The Contemporary Literacies Collaborative at the USF College of Education studies many ways in which technological changes affect literate practices. Our work focuses on new literacies, literacy in new contexts, identity formation, power structures, and the changing set of skills that empower people to communicate. We have a particular interest in how these contemporary literacies can be brought back into the classroom to engage students and to prepare them for happy, productive, literate lives.

James R. King

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James R. King’s research interests include struggling readers in early grades through middle school, masculinities in elementary school contexts, qualitative research methodology, and queer and critical theorizing in educational contexts. His publications include Uncommon caring: learning from men who teach young children, published by Teachers College Press. His work has been published in Reading Research Quarterly, Journal of Literacy Research, Qualitative Studies in Education, Contemporary Ethnography, Journal of Adult and Adolescent Literacy, Reading Research and Instruction, as well as chapters in several edited volumes.

Deborah Kozdras

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After teaching elementary school for 11 years in Ontario Canada, Deborah Kozdras enrolled as a doctoral candidate at the University of South Florida, where she currently works as a graduate assistant, teaching courses in reading and language arts. Deborah is one of the managing editors of the Journal of Reading Education published by the Organization of Teacher Educators in Reading, one of the International Reading Association’s (IRA) special interest groups. Deborah's research interests include new media literacies, children's literature, and teaching writing.

Jenifer J. Schneider

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Jenifer Jasinski Schneider, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in Childhood Literacy Education at the University of South Florida, Tampa. Her research focuses on the study of children’s writing development and effective writing instruction including the use of process drama and children’s literature. She has articles published in Research in the Teaching of English, Language Arts, The Reading Teacher, Journal of Teacher Education, and Research in Drama Education. She is also the co-editor of Process Drama and Multiple Literacies: Addressing Social, Cultural and Ethical Issues (Heinemann, 2006).

James L. Welsh

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James L. Welsh is a doctoral student in Childhood Education and Literacy Studies at the University of South Florida (USF). In addition to elementary teaching experience, James was the lead trainer for the USF College of Education Laptop Initiative and has served as the lead instructor for a digital video summer camp for the past five years. James is the Director of Contemporary Literacies Integration for the Florida Center for Instructional Technology. James’ research interests include critical media literacy, student creation of multimedia texts, and the use of genre in student composition.

©2009 Contemporary Literacies Collaborative, College of Education, University of South Florida.