Mindful Teaching with Technology Digital Diligence in the English Language Arts, Grades 6-12

Technology is integral to teaching in the English language arts, whether in-person, hybrid, or remote. In this indispensable guide, Troy Hicks shows how to teach and model "digital diligence"--an alert, intentional stance that helps both teachers and students use technology productively, ethically, and responsibly. Resources and lesson ideas are presented to build adolescents' skills for protecting online privacy, minimizing digital distraction, breaking through “filter bubbles,” fostering civil conversations, evaluating information on the internet, creating meaningful digital writing, and deeply engaging with multimedia texts. Dozens of websites, apps, and other tools are reviewed, with links provided at the companion website; end-of-chapter teaching points and guiding questions facilitate learning and application.
 

Troy Hicks, PhD, is Professor of English and Education at Central Michigan University, where he teaches master’s and doctoral courses in educational technology. He is also Director of the Chippewa River Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project. During the 2020–2021 school year, Dr. Hicks served as the leader of a Teaching with Primary Sources grant through the Library of Congress and as coeditor of the Michigan Reading Journal. A former middle school teacher, he is a recipient of the Teacher Educator Award from the Michigan Reading Association, the Excellence in Teaching Award from Central Michigan University, and the Divergent Award for Excellence from the Initiative for 21st Century Literacies Research. An ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Certified Educator, Dr. Hicks consults with educational companies and nonprofit organizations and presents regularly at national educational conferences. He is the author of numerous books, articles, chapters, blog posts, and other resources broadly related to the teaching of literacy in our digital age. His website is hickstro.org.
 

Foreword, Lesley Mandel Morrow
1. The Case for Digital Diligence in English Language Arts Classrooms
- Interlude: From Synchronous to Real Time; from Asynchronous to Anytime
2. Planning for Purposeful Arcs of Instruction
- Interlude: The Rationale for Focusing on Google Chrome
3. Protecting Privacy
4. Maximizing Our Own Attention
5. Popping Filter Bubbles and Breaking Algorithms
6. Understanding How Knowledge Gets Created and Circulated
- Interlude: Repurposing Existing Materials and a Brief Overview of Copyright, Fair Use, Creative Commons, and the Public Domain
7. Extending Opportunities for Digital Writing
8. Embracing Opportunities for Connected Reading
9. Conclusion
References
Index