PDF of the slides used in my talk on 8-8-13. Note: The animations of the ORCA assessments did not translate well from Keynote.

1. The New Literacies of Online
Research and Comprehension:
Reading with a Lens to the Future
as Well As a Lens to the Past
Donald J. Leu
Neag Endowed Chair in Literacy and Technology
Neag School of Education
University of Connecticut
donald.leu@uconn.edu

2. A Summer of Reflection

3. What Have I Learned?
“The more I know, the less I understand.”
Don Henley, The Eagles

4. We Live In Epochal Times
n Rapid, Disruptive Changes To Literacy Are
Happening All Around Us.
n Never before has a generation lived
through such a period of profound change
to literacy, learning, and life

5. Print Newspapers are
Disappearing

6. New Literacies Are Required by
Everyone: AU Taxi Cab Drivers

7. The Internet Is Now This Generation’s
Defining Technology For Reading and
Learning

8. How Many People Read and
Write With the Internet ?

9. Why? One Reason: The Nature of
Work Has Changed
CEO
Upper Level Management
Upper Middle Level Management
Middle Level Management
Line Supervisors
Workers
The Lesson from General Motors
1. Command and control
2. Lower levels of
education required.
3. Wasted intellectual
capital
4. Highly inefficient
5. Lower productivity
6. Little innovation
7. Little need for higher
level and creative
thinking.
Wasted
intellectual
capital

10. In a Flattened World: Opportunities
Expand but Both Competition and
Cooperation Increase
How do economic units increase productivity?
Flatten The Organization into Problem Solving Teams
Team Team TeamTeam Team
1. Define problems
2. Locate information
3. Critically evaluate information
4. Synthesize and solve problems
5. Communicate solutions
These teams take full advantage
of their intellectual capital to
the extent their education
system has prepared them for
this.
Greater Intellectual Capital Use = Greater Productivity

11. Which tool has been used by
economic units to increase productivity
and compete?
Team Team TeamTeam Team
Online Research and Comprehension
1. Define problems
2. Locate information
3. Evaluate information
4. Synthesize and solve problems
5. Communicate solutions
The Internet
Recent productivity gains are due to
using the Internet to share
information, communicate, and solve
problems (van Ark, Inklaar, &
McGuckin, 2003; Friedman, 2005;
Matteucci, O’Mahony, Robinson, &
Zwick, 2005).

12. With the Internet, Literacy Has
Become Deictic.
n Deixis: Words whose meanings rapidly
change based on the extralinguistic
context. A form of exophora.
here there
Itodayyesterday
she
literacy writingreading

13. New Literacies:
“Literacy is not just new today;
it becomes new every day of
our lives.”

14. What Does It Mean That Literacy is
Now Deictic?
n For theory development?
n For research?
n For practice?

15. PART I. LITERACY AS DEIXIS:
IMPACT ON THEORY DEVELOPMENT
A conundrum: How can we possibly develop
adequate theory when the object that we seek
to study is itself ephemeral, continuously being
redefined by a changing context?
This is an important theoretical challenge that
our field has not previously faced.
Leu, D. J., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J., Castek, J., Henry, L. A. (2013). New literacies: A dual
level theory of the changing nature of literacy, instruction, and assessment. In N.
Unrau & D. Alvermann (Eds.), Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading, Sixth
Edition. International Reading Association: Newark, DE.

16. A Dual Level Theory of New
Literacies:
Learning from One Another to Advance Theory and
Research
New Literacies
new literacies
of social
practices and
mindsets
(Lankshear
& Knobel; Street;
and others)
new
discourses
(Gee and
others)
new literacies of
online research
and
comprehension
(Castek;Coiro; Leu;
and others)
new semiotic
contexts
(Kress;
Jewell;
Lemke; and
others)
Multi-modal
approaches
(Hull and
others)
Upper Case New Literacies: Common patterns and principles
lower case new literacies
new
literacies of
young
children
(Marsh;
and others)
new tools
(Brown and
others)
Out of school
literacies
(Alvermann
and others)
etc.

17. New Literacies:
Current Common Patterns
1.The Internet is this generation’s defining
technology for literacy and learning within
our global community.
2.The Internet and related technologies
require new literacies to fully access their
potential.
3.New literacies are deictic.
4.New social practices are a central element
of new literacies.

18. New Literacies:
Current Common Patterns (cont.)
5.New literacies are multiple, multimodal, and
multifaceted, and, as a result, our
understanding of them benefits from multiple
points of view.
6.Critical literacies are central to new
literacies.
7.New forms of strategic knowledge are
required with new literacies.
8.Teachers become more important, though
their role changes, within new literacy
classrooms.

19. PART II: ONLINE RESEARCH AND
COMPREHENSION
(Online Reading Comprehension)
n Defines how we read online when we
conduct informal and formal research to
learn new knowledge.
n Identify the problem/question
n Locate
n Evaluate
n Synthesize
n Communicate
Castek, 2008; Coiro & Dobler, 2007;
Henry, 2007; Leu, Castek, Hartman,
Coiro, Henry, Kulikowich, & Lyver, 2005;
Leu, O’Byrne, Zawilinski, McVerry,
& Everett-Cacopardo, 2009; Leu, Kinzer,
Coiro, Castek, & Henry, 2013

20. Why Have Some of Us Selected
This Line of Research?
n Closely connected to learning
n Immediate classroom application
n Appears to be increasingly important to
one’s success in life
n High frequency of use
n Our students appear to lack many of these
skills

21. Results From Several Research
Projects
n Offline and online reading are not the same.
n The rich are getting richer and the poor are
getting poorer with both offline and online
reading in the U.S.
n The ORCA Project: New performance based
assessments of online research and
comprehension.
n Collaborative reading online appears to lead to
deeper thinking and learning compared to
individual reading.

22. Offline Comprehension and Online
Comprehension Are Not The Same
(r=0.19, n = 89, N.S.)
Leu,
Castek,
Hartman,
Coiro,
Henry,
Kulikowich,
Lyver, 2005
Online Reading
Comprehension =
ORCA Blog
Offline Reading =
Connecticut
Mastery Test (CMT)
of Reading
Comprehension

23. Examples?
n Locate
n Key word entry
n Reading search results
n Evaluate
n Evaluating the reliability of a website
n Synthesis
n Synthesizing from multiple sites
n Communicate
n Email, wikis, blogs, texting

24. Additional Evidence:
Predicting Online Reading Comprehension
R2
Offline Reading
Comprehension
Additional R2
Domain
Knowledge
Additional R2
Previous Online
Reading
Comprehension
Total R2
Online Reading
Comprehension
.351* .074 .154* .579*
Coiro, 2011
The new literacies of online reading comprehension
Offline Reading Comp.=
CT State
Reading Test
Online Reading
Comprehension =
ORCA Quia

25. In the U.S., The Rich Get
Richer and the Poor Get Poorer
in Offline Reading.
OFFLINE
READING
COMPREHENSION:
90/10
Income
Achievement
&
Black-­‐
White
Gaps
Average
Difference
in
S.D.
Units
on
NaNonal
Assessments
Reardon, S.F. (2011). The widening academic achievement gap between the rich and the poor: New
evidence and possible explanations. In R. Murnane & G. Duncan (Eds.), Whither Opportunity?
Rising Inequality and the Uncertain Life Chances of Low-Income Children. New York: Russell Sage
Foundation Press.

26. ORCA Project Pre-pilot Study:
Students in Rich and Poor
School Districts

27. School District Differences
West Town
DRG B
East Town
DRG H
Median Family Income $119,338 $58,981
% of Families Below
Poverty Line
2.1% 11.8%
% of Students Eligible for
Free/Reduced Price
Lunches
4% 67%

28. A Significant Achievement Gap
Existed in Offline Reading
(CT Mastery Test: Reading)
★ t (237) = 14.34 p = .000
n eta squared = .466 (large)
0
75.0
150.0
225.0
300.0
Means: CMT Reading
West Town (Rich)
East Town (Poor)
n West Town (Rich) Mean = 282.6 (SD = 41.54)
n East Town (Poor) Mean = 215.1 (SD = 31.07)
282.6 215.1

29. A Significant Achievement Gap
Existed in Online Research and
Comprehension Abilities...
✴ t (255) = 9.80, p = .000
n eta squared = .319 (large)
0
4.0
8.0
12.0
16.0
Means: ORCA-Closed
West Town (Rich)
East Town (Poor)
n West Town Mean = 15.00 (SD=5.69)
n East Town Mean = 7.65 (SD=4.39)
15.00 7.65

30. ...Even When an ANCOVA Analysis
Was Conducted
Covariates: Offline Reading + Prior Topic Knowledge
★ F (1,234) = 15.84, p = .001
n partial eta squared = .063
n (large)
0
4.0
8.0
12.0
16.0
ORCA-Closed:Adjusted Means
West Town (Rich)
East Town (Poor)
n West Town (rich) adjusted mean = 12.96
n East Town (poor) adjusted mean = 10.27
12.96 9.27

31. PIs
Donald J. Leu, The University of Connecticut
Jonna Kulikowich, The Pennsylvania State University
Nell Sedransk, National Institute of Statistical Sciences
Julie Coiro, University of Rhode Island
Graduate Research Assistants
Elena Forzani, Clint Kennedy, and Cheryl Burlingame, The University
of Connecticut
Scientific Advisory Board
P. David Pearson, The University of California, Berkeley
Irwin Kirsch, Educational Testing Service
Rand Spiro, Michigan State University
Elizabeth Stage, Lawrence Hall of Science, Berkeley
Glenn Kleimann, Friday Institute, NCSU

32. Locate
Can the student locate the correct email message in an
inbox on the first click?
Can the student use appropriate keywords in a search
engine?
Can the student locate the best site for a task from a set
of search engine results on the first click?
Can the student locate and communicate the correct
website addresses from two different search tasks.

33. Evaluate
Can the student identify the author of the website?
Can the student evaluate the author's level of
expertise?
Can the student identify the author's point of
view?
Can the student evaluate the reliability of a
website?

34. Synthesize
Can students provide a summary of one important element from
the first website?
Can students use their own words to integrate one detail from
each of the first two websites?
Can students use their own words to integrate one detail from
each of the second two websites?
Can students use their own words to develop an argument after
reading all four websites?

35. Communicate: Email (Wiki)
Does the student include the correct email address in an
email message?
Does the student include an appropriate subject line in an
email message?
Does the student include an appropriate greeting in an email
message to an important, unfamiliar person?
Does the student compose and send a well-structured, short
report of their research in an email with sources and
appropriate argument structure, containing at least one
relevant claim and at least two pieces of evidence.

36. 36

37. Reading
to
Locate
Informa1on
Online

38. Reading
to
Locate
Informa1on
Online

39. Reading to Synthesize
Information Online

40. Reading to Critically Evaluate
Information Online

41. Reading
and
Wri1ng
to
Communicate
Informa1on
Online:
Email
Task
41

42. State 1 State 2
(laptops)
TOTAL
Locate (8) 4.52 4.64 4.58
Evaluate (8) 3.61* 3.32 3.47
Synthesize (8) 6.07 5.86 5.97
Communicate (8) 4.22 4.00 4.11
TOTAL (32) 18.42 17.81 18.13
Mean Scores of Representative
State Samples of 13-year Olds
(n = 1,129)
*p < .05 t(1127) = 2.641, p=.008

43. Adjusted Total Mean Scores
When Covariates of SES and
Prior Knowledge Controlled
43
State 1 State 2
(laptops)
Adjusted Means 17.56 19.08*
*p < .05 F (1, 1021) = 14.854, p = .000

44. Most Recently
n Current work is showing unidimensional
scaling for ORCA-Multiple Choice but
Multidimensional scaling for ORCA-Closed and
ORCA-Open.
n This suggests ORCA-Multiple Choice will
perform more like offline reading while
performance-based assessments (ORCA-
Closed and ORCA-Open) perform more like
online reading, with additional skills required.
44

45. Recent Work from Finland
• Collaborative online reading can lead to
important learning gains.
• Individual readers concentrated on gathering
facts.
• Collaborative readers explored ideas more
deeply and shared different perspectives.
Kiili,C.,Laurinen,L.,Marttunen,M.,&Leu,D.J.(2012).Workingonunderstandingduring
collaborativeonlinereading.JournalofLiteracyResearch.44(4).448-483.ThousandOaks,
CA:SagePublications.doi:10.1177/1086296X12457166
45

46. III. INSTRUCTION WHEN
LITERACY IS DEICTIC
n A particular problem in some nations:
n We often think about our curriculum ONLY with a
lens to our past, not a lens to the future.
n A special problem for the U.S. with our new
Common Core State Standards.
n It may also apply to nations/schools who
specify a reading/literacy curriculum.
46

47. n A Lens to the Future
1. “Read closely to determine what the text
says explicitly and to make logical inferences
from it; cite specific textual evidence when
writing or speaking to support conclusions
drawn from the text.”
n A Lens to the Past
n Narrative Text
n Inferential
Comprehension
47

48. n A Lens to the Future
n Web site reliability
n Who is the author
n Is the author an
expert? How do you
know?
n What is the author’s
point of view? How
do you know?
n Is this site reliable?
How do you know?
6. “Assess how point of view or purpose
shapes the content and style of a text.”
n A Lens to the Past
n Narrative text
n What was the
author’s point of
view?
n What was Jacob’s
point of view?
48

49. What Can We Do To Enrich Our
Reading Programs and Prepare
Students For Their Future?
Two Classrooms

50. Grades 2-3: Internet Morning Message
of the Day
http://www.epals.com/find-classroom.php

52. Grade 7: Online International
Projects
Hey! Gary
Paulson???
O yeah! I got some grat
idea. Let me send them
to Tomas and Ben in the
US
We’re on it!
Making a web
page now.
Monique, South Africa
Ben and Tomas, Connecticut
Jose, Costa Rica

53. Internet Reciprocal Teaching
(IRT)
53

54. A Three-Phase Model
n Phase I: Teacher-led and Student-led
Instruction in Cool Tools for Information Use
n Phase II: Problem-based Learning of Online
Research and Comprehension Skills
n Phase III: Internet Inquiry

55. IRT: Phase III
Inquiry
n Initially, within the class.
n Then, with others around the world.
n Internet Morning Message of the Day
n Student Online Collaborations

56. Help the last become first with new
literacies.

57. Some Thoughts to Review
1.Literacy as deixis means that new
literacies appear every day.
2.In a deictic world of reading and literacy,
we need new approaches to theory
development. Dual Level theory.
3.We reviewed one area of lower case new
literacies research with important
classroom implications: online research
and comprehension.

58. Some Thoughts to Review
(cont.)
4. We have looked at several instructional ideas in
online research and comprehension: Internet
Morning Message, IRT, and helping the last
become first.
5.We have looked at online collaborative learning
projects, an approach that may hold important
potential for raising a new generation of globally
aware and sensitive citizens.
6.I believe that Europe has special potential for
leading our way forward with new literacies.

59. Change Is Never Easy.
How does it look on a bad day?

60. But, On Your Most Difficult Days,
Keep This Thought In Mind:
The Leadership That You
Provide With New
Literacies…

61. Determines The Future That Our
Students Achieve!
Thank you!

62. The New Literacies of Online
Research and Comprehension:
Reading with a Lens to the Past
and a Lens to the Future
Donald J. Leu
Neag Endowed Chair in Literacy and Technology
Neag School of Education
University of Connecticut
donald.leu@uconn.edu