Creating Digital Literacy Spaces for Multilingual Writers

Book excerpt: This book argues for the value of digital literacy in the multilingual writing classroom. Against the background of huge changes in literacy practices prompted by online communication, and a growing acceptance of a broader definition of academic literacy that encompasses multimodality, the book examines the relationship between digital and print literacies and addresses the design of literacy spaces for multilingual classrooms. The author critically evaluates the latest developments in the use of technology in multilingual writing spaces, and focuses on the role of teachers in their design; it also addresses areas that are not often discussed in relation to multilingual students, from blogging to publishing and intellectual property. The book will help teachers meet the challenges created by rapidly shifting technology, as well as making an innovative contribution to research on multilingual writing classrooms.