Electronic Literacies:  Language, culture, and power in online education by Marc Warschauer

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Abstract (from the cover) 

This book documents the role of the Internet and other new digital technologies in the development of language and literacy. The author looks at how the nature of reading and writing is changing, and how those changes are being addressed in the classroom. His focus is on the experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse learners who are at special risk of being marginalized from the information society. Based on a 2-yr ethnographic study of the uses of the Internet in 4 language and writing classrooms in Hawaii, the book includes data from interviews with students and teachers, classroom observations, and analysis of students' texts. The data are combined with theories from a broad range of disciplines to develop conclusions about the relationship of technology to language, literacy, education, and culture. Central to the author's discussion and conclusions is how contradictions of language, culture, and class affect the impact of Internet-based education. The book is intended for those interested or involved in English as a Second Language, bilingual, and multicultural education; composition and literacy education; technology-based school reform; the social context of schooling, critical pedagogy, and cultural studies.