Educators frequently inquire about the readability of documents used in classrooms, due to the be... more Educators frequently inquire about the readability of documents used in classrooms, due to the belief that text complexity is related to students’ reading comprehension and growth. Because documents used in classrooms tend to be language-based, common readability metrics focus on the complexity of language. For multimodal documents, there are no commonly used metrics for analyzing readability. This is problematic because multimodal reading is increasingly recognized as a 21st-century skill. One potential solution is found in Weltner’s transinformation analysis, an information theoretic approach to readability that uses entropy to measure the difference between objective information (e.g., pixel intensity) and subjective information (e.g., think-aloud screen recordings, oral retellings). A higher transinformation value in a multimodal document reflects greater information complexity and a more difficult level of readability. This study experimented with transinformation analysis and ...
PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the viability of transinformation analysis as a m... more PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the viability of transinformation analysis as a multimodal readability metric. A novel approach was called for, considering that existing and established readability metrics are strictly used to measure linguistic complexity. Yet, the corpus of multimodal literature continues to grow, along with the need to understand how non-linguistic modalities contribute to the complexity of the reading experience.Design/methodology/approachIn this exploratory study, think aloud screen recordings of eighth-grade readers of the born-digital novel Inanimate Alice were analyzed for complexity, along with transcripts of post-oral retellings. Pixel-level entropy analysis served as both an objective measure of the document and a subjective measure of the amount of reader information attention. Post-oral retelling entropy was calculated at the unit level of the word, serving as an indication of complexity in recall.FindingsFindings confirmed that transinf...
Digital games as tools for learning in K-12 have been a topic of intense discussion over the last... more Digital games as tools for learning in K-12 have been a topic of intense discussion over the last 15 years. One area of focus has been on the integration of commercial off-the-shelf games in lesson plans. A predictive factor for the adoption and integration of digital games is the attitudes or readiness of teachers. Yet, while many studies have examined this with teachers themselves, teacher librarians (TLs) have largely been ignored, despite the key role they play in education and technology adoption in schools. This study attempted to determine TLs' beliefs and practices about digital games as 21st century learning tools, to examine similarities and differences with those of classroom teachers, and to see if and how TLs' pedagogical beliefs impacted their perceptions of barriers toward digital game adoption. The Teachers' Attitudes Toward Games (TATG) Survey measured TLs' perceptions of barriers to using digital games. Findings suggest that TLs tended to use digital games to address discrete library skills-a behaviorist practice-despite the fact that they tended to hold constructivist pedagogical beliefs. Though, evidence showed that some were using games to integrate 21st century skills into classroom lessons. Similar to findings on classroom teachers, TLs perceived lack of time, lack of infrastructure, and lack of support as barriers to using digital games. Furthermore, TLs with behaviorist beliefs tended to perceive greater barriers to using digital games as compared to TLs with constructivist beliefs. 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Even prior to the new millennium, 21st century learning was already a topic of conversation among scholars, educators and policymakers. The underlying premise being that in order for students to be career and life-ready in the information age, new models for learning needed to be adopted (Abbott, 1997; Longworth & Davies, 1996). One such model is the Partnership for 21st Century Skills' (P21) Framework for 21st Century Learning. The P21 Framework emphasizes critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity (4Cs) as essential learning outcomes for the 21st century. Information, media and technology skills are integral to the development of the 4Cs, giving teacher librarians (TLs) an important role in supporting 21st century learning. Both the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) special interest group for media specialists (SIGMS) advocate for TLs to support 21st century learning by: (a) teaching to a cross-section of learning standards that reflect the P21 Framework, including the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and AASL and ISTE Standards; (b) evaluating existing and emerging technologies; (c) teaching information literacy skills; (d) collaborating with classroom teachers; (e) serving in leadership roles (e.g., technology planning committees); (f) and developing library collections and administering library programs that promote 21st century learning (AASL, 2007; ISTE-SIGMS Executive Advocacy Committee, 2010). Furthermore, today's school libraries function 2 as 21st century learning spaces where students can access technology and work together on collaborative projects (ISTE-SIGMS Executive Advocacy Committee, 2010). TLs are already embracing these roles and becoming technology leaders in the process. In 2013, School Library Journal conducted a technology survey of U. S. school libraries and found that out of 761 TL respondents, 72% reported being viewed as technology leaders in their schools, 56% reported introducing technology at the classroom level, 42% reported serving on their schools' tech teams, and 34% perceived themselves as having a school-wide impact on technology adoption. These findings illustrate the significance of TLs' potential roles as advocates for the kinds of technologies that support 21st century learning-technologies such as digital games (Greenfield, 2009; Hayes & Games, 2008; Shute, Rieber, & Van Eck, 2012). Research has found digital games to be potentially beneficial learning environments for supporting 21st century skills, including critical thinking and problem solving skills (Gee, 2007;
Innovations in digital media have created new opportunities to engage young readersopportunities ... more Innovations in digital media have created new opportunities to engage young readersopportunities that can stimulate teachers to use technology in ways that support the skills students need to fully participate in a digital society. However, research shows that today's literacy educators are still largely focused on print-based literature. Transmedia literature has the potential to challenge this tendency. Specifically, the born-digital novel Inanimate Alice shows promise in empowering twenty first-century readers and writers through multimodal narratives. This paper presents the work in progress from a collaborative research group that was assembled to identify solutions for integrating Inanimate Alice into both formal and informal education. The primary goal of the group is to position Inanimate Alice as an exemplar for a new canon of digital literature, thus legitimating the role of innovative literary forms in supporting twenty first-century literacies. The group has adopted a cross-disciplinary approach to examine the design and usability of the story's platform as well as explore the relationship between the complexity of its reading experience and the complexity of its medium. This paper offers a discussion of ongoing research findings and emerging understandings of the literacy experiences that underlie young readers' interactions with Inanimate Alice through a multidisciplinary perspective.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the emerging concept of transliteracy from the pe... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the emerging concept of transliteracy from the perspective of literacy as a socially constructed and contextual practice. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of the literature explores the origins and development of transliteracy in the context of the multiple understandings of literacy. An argument is made that the current discussion among academic librarians about transliteracy as a set of skills is incompatible with its socio-constructivist roots. Findings Librarians’ interest in transliteracy stems from its relationship to information literacy, with current discussion focused on defining its skills. However, a skills-based perspective does not reflect the nature of what it means to be transliterate. Rather than a common set of skills that are practiced across multiple media platforms, transliteracy can be reconceptualized as a social practice that crosses multiple contexts (e.g. school, home and workplace). Practical im...
Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2018
Student agency is defined as a student's sense of self-control over his or her educational experi... more Student agency is defined as a student's sense of self-control over his or her educational experiences. It is a critical aspect of learning among adolescents. One way to promote student agency in the classroom is through the integration of texts and tools that allow students to become producers and consumers of content. Transmedia-the creation and sharing of narrative across media-is such a tool. This poster presentation illustrates how transmedia can be used to support student agency and engagement, drawing on a foundational case study of middle-grade students who interacted with the project, Inanimate Alice, an interactive novel that follows the adventures of Alice, a globetrotting girl who wants to be a game designer when she grows up. Future directions of the project are demonstrated via a new iteration of Inanimate Alice, a virtual reality (VR) gap story called Perpetual Nomads. The audience may experience Perpetual Nomads with a VR headset and learn about its implications for fostering student agency based on beta testing of the story with middle-grade students. The presenters also discuss an upcoming research initiative that will further test the impact of Perpetual Nomads on digital and technological literacies-an important avenue for fostering student agency.
Educators frequently inquire about the readability of documents used in classrooms, due to the be... more Educators frequently inquire about the readability of documents used in classrooms, due to the belief that text complexity is related to students’ reading comprehension and growth. Because documents used in classrooms tend to be language-based, common readability metrics focus on the complexity of language. For multimodal documents, there are no commonly used metrics for analyzing readability. This is problematic because multimodal reading is increasingly recognized as a 21st-century skill. One potential solution is found in Weltner’s transinformation analysis, an information theoretic approach to readability that uses entropy to measure the difference between objective information (e.g., pixel intensity) and subjective information (e.g., think-aloud screen recordings, oral retellings). A higher transinformation value in a multimodal document reflects greater information complexity and a more difficult level of readability. This study experimented with transinformation analysis and ...
PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the viability of transinformation analysis as a m... more PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the viability of transinformation analysis as a multimodal readability metric. A novel approach was called for, considering that existing and established readability metrics are strictly used to measure linguistic complexity. Yet, the corpus of multimodal literature continues to grow, along with the need to understand how non-linguistic modalities contribute to the complexity of the reading experience.Design/methodology/approachIn this exploratory study, think aloud screen recordings of eighth-grade readers of the born-digital novel Inanimate Alice were analyzed for complexity, along with transcripts of post-oral retellings. Pixel-level entropy analysis served as both an objective measure of the document and a subjective measure of the amount of reader information attention. Post-oral retelling entropy was calculated at the unit level of the word, serving as an indication of complexity in recall.FindingsFindings confirmed that transinf...
Digital games as tools for learning in K-12 have been a topic of intense discussion over the last... more Digital games as tools for learning in K-12 have been a topic of intense discussion over the last 15 years. One area of focus has been on the integration of commercial off-the-shelf games in lesson plans. A predictive factor for the adoption and integration of digital games is the attitudes or readiness of teachers. Yet, while many studies have examined this with teachers themselves, teacher librarians (TLs) have largely been ignored, despite the key role they play in education and technology adoption in schools. This study attempted to determine TLs' beliefs and practices about digital games as 21st century learning tools, to examine similarities and differences with those of classroom teachers, and to see if and how TLs' pedagogical beliefs impacted their perceptions of barriers toward digital game adoption. The Teachers' Attitudes Toward Games (TATG) Survey measured TLs' perceptions of barriers to using digital games. Findings suggest that TLs tended to use digital games to address discrete library skills-a behaviorist practice-despite the fact that they tended to hold constructivist pedagogical beliefs. Though, evidence showed that some were using games to integrate 21st century skills into classroom lessons. Similar to findings on classroom teachers, TLs perceived lack of time, lack of infrastructure, and lack of support as barriers to using digital games. Furthermore, TLs with behaviorist beliefs tended to perceive greater barriers to using digital games as compared to TLs with constructivist beliefs. 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Even prior to the new millennium, 21st century learning was already a topic of conversation among scholars, educators and policymakers. The underlying premise being that in order for students to be career and life-ready in the information age, new models for learning needed to be adopted (Abbott, 1997; Longworth & Davies, 1996). One such model is the Partnership for 21st Century Skills' (P21) Framework for 21st Century Learning. The P21 Framework emphasizes critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity (4Cs) as essential learning outcomes for the 21st century. Information, media and technology skills are integral to the development of the 4Cs, giving teacher librarians (TLs) an important role in supporting 21st century learning. Both the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE) special interest group for media specialists (SIGMS) advocate for TLs to support 21st century learning by: (a) teaching to a cross-section of learning standards that reflect the P21 Framework, including the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and AASL and ISTE Standards; (b) evaluating existing and emerging technologies; (c) teaching information literacy skills; (d) collaborating with classroom teachers; (e) serving in leadership roles (e.g., technology planning committees); (f) and developing library collections and administering library programs that promote 21st century learning (AASL, 2007; ISTE-SIGMS Executive Advocacy Committee, 2010). Furthermore, today's school libraries function 2 as 21st century learning spaces where students can access technology and work together on collaborative projects (ISTE-SIGMS Executive Advocacy Committee, 2010). TLs are already embracing these roles and becoming technology leaders in the process. In 2013, School Library Journal conducted a technology survey of U. S. school libraries and found that out of 761 TL respondents, 72% reported being viewed as technology leaders in their schools, 56% reported introducing technology at the classroom level, 42% reported serving on their schools' tech teams, and 34% perceived themselves as having a school-wide impact on technology adoption. These findings illustrate the significance of TLs' potential roles as advocates for the kinds of technologies that support 21st century learning-technologies such as digital games (Greenfield, 2009; Hayes & Games, 2008; Shute, Rieber, & Van Eck, 2012). Research has found digital games to be potentially beneficial learning environments for supporting 21st century skills, including critical thinking and problem solving skills (Gee, 2007;
Innovations in digital media have created new opportunities to engage young readersopportunities ... more Innovations in digital media have created new opportunities to engage young readersopportunities that can stimulate teachers to use technology in ways that support the skills students need to fully participate in a digital society. However, research shows that today's literacy educators are still largely focused on print-based literature. Transmedia literature has the potential to challenge this tendency. Specifically, the born-digital novel Inanimate Alice shows promise in empowering twenty first-century readers and writers through multimodal narratives. This paper presents the work in progress from a collaborative research group that was assembled to identify solutions for integrating Inanimate Alice into both formal and informal education. The primary goal of the group is to position Inanimate Alice as an exemplar for a new canon of digital literature, thus legitimating the role of innovative literary forms in supporting twenty first-century literacies. The group has adopted a cross-disciplinary approach to examine the design and usability of the story's platform as well as explore the relationship between the complexity of its reading experience and the complexity of its medium. This paper offers a discussion of ongoing research findings and emerging understandings of the literacy experiences that underlie young readers' interactions with Inanimate Alice through a multidisciplinary perspective.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the emerging concept of transliteracy from the pe... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the emerging concept of transliteracy from the perspective of literacy as a socially constructed and contextual practice. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of the literature explores the origins and development of transliteracy in the context of the multiple understandings of literacy. An argument is made that the current discussion among academic librarians about transliteracy as a set of skills is incompatible with its socio-constructivist roots. Findings Librarians’ interest in transliteracy stems from its relationship to information literacy, with current discussion focused on defining its skills. However, a skills-based perspective does not reflect the nature of what it means to be transliterate. Rather than a common set of skills that are practiced across multiple media platforms, transliteracy can be reconceptualized as a social practice that crosses multiple contexts (e.g. school, home and workplace). Practical im...
Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2018
Student agency is defined as a student's sense of self-control over his or her educational experi... more Student agency is defined as a student's sense of self-control over his or her educational experiences. It is a critical aspect of learning among adolescents. One way to promote student agency in the classroom is through the integration of texts and tools that allow students to become producers and consumers of content. Transmedia-the creation and sharing of narrative across media-is such a tool. This poster presentation illustrates how transmedia can be used to support student agency and engagement, drawing on a foundational case study of middle-grade students who interacted with the project, Inanimate Alice, an interactive novel that follows the adventures of Alice, a globetrotting girl who wants to be a game designer when she grows up. Future directions of the project are demonstrated via a new iteration of Inanimate Alice, a virtual reality (VR) gap story called Perpetual Nomads. The audience may experience Perpetual Nomads with a VR headset and learn about its implications for fostering student agency based on beta testing of the story with middle-grade students. The presenters also discuss an upcoming research initiative that will further test the impact of Perpetual Nomads on digital and technological literacies-an important avenue for fostering student agency.
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Papers by Amanda Hovious