Teaching in The Connected Classroom

In common attempts to standardize what and how teaching is conducted, we often fail to recognize

the tremendous amount of innovation that educators bring to solving an array of challenges

in today’s classrooms. This volume highlights compelling firsthand counter-narratives from educators

engaged in exactly this work, underscoring the fact that today’s teachers have to design

the classroom experience in ever-changing contexts in order to be successful.

Educators have to fluidly adapt to constant interruptions, create new instructional materials,

utilize new technologies, respond to the changing needs of their students, and wrestle with new

policy movements and their implications for the classroom. All of this requires a tremendous

amount of insight and commitment to the iterative design process on the part of the teacher and

the classroom community.

This volume draws together narratives from an inspiring group of educators within the National

Writing Project (NWP)—a collaborative network of instructors dedicated to enhancing student

learning and effecting positive change—that contributes to our understanding of what “Digital

Is” (DI). DI is a web community for practitioners with high levels of expertise and a deep commitment

to engaging today’s youth by fostering connections between their in- and out-of-school

digital literacy practices. Furthermore, DI is about sharing experiences that offer visibility into

the complexity of the everyday classroom, as well as the intelligence that the teaching profession

demands.