Building Bridges

Literacy learning continues to be central to schooling, and is currently of major concern to educators, policy developers, and members of the public alike. However, the proliferation of communication channels in this digital era requires a fundamental re-thinking of the nature of literacy and the pedagogy of literacy teaching and teacher education. This text brings together papers by experts in teacher education, literacy, and information technology to help chart a way forward in this complex area. Because of their background in teacher education, the authors are realistic about what is appropriate and feasible - they do not just jump on a technology bandwagon - but they are also able to provide extended examples of how to embed technology in the practice of teacher education. Taking a multi-disciplinary perspective (literacy, teacher education and digital technology) and informed by a range of empirical studies, policy analyses and scholarly reflection, this book makes a unique contribution to the literature on one of education's most pressing challenges: how we prepare teachers of literacy at a time when understandings of literacy are expanding. Chapters by leading researchers are complemented by those offering illuminating vignettes of practice that, in turn, provide opportunities for interrogation by the rich theoretical toolkit that characterizes the field. The book is thoughtfully structured and manages a coherence that is rare in edited collections. An impressive and heartening read. - Viv Ellis, Professor of Education at Brunel University, England and Bergen University College in Norway