Academic bloggers, commenters, lurkers and non-bloggers: how and why in-service English teachers blog

Abstract

ABSTRACTTwenty-first-century literacy skills require teachers to engage students with digital tools in meaningful ways – it is also imperative that teachers utilise these skills themselves to enhance their abilities to address these skills effectively in their classrooms. In this article, the researchers disseminate the results of a qualitatively driven study in which eight National Writing Project in-service English teachers were interviewed and lesson plan data were collected with a focus on blogging practices. Ultimately, the results of this study are structured to showcase how teachers used blogs for professional development and how this participation influenced their definition of twenty-first-century literacies and their instructional practice. The results indicated the need to emphasise the collaborative and communicative components of twenty-first-century literacy skills and the need for teachers to engage in these practices.