages. Unlike traditional quiz platforms, Gimkit emphasizes...

Digital Tools in K–12 Education: Pear Deck and Google Classroom Digital platforms have become essential in how teachers and students communicate, collaborate, and construct knowledge. In K–12 classrooms, two tools that have become particularly transformative are Pear Deck and Google Classroom. These platforms not only support instruction and assessment but also foster deeper engagement and connection between schools and families. When used intentionally, they can bridge gaps in access and communication while promoting digital literacy skills that students need to thrive in a connected world. As Ledgerwood (2022) explains, Web 2.0 tools encourage creativity, collaboration, and communication by giving students active roles in constructing meaning rather than simply consuming information. Pear Deck Pear Deck is an interactive tool that integrates with Google Slides or PowerPoint to create presentations that students can respond to in real time. Instead of passively viewing a lesson, stu...

For my final project, I am planning to explore how new media supports students with disabilities, specifically students with ADHD and autism who tend to hyperfocus on their personal interests. As a special education teacher, I’ve witnessed how some students light up when they’re given space to engage deeply with a topic they love—whether that’s trains, Pokémon, Minecraft, or makeup tutorials. But in traditional classroom models, this kind of deep focus is often viewed as a distraction or “off-task” behavior, rather than a strength. I want to push back against that deficit‑based framing and instead look at how new media tools can be used to tap into student interests, support engagement, and build literacy skills in ways that are culturally relevant and neurologically inclusive. This topic matters in my own practice, where I work with students who are often non‑verbal or have inconsistent attention in whole‑group settings but will spend 45 focused minutes creating a digital book, coding...

Designing activities across spaces is not about choosing between pen and paper or iPads. It is about weaving them together so students can move fluidly between their worlds. Our kids already live in a mash-up of TikTok, notebooks, family kitchens, and group chats. The question is: how do we honor that hybridity in our teaching while still pushing toward complex learning goals? One project I could use is a Family Cookbook + Digital Storytelling unit . The idea is simple but layered. Students bring in a recipe from home and interview a family member about its history, like why grandma’s arroz con pollo shows up at every birthday or how their uncle tweaks mac and cheese with extra cheddar. From there, they create: An analog piece : a handwritten or illustrated cookbook entry with drawings, measurements, and family notes. A digital piece : a short story told through Flipgrid, Canva, or iMovie where they narrate the recipe’s cultural significance and share it with classmates. This pr...

When I first thought about “new literacies,” my mind went straight to tools like iPads, Chromebooks, and apps. But after sitting with Knobel and Lankshear (2007), the International Literacy Association (2018), and Vanek (2019), my perspective shifted. It is not the tools that make literacies new, it is the practices people build around them. Knobel and Lankshear (2007) call this “sampling the new,” and it really made me pause. I see this in my own classroom every day. My students all have iPads, but the real question is: are they just tapping through math drills, or are they remixing, creating, and sharing ideas in ways that give them agency? That is the real literacy shift, not the device but the empowerment. The ILA (2018) statement hit me even harder. It reminded me that digital literacies can either open doors or reinforce barriers. Giving every kid a Chromebook does not automatically create equity. If we are not intentional, technology can replicate the same old inequities on a sl...

When I think about new literacies , I immediately connect them to both my classroom and my everyday life. Knobel and Lankshear (2007) remind us that literacy isn’t just decoding print, but “socially recognized ways of generating, communicating and negotiating meaningful content” (p. 24). In my classroom, that looks like visuals, icons, AAC tools, and interactive slides—valid literacies that give my students access to meaning. Personally, I see the same dynamic in memes, reels, and voice notes, which all function as ways of participating in community. The problem is that schools often shrink literacy down to “reading and writing academic English.” That narrow view silences students who bring rich cultural and digital literacies into the classroom. A child fluent in Spanish, AAVE, or video-based expression may be labeled “behind” when in reality they are operating in sophisticated literacies that simply don’t fit the old mold. This creates barriers for multilingual learners, students wit...

Welcome to my blog for New Media & New Literacies ! The design you see here is Y2K inspired, with neon glow, sparkles, and retro icons. I chose this style on purpose because the Y2K era was a turning point in how people understood media. It was the moment of Myspace pages, AIM chats, and even the Y2K “bug,” when we first realized how much technology shaped our lives. This course asks us to explore how new media affects our social, political, economic, and personal worlds. For me, Y2K represents the beginning of these shifts. This blog will be my space to reflect on how media continues to evolve, how we adapt to it, and how it shapes both teaching and learning. And of course, it will sparkle, because media has always been about meaning and vibe. 💿✨