No abstract

Using a popularized notion such as Web 2.0 limits research efforts by employing a binary construct, one initially prompted by commercial concerns. Instead, the authors of this article, commenting on Greenhow, Robelia, and Hughes (2009) , suggest that continuous, not dichotomous, change in the technologies of literacy and learning defines the Internet. They argue that a dual-level theory of New Literacies is a productive way to conceptualize this continuous change, especially for education. They describe uppercase (New Literacies) and lowercase (new literacies) theories, using the new literacies of online reading comprehension to illustrate the process. They suggest this approach is likely to lead to greater equity, understanding, and acceptance of continuously new technologies within educational systems.

This entry explores the question of how to conceptualize literacy as a deictic concept, one that continually changes as new technologies for literacy and learning emerge. It suggests a dual‐level conceptualization of theory: a New Literacies theory as an overarching theory that encompasses perspectives and findings from the many studies of literacy, which are referred to as new literacies theories, using lower case. It then focuses special attention on an important lower‐case theory, the new literacies of online research and comprehension. This new literacies theory frames online reading as a process of problem‐based inquiry involving the new skills, strategies, dispositions, and social practices that take place as we use the Internet to solve problems and answer questions. Current understanding of online reading to learn from a New Literacies perspective is informed by recent research using assessments that measure students' ability to conduct online research in science and comprehend what they read in a virtual online world. Findings suggest that online reading requires different skills than reading paper materials; that differences across modes of reading are important for school learning; and that the Internet is best conceived as a literacy issue rather than a technology issue.