Katie Baleja
Assistant Professor of Teaching in Educational Technology
kbaleja@wayne.edu, hb7461@wayne.edu
Office Hours:
227 Education Bldg.
Katie Baleja
Degrees and Certifications
Doctorate of Educational Technology
Central Michigan University
Master of Arts in Instructional Technology
Saginaw Valley State University
Bachelor of Science
Secondary Education
Biology and Natural Science
Alma College
Responsibilities
Educational Technology
Featured publications
Digital writing and production strategies and perceptions
Baleja, K., & Zhang, M. (2020). Digital writing and production strategies and perceptions. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 21(1), 61-109.
Digital writing is an important aspect of K-12 education. Students must be able to create and compose digital material as they collaborate and share experiences with others, both inside and outside school walls. As educators are required to teach reading and writing, literacy must become digital to keep pace with a technology-centered society. As scholars continue to struggle to define digital literacy, determining what to teach fluctuates greatly from one classroom to the
next. While research is abundant pertaining to digital literacy, past studies concentrated on specific tools or resources. Focusing on digital writing strategies, technologies, and perceptions this mixed-method study surveyed educators in Michigan about digital writing practices. Overall educators feel teaching digital literacy is important, but lack professional development to support and sustain successful implementation. Many educators are still unsure what digital literacy entails, and therefore struggle to teach the concepts.
Digital Literacy
Hicks, T., Baleja, K., & Zhang, M. (2019). Digital Literacy. In P. Moy (Ed.), Oxford Bibliographies. New York: Oxford University Press.
For centuries, both the technologies of literacy—from cuneiform tablets to the printing press to, most recently, the smartphone—as well as the practices of reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and visually representing have evolved. In the late 1990s, with the emergence of the hyperlinked and increasingly visual form of the Internet known as the World Wide Web, researchers, journalists, and educators began to use the term “digital literacy” to describe and differentiate emerging practices that were considered new, or at least different, from linear, text-centric literacy practices. To be digitally literate, competent learners would need to perform equally as well in face-to-face and print communication, as well as with emerging online tools such as discussions boards, instant messaging, and email. Along with the introduction of the term “digital literacy,” a number of related—and often considered synonymous—terms have emerged from various perspectives including “computer literacy,” “information communication technologies (ICT) literacy,” “information literacy,” “media literacy,” “new literacy(ies),” and “multiliteracies.” In an effort to clarify definitions and to distinguish between other entries in the Oxford Bibliographies, “digital literacy” is defined here as the complementary and interwoven skills, both technical and social, that people must employ when using Internet-based communication—including hypertext, images, audio, and video—to consume and create messages across a variety of academic, civic, and cultural contexts. Digital literacy, then, has particular significance within the realm of education. Often positioned as a set of skills and dispositions on par with—or in some cases, even more important than—traditional literacy skills of reading and writing, digital literacy has taken a prominent role in academic conversations from early childhood education through adolescent and young adult learning. Additionally, references to digital literacy are now common in conversations outside of school as well. This bibliography focuses attention on digital literacy in K-12 contexts, with reference to out-of-school and global contexts, drawing attention to the wide range of educational scholarship that embraces the study of digital literacy including research in linguistics and sociology as well as education.
Rethinking online assessments: Screencasting as an evaluation resource
Baleja, K. (2020). Rethinking online assessments: Screencasting as an evaluation resource. In Teaching, Technology, and Teacher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Stories from the Field. (pp. 671-674). Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
As we transition to online learning formats in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, how we assess students has become a common concern among educators. Traditional assessment methods may not always be the best, or most practical, option in online settings. One approach to online assessment is the use of screencasting. While screencasting is often a replacement for lectures in an online environment and has recently been used to provide student feedback, screencasting can do so much more. It can offer a path for students to demonstrate their knowledge and provide insight for instructors on student thought processes. While focused on preservice teachers, the use of screencasts in classroom settings is also examined.
Digital Literacy: Do practices and applications of digital reading strategies measure up to perceptions?
Baleja, K., & Zhang, M. (2020). Digital Literacy: Do practices and applications of digital reading strategies measure up to perceptions?. Journal for the Michigan Association of Teacher Educators.
Digital literacy is an important aspect of education. Being able to successfully search digitally for information, then comprehend the material is an essential skill for students as technology continues to infiltrate our daily lives. Deciding how to teach digital literacy fluctuates greatly from one classroom to the next, as scholars continue to struggle in defining digital literacy. This mixed-method study surveyed educators across the state of Michigan, focusing on digital reading strategies, technologies, and perceptions about digital reading practices. While educators acknowledge the importance of teaching digital literacy, they lack support and professional development to sustain successful implementation. The survey found the frequency of digital reading resources to be quite low compared to beliefs on digital reading. This invites an opportunity for future research to further understand the frequency of digital literacy that is taught in the classroom.
Digital reading strategies: How practices and applications compared to perceptions
Baleja, K. & Zhang, M. (2020). Digital reading strategies: How practices and applications compared to perceptions. In Proceedings of EdMedia + Innovate Learning (pp. 367-375). Online, The Netherlands: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
Digital literacy is essential in education. Being able to not only successfully complete digital searches for information, but to comprehending the material as well are essential skills for today’s students. As technology continues to infiltrate our daily lives, literacy must become digital to keep pace. Because scholars continue to struggle to define digital literacy, deciding how to teach digital literacy fluctuates greatly from one class to the next. Surveying educators across the state of Michigan, this mixed-method study focusing on digital reading strategies, technologies, and perceptions. Educators continue to acknowledge the importance of teaching digital literacy yet they lack professional development and continuous support to sustain effective application. Teachers face many issues with integrating digital reading, including technology, time, and defining its aspects. The frequency of digital reading resources was found to be quite low compared to beliefs on digital reading, inviting an opportunity for future research to further understand digital literacy and how digital reading is taught in the classroom.
Publications
Hicks, Troy; Baleja, Katherine; Zhang, Mingyan. (2019) Digital Literacy. In Oxford Bibliographies in Communication. Ed. Patricia Moy. New York: Oxford University Press.