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With advancing technology, "literacy" evolves to include new forms of literacy made possible by digital technologies. "New literacy" refers to using technology to research, locate, evaluate, synthesize and communication information. The purpose of the study is to develop a framework to guide science teachers' new literacy practices, and examine the impact of new literacy approach on students' science learning and new literacy skills. The authors worked with 25 middle school science teachers through a two-year professional development (PD), and followed their implementation to investigate the PD impact on their classroom practices and students' learning outcomes. The authors adopted mixed-methods to examine change in teachers' new literacy practices, students' science learning outcomes, and students' confidence in new literacy skills. The study results showed increases in teachers' frequency and types of new literacy practices, positive impact on students' science learning and confidence in new literacy skills. Factors affecting teachers' new literacy practice are also reported.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare high school students' global literacy level in metropolitan areas of China and the USA. Design/methodology/approach: The authors adopted a global literacy instrument to surveyed 2,157 New York City (NYC) high school students and 2,220 Chinese high school students. This paper adopted an independent sample t-test and an ANOVA to identify significant differences regarding demographic features on the Likert-scale items, and used the Pearson correlation coefficient to explore the degree of association between factors. Findings: From this global literacy scale, compared with NYC high school students, Chinese students have greater awareness of comprehending and appreciating cross-cultural perspectives, becoming global citizens, and exhibited greater approval of the performance of their own country's interconnectedness and interdependence with other countries. Students in the two countries exhibited similar confidence in using new literacies. Practical implications: Students would pay close attention to global issues if they were aware of how these issues affect their daily life and future. With critical-thinking abilities, students would be in a better position to make decisions that contribute to the common good. With awareness of diverse cultures, students could learn the values, strengths, and weaknesses of people. With fluency in new literacies, students could research and analyze information from multiple resources, and collaborate with others through the use of technology. Originality/value: This paper profiles the global literacy of US and Chinese high school students, describes factors correlated with both US and Chinese students' global literacy, and suggests students' preferences regarding "global education"-related activities. (Contains 15 tables.)

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are transforming the priorities of the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) to focus on preparing for the "new literacies." According to the Partnership of 21st Century Skills, "new literacy" is the ability to use ICTs to develop 21st century content knowledge and skills critical for success in the workplace and in life. The "new literacy" is an additional set of basic skills essential for surviving in a digital networked environment. The Internet and ICTs are changing today's definition of literacy. To become fully literate in today's world, students must become proficient in the new literacies of ICTs. This article provides a brief overview of several types of instruction that support development of ICT skills. The strategies skills and technology are also summarized in this article. (Contains 1 table and 5 figures.)

Purpose – When facing greater demands in the international job market and the innovative development and use of technologies, the youth needs a new set of skills and attitudes to succeed in an increasing well-educated global workforce. It is essential that educators prepare high school students' global literacy. In this paper, the authors survey high school students in New York City (NYC) to learn about their global literacy levels and to summarize results and interpret implications for educators. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopted a global literacy instrument to survey 2,157 high school students. They adopted an independent sample t-test and an ANOVA to identify significant differences regarding demographic features on the Likert-scale items, used cross-tab analysis to present the profile of participants, and used the Pearson correlation coefficient to explore the degree of association between factors. Findings – From this global literacy scale, NYC high school students have relatively strong awareness of the importance of comprehending and appreciating cross-culture perspectives, have strong confidence in using new literacies to resolve problems, but have relatively low willingness to become a global citizen. Practical implications – The findings of the study support the need to improve education quality, to strengthen world languages programs, and to advocate "new literacies" practices in classrooms. Originality/value – The paper surveys high school students to learn about their global literacy levels, and to investigate factors associated with the formation of their global literacy. Most importantly, the paper adds the concept new literacies into the component of the global literacy definition to reflect the influence of technology on the high school students' global awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Although teacher educators have worked on improving pre-service teachers' diversity awareness, researchers still face the challenge of pursuing a better approach to achieve the goal. In an era when educators are calling for evidence-based practice, the purpose of this paper is to explore various ways in which both teacher-education programs and general schools can integrate diversity issues into literacy teaching and learning. The paper undertakes this exploration on the basis of Gollnick and Chinn's cultural-identity model and of weblog-technology use. Design/methodology/approach – The participants of this paper are 27 pre-service teachers. The researchers set up a private group blog and invited all participants to be blog authors. The blog enabled the instructor to archive and categorize all posts and to continue to invite cohorts of pre-service teachers to join the blog. Pre-service teachers are placed in culturally and linguistically diverse classroom settings and are required to post their weekly reflections on the weblog. The researchers adopte mixed methodology to collect both qualitative data (field observation reports, discussion content on the blog, case studies, and focus groups) and quantitative data (pre-post surveys). Findings – The pre-service teachers in this paper possessed positive and open-minded attitudes toward English language learners. According to the pre- and post-survey, pre-service teachers are confident that they could resolve issues related to diversity in the classroom after participating in the paper. According to the results of the case-scenario analysis, the instructor should use reading contexts to address diversity issues, especially those pertaining to exceptionality, geography, class, and gender. The pre-service teachers' discussions and interactions on the blog were rich. Pre-service teachers felt motivation to expand their diversity-themed discussions from the classroom to the blog. Originality/value – With the assistance of weblogs, the instructor can extend the in-class discussion. In the paper, group blogs became a tool that helped the instructor and the pre-service teachers not only link the in-class discussion to their field observations but also share personal experiences and resources. For introverted pre-service teachers, a group blog can serve as a channel through which the pre-service teachers can comfortably express carefully organized opinions. In general, the commenting feature of the blog enriches interaction among pre-service teachers and widens their discussion in a way in which limited class time cannot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]