This dissertation analyzes how discourses of risk shape teens’ digital media practices. The purpose is to understand the relationship between discourses of risk, policy regulations, informal learning, and teens’ everyday experiences. This research serves to combat discourses that construct technology as a threat and youth as ‘at-risk’ in two ways. One, it demonstrates the agentive ways teens manage risks and two, it provides empirical evidence of the ways technologies and literacies function as risk reduction strategies. From a Foucauldian perspective of governmentality, this study considers risk to be an always already historically, socially, and politically constructed phenomenon; as such, policies serve as risk intervention strategies. The first part of this dissertation traces how risk discourses are mobilized through moral panics and federal policies regulating young people’s use of the internet. Despite research to the contrary, policies reify anxieties associated with the threat of pornography and predators. As such, policies rely on constructions of young people as passive victims and technologies as risks; such regulations unintentionally limit learning opportunities. The second part analyzes how schools regulate subjects of risk and digital media, as well as how teens themselves manage risks. Ethnographic research was conducted in a large, ethnically diverse, low-income high school in Texas. As part of a team, the researcher spent eight months observing two after-school digital media clubs. The ethnography also consisted of 18 case studies with diverse high school students. Researchers conducted individual, semi-structured, qualitative interviews with the students on a regular basis for an entire academic school year. Findings suggest discourses of risk were mobilized through school district policies which regulated teens’ use of digital media. Specifically, regulations limited students’ opportunities to develop a) social, b) network, and c) critical digital media literacies. However, students generated agentive ways to resist regulations in order to maintain robust peer and learning ecologies. The clubs constructed technologies as interventions for ‘at-risk’ youth. Within informal learning spaces teens a) developed skills, b) acquired social capital, and c) negotiated empowered identities. Lastly, the study considers how teens acknowledged and negotiated risks associated with privacy. Teens demonstrated three strategies for managing consumer and social privacy: a) informational, b) audience management, and c) spatial strategies. / text

Grounded in computers and composition scholarship, this mixed-methods dissertation project investigates how digital literacy is being represented and instantiated across U.S. writing programs. Using critical theories of technology as my theoretical framework, I draw on three large data sets, including a national survey of 70 Writing Program Administrators (WPAs) concerning programmatic commitments to digital literacy, a multimodal critical discourse analysis of these programs' websites, and follow-up interviews with survey respondents. Based on my analysis of these data sets, I argue that the focus of most programmatic discourses and practices tends to construct digital literacy in terms of how technological tools can be employed to meet rhetorical outcomes. I maintain, however, that with writing programs as a central force in the renegotiation of digital literacies, WPAs are in a unique position, through discourses and practices, to rearticulate digital literacy as not just a skill or means to improving rhetorical awareness for print composing but also an analytic to examine the social, political, and educational forces undergirding electronic texts and technologies—making visible the social relations involved in technology implementation and encouraging examinations of how technologies affect composing processes. This critical approach positions students as not just consumers but producers of new media who are able to become active agents of change in technological environments. Discussing the challenges that come along with taking a critical approach to technology integration at the programmatic level, I suggest a framework for addressing these challenges—including localizing technologies, mapping local practices to national goals, employing a multiliteracies training model, foregrounding assessment, and fostering communities of practice around digital literacy.

Despite the critical role educators play in the lives of students, little research has been conducted on their perceptions of digital media, bullying behaviors and prevention, and the development of disciplinary policy. As educators are tasked with monitoring student behaviors both inside and outside the classroom, how they conceptualize student behavior emerges as a site for possible mediations in the culture of bullying that permeates 21st century schooling. The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers understand digital life, how they represent themselves within the culture of social media, and the effects those perceptions have on the enforcement of or dismantling of bullying as a social institution. The results of this study show that educators are less adept at negotiating digital life and are largely unaware of the impactful nature of online relationships. While bullying has distinct social drawbacks including the maintenance of a horizontally hostile culture, the social benefits of bullying are proposed as emergent sites of intervention. As educators are ever more faced with issues of disciplinary conduct, they have developed a chosen ignorance to justify their lack of knowledge about online and offline bullying cultures. The perception that bullying is an insurmountable issue is a common perception among educators in this sample however this research suggests that through recognizing the function of bullying educators and administrators alike can develop deterrent policies that work outside the abstinence-based models for bullying prevention and recuperative-based models for soothing victims.

Syftet med denna studie var att jämföra vilken mening digital kompetens har mellan två parter: statlig förvaltningsmyndighet, Arbetsförmedlingen, och en kommersiell förvaltningsorganisation, Manpower AB. Varje part var sedd utifrån tre perspektiv: rekryterare/arbetsförmedlare/jobbcoacher, arbetande, arbetssökande. De 24 deltagarna - med 12 deltagare från varje part - har genom intervjuer svarat på frågor som är relaterade till begreppet ”digital”, ”kompetens” och uttrycket ”digital kompetens.” Deras svar skapade tre huvudkategorier; mål, ansvar och personliga villkor i resultatet. Utifrån perspektivet mål framvisas vilken roll organisationerna har i relation till individen och vilken roll individen har i relation till organisationerna. Resultatet visar att utveckling är den centrala målsättningen. Utifrån perspektivet ansvar framvisas vad som förväntas göras för att uppnå målsättningarna. Utifrån perspektivet personliga villkor framvisas vad som krävs av individerna och vilken roll organisationen har för att skapa förutsättningar till att förverkliga målsättningarna. I avsnittet diskussion jämfördes det teoretiska materialet med resultatet som slutligen visar att digital kompetens uppmanar individualism framför kollektivism. / <p>Godkännandedatum 2013-09-20</p>

The purpose of this study is to describe how a high school student retrieves information in order to write a history research paper, and to investigate the role genre plays in this process of search and paper construction. This study interrogates the conditions under which students are sent to the library to complete research assignments. What is absent from the research of school library use is how the kinds of knowledge expected from the students, and how the kinds of uses and manipulations that information is to be put through are connected to the access and retrieval of information. Because use is the final stage in the information process, this problem is approached by examining the assumptions about language, knowledge, and genre that teachers and students bring to research assignments in the school library. Rhetorical genre theory may be used to construct a representation of information use within an educational setting. Rhetorical genre theory will also be used to determine the method of analysis. By examining a few instances of high school history research, we can begin to systematize the features found beyond the sample to a larger study. An interdisciplinary approach that integrates classification theory, information seeking behavior, and rhetorical practices may help to characterize effective models in information retrieval. This model may provide a structure for understanding how a core set of research tasks utilizes a certain set of genres.

Den här studien är en kunskapsöversikt där vi undersöker vadforskningen säger om vilka problem som kan uppstå kring införandetoch användandet av ”Att skriva sig till läsning” (ASL) med datornsom hjälpmedel. Vi ser det som ett problem att det finns många skoloroch pedagoger som tar sig an ASL utan att känna till vad forskningensäger om för- och nackdelar med metoden. Vårt syfte med dennastudie är därför att undersöka vilka återkommande brister somforskningen beskriver för att pedagoger ska kunna jobba förebyggandeoch undvika dem. Vi har systematiskt samlat in forskning med hjälpav sökord kring datorer, digital literacy och ASL och dokumenteratsökningarna i en tabell (bilaga 1). I vår studie har vi funnit att detfrämst finns positiv forskning kring ASL på dator, men vi har ävenfunnit en del dokumenterade problem som kan uppstå.Den här studien kan vara en kunskapsgrund till framtida empiriskforskning kring användandet av ASL med datorer som hjälpmedel.

Submitted by Denize Lourenço (biblicfp@cfp.ufcg.edu.br) on 2017-12-28T13:57:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 EVANDRO ALVARES DE LIRA - DISSERTAÇÃO PROFLETRAS 2015.pdf: 2973825 bytes, checksum: f107f5f46a78173b5e3e5806e87e1cbd (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-12-28T13:57:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 EVANDRO ALVARES DE LIRA - DISSERTAÇÃO PROFLETRAS 2015.pdf: 2973825 bytes, checksum: f107f5f46a78173b5e3e5806e87e1cbd (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-06-16 / As novas tecnologias adentraram de forma perceptível e definitiva em todos os segmentos sociais, numa velocidade ímpar, viabilizando mais precisão e agilidade na execução das atividades cotidianas. A educação não pode ficar à margem desse contexto. Existem várias possibilidades pertinentes de inclusão das novas tecnologias nas propostas pedagógicas. Este trabalho analisou os impactos positivos causados na aprendizagem, a partir da utilização das redes sociais, com foco no Facebook e no Blog, em atividades pedagógicas de produção textual no Ensino Fundamental. Teve como objetivos proporcionar aos discentes eventos de letramento digital e atividades para otimização do desenvolvimento das habilidades em leitura, compreensão e produção de texto. Nessa perspectiva, realizamos a presente pesquisa com alunos do 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental de uma escola pública estadual, situada na cidade de Vitória de Santo Antão, estado de Pernambuco. A pesquisa supracitada foi organizada através da aplicação de um questionário com os professores da Instituição de Ensino que sediou os trabalhos e dois questionários com os alunos que participaram da atividade. Propusemos aos referidos discentes a leitura e a produção de texto de opinião no Facebook e no Blog, criados com esse fim específico, possibilitando a interação entre eles. Essa atividade de intervenção está pautada nos postulados de Braga (2010), Coscarelli (2012), Lévy (1993, 1999), Marcuschi (2010), Moran (2013), Xavier (2010), dentre outros, que nos forneceram embasamento teórico e reflexões acerca da relevância do uso das tecnologias na escola. Os resultados da atividade pedagógica sob a mediação dos recursos tecnológicos, observados ao longo da execução da mesma, através dos constantes monitoramentos e do segundo questionário respondido pelos discentes, revelaram uma considerável motivação na realização dessas tarefas de produção textual. / New technologies stepped into in a perceptible and definitive way in all segments of society, in a unique speed, enabling more precision and agility in the execution of daily activities. Education cannot remain outside this context. There are several relevant possibilities for inclusion of new technologies in pedagogical proposals. This study analyzed the positive impacts on learning, from the use of social networks, focusing on Facebook and Blog, in pedagogical activities of textual production in Elementary Education. It aimed to provide students events of digital literacy and activities to optimize the development of reading skills, comprehension and text production. From this perspective, we conducted this research with students from 9th grade of Elementary Education of a public state school, in the city of Vitoria de Santo Antao, State of Pernambuco. The aforementioned survey was organized through the use of a questionnaire to teachers of the Educational Institution that hosted the work and two questionnaires with students who participated in the activity. We proposed to those students the reading and the text production of opinion on Facebook and Blog, created with this specific purpose, enabling the interaction between them. This intervention activity is guided in the postulates of Braga (2010), Coscarelli (2012), Levy (1993, 1999), Marcuschi (2010), Moran (2013), Xavier (2010 ), among others, who provided us the theoretical basis and reflections on the relevance of the use of technology in school. The results of pedagogical activity under the mediation of technological resources, observed during the execution of it, through constant monitoring and the second questionnaire answered by students, revealed considerable motivation in making these textual production tasks.

abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore the literacy practices members of an online fan community engage in to participate in the space and to question what learning happens through that participation. This dissertation is the product of a two-year virtual ethnographic study of The Sims Writers' Hangout (SWH), a discussion forum website established by fans of The Sims to support members' interests in creating and sharing Sims fan fiction. Affinity space theory informs an understanding of SWH's organization, and a definition of literacies as situated, social practices also frames the study. Data were collected following a discourse-centered online ethnographic approach, which guided systematic observation and interactions with eight key informants. The data corpus includes hundreds of pages of discussion forum posts, member profiles, moderator-created norming texts, numerous digital, multimodal Sims fan fiction texts, virtual interview responses from informants, field notes, and additional virtual artifacts, such as informants' websites and Flickr&reg; photostreams. Study results are presented within three separate manuscripts prepared for publication and presentation, each exploring different lines of inquiry related to SWH. Chapter 3 focuses on tensions visible in the forum discussions to argue for an expansion of affinity space theory that accounts for the &ldquo;hanging out&rdquo; members do in the space. Chapter 4 analyzes one informant's literacy practices using a Design perspective. This analysis reveals the collaborative nature of Sims fan fiction literacies. The final manuscript (Chapter 5) offers an analysis of SWH pedagogy using Bernstein's pedagogic device concept. Data illustrate how pedagogic discourse in this online, informal learning space aligns with and challenges Bernstein's theory. Finally, Chapter 6 offers conclusions about how these three analyses expand our understanding of adolescent literacies and 21st century learning. This chapter also contains implications for theory and practice, recommendations for future research, and reflections on lessons learned. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2011

abstract: This study follows three secondary teachers as they facilitate a digital storytelling project with their students for the first time. All three teachers were not specifically trained in digital storytelling in order to investigate what happens when a digital storytelling novice tries to do a project like this with his or her students. The study follows two high school English teachers and one middle school math teacher. Each teacher's experience is shared in a case study, and all three case studies are compared and contrasted in a cross-case analysis. There is a discussion of the types of projects the teachers conducted and any challenges they faced. Strategies to overcome the challenges are also included. A variety of assessment rubrics are included in the appendix. In the review of literature, the history of digital storytelling is illuminated, as are historical concepts of literacy. There is also an exploration of twenty-first century skills including multiliteracies such as media and technology literacy. Both the teachers and their students offer suggestions to future teachers taking on digital storytelling projects. The dissertation ends with a discussion of future scholarship in educational uses of digital storytelling. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2011

Magister Artium - MA (Linguistics, Language and Communication) / Despite the spread of digital communication technologies and the integration of mobile phones into everyday life, young children's literacy practices are changing rapidly, and schools are struggling to address the potential of these digital communication technologies for learning. Mobile phones are currently a key consumer item, an image of social capital, and they initiate their users into a portable web of numerous applications including those literacy related. Much research has been done on children's relationship with digital technologies and the implications of this for their literacy learning and education in general, but there is almost no research on this in the global south, and almost none in South Africa. Filling this gap is crucial given the crisis in South Africa in basic education. The main aim for this research is to establish the kinds of digital technology and information systems affordances (internet facilities, tablets, books, magazines, newspapers, radios, TVs, video and computer games, etc.) in the homes of the selected children to explore how these digital technologies and information system affordances could be used to enhance the academic literacy development of 12- to 15-year-old children in informal settlements or townships in Cape Town.