Janette Hughes
PhD
Canada Research Chair in Technology and Pedagogy
Associate Professor
Digital LiteraciesWorld-leading education expert integrates digital technology to transform student learning experience.
- PhD - Curriculum (Language and Literacy) Digital Poetry University of Western, London, Ontario 2006
- Master of Arts - Teaching (Curriculum/English) University of Toronto, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Toronto, Ontario 1995
- Bachelor of Education - Concurrent IS English/History Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario 1988
- Bachelor of Arts - English Literature (Honours) Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario 1987
Co-constructing Knowledge Through MOOC Design and Development
26th International Conference of Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education Las Vegas, Nevada
2015-03-02
Digital Tools for 21st Century Literacy Learning
United Kingdom Literacy Association 51st International Conference, National College for Teaching and Leadership Nottingham, England
2015-07-20
Using Digital Tools to Read, Write and Perform Poetry for Social Justice
International Federation for the Teaching of English (IFTE)/Council of English Educators (CEE) Summer Conference New York City, New York
2015-07-06
Using a Critical Digital Literacies Pedagogy to Promote Creativity and Equity
Literacy Research Association Conference Carlsbad, California
2015-01-21
Mobile Tools for Social Justice: Young Adolescent Learners Creating Digital Texts for Voice and Agency Through Literature Circles
Literacy Research Association 64th Annual Conference Marco Island, Florida
2014-12-03
iPoetry and iDentity
International Reading Association, Technology in Literacy Education, Special Interest Group New Orleans, Louisiana
2014-05-12
Everybody’s Got a Story: Building Empathy and Understanding Using Digital Tools
Intentional Teaching with Technology to Increase Understanding, Empathy and Engagement, International Reading Association Pre-Conference Institute New Orleans, Louisiana
2014-05-09
The Shift from English Methods to Critical Digital Literacies
Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) Florida
2014-03-01
Transcending Cultural Borders Through Ning
KAME International Conference Seoul, South Korea
2014-01-01
Transformative Teaching – Using Apps with Literature Circles to Engage Community Social Justice in Middle School
NCTE Annual Convention: (Re)Inventing the Future of English Boston, Massachusetts
2013-11-01
The Adolescent Bricoleur: Constructing, Deconstructing and Reconstructing Social and Personal Identities Through Social Networking Sites
World Social Sciences Forum Montréal, Québec
2013-10-01
The Poetic Mirror: Exploring the Self Through Poetic Inquiry, Resonant Voices
Fourth International Symposium on Poetic Inquiry Montréal, Québec
2013-10-01
Identity, Social Networking and Digital Tools
Summer Institute in Digital Literacy Rhode Island
2013-01-01
Mirror, Mirror on My Wall: Using Social Networking Media to Promote Adolescent Reflection on the Impact of Media in their Lives
International Reading Association San Antonio, Texas
2013-04-01
Who Do You Think You Are? An Examination of the Off/Online Identities of Adolescents Using a Social Networking Site, YOUTH 2.0: CONNECTING, SHARING AND EMPOWERING?
Affordances, Uses and Risks of Social Media University of Antwerp, Belgium
2013-03-01
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall: Adolescents Reflecting on the Impact of Digital Media in their Lives
Hawaii International Conference on Education Honolulu, Hawaii
2013-01-01
Using Digital Literacies to Foster Globally and Culturally Sensitive Adolescence: Speaking Up About Injustice
International Academic Forum: Asian Conference on Education Osaka, Japan
2012-10-01
Multiliteracies: Preparing Teachers to Teach in a Digital Age
8th International Conference on Education Samos Island, Greece
2012-07-01
The Writing is on My Wall: Engagement and LearNING Through Social Networking
Nineteenth International Conference on Learning, Institute of Education London, United Kingdom
2012-08-01
The Digital Principal
Published in Pembroke April 30, 2014Janette Hughes
From Pembroke Publishers in 2014, The Digital Principal shows education leaders how to apply their leadership skills to the challenge of creating and supporting a learning environment rich in technology and opportunities for both students and teachers to work, teach, and learn in the digital age.
Social Action Through Digital Literacy
April 30, 2014Janette Hughes
Published by iBooks in 2013 with one of her graduate students and available on iTunes, this book explores the impact on adolescents’ learning when given opportunities to create digital texts for a wider audience and engage with social justice issues on a global scale. The research presented in this book positioned adolescents as agents of change as they produced digital texts based on issues identified through the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Crossing Cultural Borders Through Ning
Published in Multicultural Education Review March 16, 2015Allyson Eamer, Janette Hughes & Laura Jane Morrison
The aim of this mixed methods research study was to examine the construction of adolescents’ bi-cultural identities through an exploration of their social practices on the social networking site, Ning. More specifically, we ask: (1) how are new Canadian and first-generation adolescents’ bi-cultural identities shaped and performed as they use multimedia and social networking tools in their classroom; and (2) how can social networking tools help students cross cultural barriers and build strong communities of practice.
Mobilizing Knowledge Via Documentary Filmmaking: Is the Academy Ready?
Published in McGill Journal of Education September 1, 2014Diana M. Petrarca & Janette M. Hughes
The predominant form of research dissemination resides in the scholar’s domain, namely academic conferences and peer-reviewed journals. This paper describes how two colleagues and researchers integrated documentary filmmaking with research methods in their respective scholarly work, supporting the case for documentary film as an alternative form of scholarly work and knowledge mobilization outside the walls of the university. The authors add to the ongoing conversation for a more dynamic use of digital video-recording that moves beyond simple data collection and encourage researchers to tap into multimodal forms of expression, specifically digital filmmaking.
You Don’t Know Me: Adolescent Identity Development Through Poetry Performance
Published in In Education, Special Issue on Poetic Inquiry March 1, 2014Janette Michelle Hughes, Laura Jane Morrison, Cornelia Hoogland
Our study concerns adolescents using poetry writing as an interrogative and creative means of shaping and creating “voices” or “identities.” Toronto-based high school students were challenged to be creators (rather than solely consumers) of available social practices within a digital landscape using mobile devices and social networking platforms.
The Evolution of Teaching with Graphic Novels
Published in Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures January 1, 2014Janette Hughes & Laura Morrison
Much has changed since I began teaching in a Pre-service Teacher Education program in 2006. Back then, when I introduced our future elementary and secondary English Language Arts teachers to graphic novels, only a few students in each class had any experience with them. Most of the teacher candidates knew about and had read comics at some point in their lives, but only a few had actually read a graphic novel. Now, eight years later, almost all of them know what a graphic novel is, and some enter my classes having taken university courses in the area.
At the Intersection of Critical Digital Literacies, YAL and Literature Circles
Published in Alan Review January 1, 2014Janette Hughes & Laura Morrison
In this qualitative case study, we share findings on the link between a critical digital literacies pedagogy, and the use of young adult novels, literature circles and various digital tools to develop students' traditional and digital literacy skills.
Adolescents as Agents of Change: Digital Text-Making for Social Justice
Published in Education Matters November 1, 2013Janette Hughes
This article chronicles a research study in two middle schools in Canada where teachers and learners were engaged to create and integrate digital texts representative of social justice issues into the school curriculum. The article illustrates through samples of digital texts the tacit skills of students that are not readily seen in schools.
Using Facebook to Explore Adolescent Identities
Published in Special Issue: Facebook in Education, International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments September 1, 2013Janette Hughes & Laura Morrison
This study examines the construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of adolescent identities through an exploration of their social practices within a digital landscape using mobile devices and Facebook for learning in the classroom and in their lives.
The Writing is on My Wall: Engagement and LearNING Through Social Networking
Published in The International Journal of Technologies in Learning June 1, 2013Janette Hughes
This research chronicles experiences using a social networking site (Ning) to engage and promote collaboration between a class of grade 7 and 8 students, preservice teachers at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, and graduate students at memorial University in Newfoundland.
ImMEDIAte Gratification: Examining the Use of Mobile Devices in Adolescents’ In-School and Out-of-School Lives
Published in earning Landscapes Special Issue: Teaching and Learning in the Digital World January 1, 2013Janette Hughes
Using a mixed method media approach of qualitative case study analysis and quantitative surveying, this research investigates the development of adolescent digital literacies and their use of mobile devices to further their understandings.
National Technology Leadership Initiative Fellowship
Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education January 1, 2013Dr. Hughes received this honour from the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, an international association of individual teacher educators, and affiliated organizations of teacher educators in all disciplines, who are interested in the creation and dissemination of knowledge about the use of information technology in teacher education and faculty/staff development.
UOIT Research Excellence Award
UOITDr. Hughes received the Early Stage Researcher Award for her national and international research success and recognition of her research in raising UOIT's profile as a research-focused institution. (September 21, 2012 - April 30, 2014)
Ontario Ministry of Innovation Early Researcher Award
April 30, 2014Recognized as a leader in research excellence, Dr. Hughes is UOIT’s first Faculty of Education recipient of the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation Early Researcher Award in 2011 for her work on Fostering Globally and Culturally Sensitive Adolescents: Social Action Through Digital Literacy.
International Literacy Association
Canadian Society for the Study of Education
Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada
United Kingdom Literacy Association
National Council of Teachers of English
Literacy Research Association
American Educational Research Association
Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education
- Curriculum Studies I: I/S English (CURS 4110U)
This course introduces teacher candidates to the theory and practice of teaching English/Language Arts (ELA) in the Intermediate/Senior divisions, with a focus on teaching reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing and representing in the digital age. The curriculum content includes a review of related curriculum documents and supporting resources, as well as a review of current subject-related theory, teaching strategies and classroom practices. The course uses a critical digital literacies approach and consists of a detailed study of English/Language Arts curriculum guidelines and requirements (7-12), adolescent development related to the development of digital literacies, development of programs for student diversity, print and non-print material related to traditional and digital literacies (7-12), a review of the role of digital technologies and media in the English/Language Arts classroom, and a review of a range of teaching strategies and assessment tools related to the English/Language Arts classroom (7-12). - Curriculum Studies II: I/S English (CURS 4111U)
This course continues to introduce teacher candidates to the theory and practice of teaching English/Language Arts (ELA) in the Intermediate/Senior divisions, with a focus on teaching reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing and representing in the digital age. The curriculum content includes a review of related curriculum documents and supporting resources, as well as a review of current subject-related theory, teaching strategies, and classroom practices. The course continues to use the critical digital literacies approach from semester one. - Information Literacy (AEDT 3110U)
The purpose of this course is to analyze the processes of inquiry in the context of digital technologies including an examination of online resources available through academic and public libraries, as well as other Internet-based information sources including online books, magazines, journals, encyclopaedias, dictionaries, film and video collections, etc. Students will learn to define and refine questions, set and evaluate information sources, assess the accuracy and utility of information retrieved, and organize, analyze, and report the results of research. Topics will include, but are not limited to, information literacy skills, multiliteracies, and information literacy research. - Critical Making (Special Topics in Education and Digital Technologies) (EDUC 5199G)
Special topics courses present material in an emerging field or one not covered in regular offerings. Each year up to two or three special topics in technology and informatics courses may be offered to enable students to experience particular topics in depth. In the area of technology and informatics, for instance, courses such as Special Topics in Computer Assisted Language Learning or Special Topics in Adaptive Technologies for Special Education may be offered periodically. - Leadership and Technology (EDUC 5205G)
Significant educational leadership principles, models in the use of technology, and the influence of information and communication technology on educational leadership are explored and applied. Course topics include common vision; analysis of needs; development; access and security; integration into instruction; assessment and evaluation; professional development; and infrastructure of the school system including administrative software, community relationships, ethical legal issues and other educational policy implications. The result will be a plan of significant value to the master’s candidates’ educational technology leadership role. - Technology and the Curriculum (EDUC 5303G)
This online seminar course examines the theoretical foundations and practical questions concerning the educational use of technology. The main areas of focus will include learning theory and the use of technology, analysis of the learner, curriculum and technology tools, leading-edge technology programs/initiatives, factors that influence the implementation of technology, assessment and barriers toward using technology. The overall focus of the course is on developing a critical, evidence-based, theoretically grounded perspective regarding the use of technology in the curriculum. - Digital Literacy: Theory, Practice and Research (EDUC 5304G)
Postmodern literacies have proliferated in response to the rapid expansion of digital technologies and network interconnectivity in the 21st century. The kinds of texts produced for and by the current knowledge economy are artifacts of digital rather than industrial technologies; these technologies have had considerable impact on how people read and write. This course examines what we have learned about the impact of digital technologies to this point with a view to understanding what it means to be literate in a digital age. We consider the continuing overlap of pre-print, print and post-print forms within the larger history of literacy artifacts. We consider the effect of word processors, hypermedia, and the Web 2.0 on writing and reading practices, and we experiment with emerging web-based social software such as wikis and weblogs. From legal boundaries of who owns what words in cyberspace to recognizing new orthographies, new identities, new contexts for learning and new poetics in digital contexts, we explore the various socio-political and educational aspects of digital communications technologies.
