New Demands of Reading in the Mobile Internet Age

Abstract

Changing contexts of literacy in the mobile Internet age demands that readers use higher-order strategies to identify, understand, and evaluate numerous web sources. Sophisticated use of these strategies is a hallmark of competent readers, who are able to make informed decisions about their own reading in the unknown, untested information space on the Internet. The focus of this chapter is on these new demands of reading in Internet settings. The chapter begins by describing changing views of texts and evolving understandings of reading in the digital world. It then describes the core reading strategies that contribute to successful reading in Internet settings, including text location, meaning construction, critical evaluation, and metacognitive monitoring. Conclusions are drawn regarding considerations for designing instruction that fosters students’ higher-order reading strategies in the mobile Internet age.