Literacy is changing. In our classrooms, we are still teaching our students traditional reading and writing, while outside of the classroom much of their reading and writing is digital. This session focuses on the shift to using digital tools in our classrooms to meet traditional literacy standards while also teaching digital literacy.

Some Websites to Start the Shift to Digital

Storymaker - Students use a digital tool to write and illustrate a story that can be printed.

Storybird - Students use a digital tool to write and illustrate a story that can be printed, shared online and is comment-able.

Blogs - Students can share their work with their parents, relatives and the world. (See this page for blogging examples and this document for blogging tool options)

Apps to Start the Shift to Digital

Audioboo - Audio recording tool that allows sharing through embeds.

Sock Puppets or Puppet Pals –  Make a puppet show and upload it to Youtube.

Educreations - Draw, annotate and record your voice on a whiteboard then grab the embed code right in the app.

Video

Animoto – Add photos, video clips and text. Choose music. The site adds transitions for you.

For further reading, Kathy Shrock has done extensive work regarding  Literacy in the Digital Age and the different types of literacies our students now need to have.