Digital storytelling circles (DSCs) are multimodal platforms aimed at improving students' comprehension of subject matter texts. In a small group, students in a DSC engage in reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, using digital tools, and manipulating texts and instructional strategies. Roles are assigned to each group member as they use the tools provided by the multimodal platform to create a digital story. Most of the literature supports the notion that the experience of creating digital stories can have a positive impact on students' acquisition of literacy skills and their motivation to engage with the text. This chapter presents a model for using DSCs in the post-reading phase of a Directed Reading Activity (DRA). Case study findings highlight two DSCs that exhibited qualities of developing the literacy strategies necessary in reading-to-learn with complex content area texts.

Millennial readers are learning to navigate an increasingly robust system of symbols and patterns in order to become literate. This phenomenon, known as multimodal literacy, is providing for new and rich ways of teaching reading to address the complex thinking patterns of young students. However, the rapid pace of technological growth has created a confluence of basic literacy skills and the reading requirements of a multimodal world. Literacy educators must adapt their instruction to this new reality to prepare today's students for the challenges of this century and beyond.

The current buzz around STEM and the increased push towards programs that feature mathematics and the sciences give those of us in the literacy world pause, as we see the research funding pendulum swinging away from us and towards this shiny and new curriculum paradigm. But, what is presented here is an olive branch between literacy and STEM instruction and a perhaps a new way to view cross-curricular pedagogy. STREAM (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) is a robust, multimodal approach for improving science, mathematics and literacy skills by embedding dynamic and artistic literacy-building activities into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) units (Breiner, Harkness, Johnson, & Koehler, 2012).

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is becoming common place in the preparation of teachers. This chapter will focus on the application of CMC and will provide insight on how technology can be used in P-12 classrooms and potentially impact student learning. The purpose of the chapter is to: (a) describe the development, implementation, outcomes, and sustainability of a pre-service teacher (PST) supervision model arranged around digital technology and telecommunications, providing supervision and support for PSTs engaged in a student teaching internship, and (b) to discuss how the technology utilized may later be utilized by participating PSTs in their future classrooms (specifically videoconferencing, instant messaging, video sharing, and the critical analysis and reflection of current practices). The authors created a virtual-geographical third space in the form of a Teaching Lab that was mediated with a multimedia platform and designed around the principle of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). The authors also provided opportunities for PSTs to interact within that space for reflection and the sharing of best practices.

Millennial readers are learning to navigate an increasingly robust system of symbols and patterns in order to become literate. This phenomenon, known as multimodal literacy, is providing for new and rich ways of teaching reading to address the complex thinking patterns of young students. However, the rapid pace of technological growth has created a confluence of basic literacy skills and the reading requirements of a multimodal world. Literacy educators must adapt their instruction to this new reality to prepare today's students for the challenges of this century and beyond.