Writing 2.0: How English Teachers Conceptualize Writing with Digital Technologies

Abstract

This article draws on a longitudinal study generated by a school and university-based partnership and funded by an Improving Teacher Quality grant. This study uses Cultural Historical Activity Theory (Cole, 1996; Engeström & Miettinen, 1999; Wertsch, 1991) and social semiotic theories of multimodality (Jewitt, 2006; Kress, 2010) to examine how a group of secondary English teachers conceptualized writing process pedagogy and digital tool use after a week-long professional development program. Teachers used the online software program Prezi to create concept maps that showed their understanding of the concept of Writing 2.0. A CHAT and multimodal analysis indicated a number of contradictions. Examining such contradictions in teacher thinking is essential for understanding teachers’ agency in using new tools within multiple activity systems that often have competing values and goals.