8/17/2019 Anne Mooney_Book Review_WIC Newsletter Spring 2016

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Spring 2016 | WIC Program Newsletter |

With their book, Understanding and Creating

Digital Texts: An Activity-Based Approach, Richard

Beach, Chris M. Anson, Lee-Ann Kastman Breuch,

and Thomas Reynolds have assembled a collection

of digital tools and resources that will be useful

across the disciplines in secondary and higher

education. The authors present possible ways that

digital tools and resources can be incorporated into

the classroom and enhance existing curricula.

The first chapter justifies the use of digital tools in

the classroom by introducing six skills necessary

in the 21st century, such as “making connections

between digital texts and people,” and “adopting

alternative modes of communication.”1  Based on

these skills and the Common Core State Standards,

the second and third chapters provide in-depth

explanations for why teachers should utilize these

digital tools in their classrooms. For example,

text-to-speech tools are effective when working

with students with disabilities, while translation

tools can be helpful for English Language Learners.

Chapters four through twelve explore various

digital resources and tools, describing how they

can advance reading and writing instruction. For

instance, students may find value in using mapping

tools like MindMeister in the pre-writing stage. By

mapping, students can visually make connections

between and among ideas, resulting in more

cohesive writing. Additionally, Diigo is a tool thatenables students to more fully engage with their

digital readings by allowing them to save and

annotate online resources.

Understanding and Creating Digital Texts:

An Activity-Based Approach By: Anne Mooney, MA/MAT in English

BOOK REVIEW

Understanding and Creating Digital Texts  is an

informative resource for teachers in any discipline

one that I would highly recommend. However, I

would suggest purchasing the e-version of this

book, rather than print, in order to more easily

access its many useful links. The most valuable

takeaways are its practical and detailed accounts

how digital tools can be used in the classroom.

Bibliography

Beach, Richard, Chris M. Anson, Lee-Ann Kastman

Breuch, and Thomas Reynolds. Understanding an

Creating Digital Texts: An Activity-Based Approach

New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014.

1 Richard Beach and others, Understanding and Creating Digital Texts: An Activity-Based Approach (New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publisher2014), 3.