Using Web & Digital Literacies to Support Struggling Readers

       As I have explored web literacy and personal digital inquiry (PDI), I have gained a deeper understanding of both their complexity as well as their affordances. The process of PDI and reading the web requires students to utilize new literacy skills as well as foundational skills simultaneously. This can be challenging for even advanced students, even more so for struggling readers. However, the affordances of digital tools, e-reading, and inquiry itself could serve as a support for developing these foundational skills. This thought led me to the idea of using web reading and PDI as reading intervention.               One of the tenants of PDI is for students to be the driving force behind their own learning. It encourages them to explore their own questions instead of answering ones given to them (Sorenson & Anderson, 2017). Engaging students in inquiry teaches them more than how to learn, i...

Welcome!  My name is Mandy, and I am currently in the Reading Specialist Master's program at the University of Oklahoma. The purpose of this blog will be to explore the idea of using web and digital literacies as a tool for intervention with struggling readers. In the posts to follow, I will discuss what research has shown regarding this topic. I will also be designing and implementing a lesson involving this use of digital and web literacies in my 5th grade classroom. I will share my plan, discuss the results, and reflect on the outcome overall.