Crystal L Beach

The Pecha Kucha talk is an effective way to encourage the composition process; to promote the use of effective visuals to explain and engage; and to distribute the expertise in the classroom away from the teacher as the central expert and to the students. In this paper, we describe and give an example of what is called a Pecha Kucha (Japanese for ‘chit chat’). When examined within the frameworks of theorists in the areas of composition, pedagogy, and literacy, this emerging presentation genre is promising for both composer and audience. With this in mind, we first discuss ways that the creator of the Pecha Kucha may benefit from the specific composition space. We then share how this composition exercise is an effective teaching tool. Next, we show ways that this presentation style maximizes learning with image and speech coordination and skills of analysis and synthesis. Then we introduce how Pecha Kuchas give students the opportunity to teach and to work with technological tools in authentic ways. Finally, implications for future practice in developing com- positions using oral delivery with visuals are discussed.

Adolescents use a wide variety of literacy practices in their daily lives. Preservice teachers in this study looked for ways to motivate their students to write by asking them about their in-school and out-of-school writing practices. This survey shows a gap between what motivates students to write for school and why they write out of school. The results suggest that English teachers can forge a “third space” in which out-of-school literacy practices are integrated into the curriculum. This survey provides insights for improving writing pedagogy in regards to students’ expressed desire to communicate, express themselves, and to be involved.

In this chapter, we explore how ELA teachers can better bridge the canonical with the digital world adolescents fully embrace. Although some English educators and scholars argue that Shakespeare is irrelevant to the lives of teens today (Gallo, 2001; Roberts, 2008; Spangler, 2009), other scholars argue that the universality of classic and canonical texts and authors like Shakespeare stands the test of time and should continue to be taught in classrooms (Jago, 2001; Lomonico, 2012). Despite the very split views on Shakespeare’s relevance today, we feel that Shakespeare isn’t going away anytime soon, and we don’t think his works necessarily should. Therefore, we make an argument for a middle ground -- a bridge between the traditional, classic, canonical text and the digital, multimodal, participatory world of the 21st century. This middle ground, we argue, can be found in Random House publishing company’s new series called OMG Shakespeare! that takes four Shakespeare plays to the modern era by remixing them into a story using all the tools of today’s digital text-message society.

In this chapter, the authors discuss what it means for students to create, remix, and disseminate memes today—especially considering the connectivity and participatory nature of youth culture. The authors then discuss the importance of a critical media literacy pedagogy. Next, the authors investigate and rhetorically analyze some current memes. The authors also analyze the digital affordances of tools, the ways that messages are privileged and silenced, visual rhetoric, and remix. Finally, the authors explore further implications for educators to consider when using memes in the classroom.

The purpose of this integrative review of theory and research is to assess the economic impact of digital media in ways that are unreached by instrumental means of measuring economic activity. Specifically, we use three overarching arguments identified from a review of the literature that broadly defines the economic force of digital media content in contemporary society. We contextualize those arguments in terms of current issues in the field and gaps in the research base before concluding with a discussion of the implications of what we learned for education, civic engagement, social practice, and policy.

Our purpose for researching self-sponsored creative composing online was to explore ways in which the cultural practice of digital remix might mediate connections among participants in a study conducted on a Creative Commons website. Specifically, we asked to what degree, if any, might digital remixes inspire or arouse feelings of connection with and through the creator and the created? A conceptual framework that took into account a case study design, the cultural practice of digital remix, and people's reported feelings associated with that practice fell well within the realm of a post-intentional approach to studying the phenomenon of digital remix. A total of 82 remixes, 51 fragments, and 56 blogs were available for analysis. Using a five-step analytic procedure developed by the authors, we conducted 26 individual semi-structured interviews. Implications based on the data from those interviews, along with separate content analyses of the digital remixes, are discussed.