William Kist is an associate professor at Kent State University, where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses focused on adolescent literacy. He has been a middle school and high school English teacher; a Language Arts and Social Studies curriculum coordinator; and a consultant and trainer for school districts across the United States. Kist has over 30 national and international conference presentations and 10 published articles to his credit, including his book The Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the New Media Age (2010, Corwin Press.). In addition to his work in education, Kist has worked as a video/film producer and musician. Kist is editing one independent feature film, Summer’s Journey, and is developing his original screenplay, Field Trip, to be filmed as an independent feature in 2012.
View Bill Kist's Resume/Vita, Publication, and Workshops.
To request NCTE Professional Development Services, complete the Online Request Form, call 800-369-6283 or email us today!
Level: 6-12
- New Literacies/Multimodal Literacy
- Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum
- Motivating Middle School and High School Students
- Curriculum Audits
- Curriculum mapping related to the Common Core State Standards
- Articulation between high school curricula and college readiness standards
New Literacies in Action: Teaching and Learning in Multiple Media
The New Literacies Movement and Web 2.0: Roadblocks and Opportunities
Building on over ten years of research in classrooms, Dr. Kist will provide an overview of the “new literacies” movement, from its genesis in arts-based education (focusing on film), to the beginnings of the uses of the Internet in the classroom, to today’s struggles with how to integrate Web 2.0 into the K-12 classroom. A variety of new-media-based strategies from all over the world will be demonstrated, as some pioneering teachers attempt to engage student readers and writers in a time of rapidly changing and developing literacies. Video clips from documentary footage shot on location in classrooms in Canada and the United States will be shown to provide real-world examples of students and teachers co-learning in new media environments. Possible future research questions and lines of inquiry will be suggested.
Updating the Standards: Bridging the Gaps
Drawing from his real-world work with districts across the country and the most up-to-date research on college readiness, Dr. Kist can facilitate your curriculum and instruction transition into the 21st century. A process of revision that works from models provided by the Common Core, Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the ACT College Readiness Standards will be followed and embedded with many "real world" examples of multi-modal assignments and assessments. Your district will come out of the experience with a revitalized curriculum document and also a variety of possibilities for infusing new literacies across all subject areas.
Writing in a Digital Age
Overview
What’s new in adolescent literacy? Kids are still reading books. Kids are also doing a lot of reading and writing online—Fanfiction sites, Chat rooms, Instant messaging.
Quick overview of trends in helping struggling writers be better writers. Motivating struggling writers. Activities to do Before Writing. Activities to do During Writing. Activities to do After Writing.
What are “reading” and “writing” in the 21st century? Literacy will probably be more “screen-based” than “page-based.” People will still need to be good at reading and writing print. Writing will also include being able to create in media other than print: graphic design, music, video and still photography.
What are some assignments that teachers can give that will tap into these new literacies? Examples from my book, New Literacies in Action. Video clips from documentary footage shot on location. Examples of digital portfolio management systems.
Breakout Sessions with Smaller Groups (60-90 minutes?)
During these small-group sessions, I would train teachers on how to use some very simple activities to help struggling writers.
New Literacies in Action
Audiences: Teachers (Grades 5-Adult), Administrators, Literacy Coaches
Building on over ten years of research in classrooms, Dr. Kist will demonstrate a variety of strategies for engaging adolescents in a time of broadening literacies. Collected from classrooms across North America, these strategies can be implemented in a wide range of classrooms, from the technologically barren to the technologically advanced.
Assignments and assessments will be demonstrated that can be used in conjunction with: Blogging, Video Sharing, Sound File Sharing, Instant Messaging, Text Messaging, Podcasting, Using Games, Graffiti, Visual Art, Drama, and Dance.
Video clips from documentary footage shot on location in classrooms in Canada and the United States will be shown to provide real-world examples of students and teachers co-learning in new media environments.
Motivating the Unmotivated Adolescent Reader
Audiences: Teachers (Grades 5-Adult), Administrators, Literacy Coaches
In a single-day or multiple-day workshop, teachers will read about and discuss trends and strategies used in adolescent literacy education. A key component of the workshop will be strategies to motivate struggling readers, both those “a-literates” who just don’t like to read and those who struggling with decoding and comprehension. Strategies will be divided into those done before, during, and after reading. These strategies are hands-on, and can be implemented quickly and easy in language arts classrooms and across content areas.
Participants will leave the workshop with a thick file of ideas and strategies that should help motivate even the most unmotivated reader. A list of popular new and older Young Adolescent book titles will be shared as well as new multimodal venues for literacy such as fanfiction and video file-sharing sites.