Academic Knowledge Construction and Multimodal Curriculum Development

While incorporating digital technologies into the classroom has offered new ways of teaching and learning into educational processes, it is essential to take a look at how the digital shift impacts teachers, school administration, and curriculum development. Academic Knowledge Construction and Multimodal Curriculum Development presents practical conversations with philosophical and theoretical concerns regarding the use of digital technologies in the educational process. This book will also aim to challenge the assumption that information accessibility is synonymous with learning. It is an essential reference for educators and practitioners interested in examining the complexity of academic knowledge construction in multimodal, digital worlds.

Douglas J. Loveless is an Assistant Professor in the Early, Elementary and Reading Education Department at James Madison University where he teaches literacy education. Previously, he has taught in public dual-language schools, college-readiness programs for at-risk students and supplementary literacy programs for students of all ages. As an elementary teacher, he specialized in science education in Texas public schools as well as in Costa Rica. His research interests include polymodal narratives, curriculum issues, critical and situated literacies/pedagogies, and digital literacies.

Bryant Griffith is a Professor at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and Director of the Curriculum and Instruction Doctoral Program. Previously, he was professor and director of the School of Education at Acadia University, Canadas first laptop university, and professor and associate dean at the University of Calgary. He writes and researches in the area of epistemological issues in education.

Margaret E. Bérci is an Associate Professor of Education at the College of Staten Island, CUNY. Prior to coming to New York, she gained experience with different levels of education in Alberta, the Canadian province that has been a leader in Social Studies education reform. Dr. Bércis research pursues the philosophical foundations of self-knowledge. This passion translates into eclectic projects in the field of teacher education that focus on teacher self-development, teachers' ways of knowing, place-based education, critical pedagogy, problem-based learning, and effects of technology on curriculum and learning. All of these interests, fueled by the work of British philosopher, R.G. Collingwood, find a home in the applied world of Social Studies where she locates diverse and integrated methodologies for educating the Social Studies teacher to become a guide for the development of K-12 students democratic decision-making skills.

Evan Ortlieb is a Senior Lecturer at Monash University, and has formerly taught in multiple universities in the United States. He has participated in consultancies in for the International Reading Association, Literacy Research Association, and the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers. Evan conducts research on struggling readers and remediating reading difficulties in elementary learners. He is also very interested in literacy clinics as well as teacher education. Most recently, he has begun publication of an international book series entitled Literacy Research, Practice, and Evaluation. In addition, he is currently involved in redefining the role of a reading specialist. Evan was awarded the Jerry Johns Promising Researcher award in the field of literacy education in 2011 and has won multiple teaching awards in the United States. He is also on numerous editorial boards of national and international journals.