Introduction:

I'm Keith Osterberg, and I've created this blog for my Technology to Enhance Literacy course at Missouri Baptist University, where I am working towards a Master in Educational Technology degree. I teach at the Writing Lab of Mineral Area College in Park Hills, Missouri, where I see the current state of literacy every day. There are students who are reasonably adept with language, and there are students who need considerable remedial help. 

My expectations for this course are many. As a writing teacher, I hope to learn ways that digital technology can be used to improve student writing.  Of course, the word "literacy" has several meanings, not all of which are about language mastery. There is also technology literacy. In today's digital world, we need to synthesize those two concepts: language literacy and technical literacy.

One article I was reading dealt with both. In "Leveraging Technology to Improve Literacy," Rick Allen reports on several classroom programs that combine teacher instruction with technological-driven instruction, with positive results.  Leveraging Technology to Improve Literacy.

I am hopeful this sort of synthesis of traditional and digital approaches will continue to yield successful results, especially in situations where the traditional approach alone has not.