Literacy in a Digital World

Lorraine Dagostino is professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, has been an educator since 1970 in public schools, community colleges, four-year colleges, and the university. She has published numerous journal articles and books in these areas of study and was awarded best paper awards from NERA, EERA and distinguished papers from AERA. Jennifer Bauer is the chair of the Communication, Art, & Design Department at Middlesex Community College in Massachusetts. She is an award-winning blogger and filmmaker and has had her writing published online at the Huffington Post, Outdoor Families Magazine, the Bump, and the National Park Foundation. Michael Deasy is a reading specialist in the Athol-Royalston Regional School District in Massachusetts. He has been awarded the best paper award from NERA, presented at a distinguished paper session at AERA, and published in the Journal of the New England Reading Association. Kathleen Ryan is an associate professor at Hellenic College in Brookline, MA. She is the co-director of the Literature and History Department and the Director of the Education Program, which offers a Minor in Education.

The authors of this book provide an interesting historical perspective on the concept of literacy and explore many ways literacy has evolved. Given the misinformation and disinformation that have become part of our society, this book is both important and timely.Literacy in a Digital World: The Evolution and Development of Literacy Proficiency draws the reader’s attention to both the similarities and the differences between traditional text and digital media, and in doing so, makes a strong case for all of us to understand better the urgent need to be vigilant when reading texts. This book not only presents educational and psychological theories related to literacy but also provides lessons so that educators can help young adults apply strategies that facilitate the skill of critical thinking as they work to distinguish between factual information and false information within the varied types of texts of today. This book will help create citizens who understand the importance of learning how to negotiate texts of all sorts in order to create a society that values truth. There is so much relevant information in this book that it demands to be read and re-read.