The Read-Write eConnection

I believe we need to support a balanced approach to literacy instruction in our schools--one that integrates both reading and writing and not compartmentalizes them as separate and apart. If we look to the cognitive/information processing theory the mind is compared to that of a computer and no doubt as we become more reliant on online/internet resources (whether for pleasure, business or academia)the way our minds interact and process information will be increasingly similar to that of a computer.

Our students are living in a digital world and we need to teach them to manipulate digital tools. While print material is still the foundation, what I will call basic literacy 1.0, there is no denying the differences between print texts which are linear and sequential and online texts which are non-linear, multimodal, interactive and intertextual (Vacca & Vacca et al 2010).There is now the New Literacies (Literacy 2.0) that we must prepare our students to navigate and critically evaluate --hypertexts, hyperlinks,etc..

Rumelhart (2004) posited that reading and writing are both mean making processes and so required an integrated approach. He viewed readers and writers as active learners who used knowledge and strategies to solve problems. Rosenblatt (2004) explained that readers' interpretations of text are individualised as they negotiate meaning based on their own experiences and background knowledge.

The cognitive/information processing theory lends support to my position that web 2.0 tools can be used to instruct, assess and motivate our students to read and write in authentic ways in conjunction with traditional printed texts. These tools can be used to provide individualised experiences for our students so that they can become owners of their learning.

Allington (2006) states that struggling students need to spend more time reading and writing, which is why I decided to focus on online reading and writing as the direction for my blog. The e-connection refers to using the internet to further integrate and reinforce the reading and writing processes that we must teach to our students. They spend most of their time online now: far more hours on facebook than watching television or reading books so why not use this to our advantage and their benefit?