Julie's Story

This book has been a long time in the making. As a special education teacher in the early 1990’s, I was always searching for ways to engage my students. Whether they were three years old or thirteen years old, students came to me with all kinds of learning challenges (intellectual, verbal, and socio-emotional). But they also had many stories to tell and even more questions, and they eagerly wanted to share their voices with anyone who would listen.

From the beginning of my teaching career, I witnessed the power and potential of digital texts and tools. Early on, my students were inspired by simple word processors and digital drawing tools that offered creative ways of expressing themselves and supportive tools to remove some of the challenges of writing by hand. Digital games like Zoombinis sparked their interest in creative problem solving and digital simulations such as Where in the World is Carmen San Diego and Oregon Trail peaked their interest in learning more about the world around them. In turn, regular access to books, computers, and classroom conversations sparked more questions. Learning became something to look forward to, rather than something to fear or avoid.

In 1993, the Internet arrived. My students and I began to connect with information and people from around the world. Almost overnight, our lives were changed forever. Children began to discover so many ways to explore topics they were interested in and new audiences with whom to exchange their ideas. As email, classroom websites, and blogging emerged, so did opportunities to ask more questions and work together to create interesting products. As an educator, the Internet opened the door to new partnerships with other teachers. Many were striving to tap into the potential of new technologies and the role they might play in transforming teaching and learning. Through these virtual partnerships, we shared lessons, resources, strategies, and stories - some about our successes and many more about the challenges negotiating new roles and relationships in our classrooms.

Somewhat unexpectedly, introducing students to the Internet paved the way for more student-directed learning experiences. Some colleagues thrived on forging ahead to explore the potential of the Internet while others found it to be quite daunting. Many teachers and students accustomed to more teacher-directed approaches had difficulty negotiating the multiple roles and responsibilities that accompanied innovative uses of technology in their classrooms. Increasingly, educators wanted more time to explore new digital tools and reflect on which practices might be most useful and to what end. Many questions emerged about how, when, and why to plan for using technology with children. There was a need to appreciate and respect the complexities involved in teaching with texts and tools that enable students to have more voice and choice. And there was little in the way of research to inform our teaching.

Nevertheless, a group of teachers known as the Miss Rumphius Award Winners emerged as leaders to help understand and experiment with using the Internet to support literacy and learning in elementary school. From these teachers, some of whom were featured in the book Innovative Approaches to Literacy Education: Using the Internet to Support New Literacies (Karchmer, Mallette, Kara-Souteriou, and Leu, 2005), we learned the importance of taking risks, starting small, being proactive, establishing a network of support, valuing student contributions, and seeking authentic purposes and audiences to fuel our students’ passions. Even today, these teachers remind us that the most successful projects motivate high-quality work and enable children to interact with others in meaningful ways that prepare them for real-life interactions outside of school.

Much like these teachers, in 2001, I was eager to break new ground, explore the possibilities, and share ideas with other educators about how and why to use the Internet with their students. I pursued a doctorate in educational psychology, and for several more years, I read, wrote, and talked with researchers and educators I met through the Literacy Research Association (LRA) and the International Literacy Association’s Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group, otherwise known as the TILE-SIG. I visited classrooms to reflect on how teachers and students interacted with each other, what teachers valued most, and how they communicated these values to the children under their care. I listened to teachers’ questions, brainstormed possible solutions, and in some cases, worked with them to explore what might make a difference and for whom. I wondered alongside of them what experiences, content, and supports (digital and otherwise) fostered children’s desire to pursue their wonderings, make connections, negotiate differences in their ideas, and build new understandings. I thought carefully about how these ideas mapped onto what we already know about good teaching and engaged learning.

Slowly but surely, some common patterns emerged. Some of the most promising ideas came out of classrooms with teachers who valued inquiry, reflection, lots of discussion, and opportunities to exchange new ideas with others. These values were also apparent in classroom practices as teachers designed intentional opportunities for even the youngest learners to wonder, anticipate, explore, and think deeply about things that matter to them. Not surprisingly, these observations are supported by research that characterizes engaged learners as those who ask questions (Rothstein & Santana, 2011; Wilhelm, 2007), actively explore personally relevant ideas (Buehl, 2014; Burke, 2014), and share their learning with authentic audiences in ways that make them feel important, successful, and like what they’ve done actually matters to someone else (Pink, 2011).

In addition to observing other teachers, I have worked with colleagues for several years at our annual Summer Institute in Digital Literacy at the University of Rhode Island. The institute is designed to foster a culture of inquiry among adult learners including classroom teachers, school librarians, and youth media makers as they work collaboratively to develop project-based digital lessons for their students. Each year, we refine our thinking about personal digital inquiry practices and have been greatly satisfied by the promising results (see Hobbs & Coiro, 2015).

This book represents the next stage of my collaborative inquiry (with Beth and Karen) to learn more about how these ideas play out in elementary school classrooms. I have joined Beth (a university professor and elementary school librarian) and Karen (a first grade teacher) to share what we have learned together about how to build a classroom culture that values discovery, discussion, reflection, and action while also tapping into the potential of digital texts and tools. As you read our stories, we hope you will find ideas and strategies to inspire your planning for personal digital inquiry with the children in your own classrooms.