New Genres and New Literacies: The challenge of the virtual curriculum

Abstract

Tin's article considers the impact on language and literacy education of new cyber-genres such as email and Web pages, as well as on the curriculum genres generated by the interaction of schools with the Internet. It is argued that the activities of schools on the Internet have the potential to create a new virtual curriculum, bypassing education authorities, and making possible school participation in global multimedia activities. These new literacies bring with them new literacy practices, and raise important questions for teacher education and professional development. At stake is the future shape of the new literacies in the classroom and access for language and literacy education teachers and students to significant new forms of cultural capital.