Donna E. Alvermann, Ph.D

Biography

Donna Alvermann is a University of Georgia Appointed Distinguished Research Professor of Language and Literacy Education Emeritus. She is also The Omer Clyde and Elizabeth Parr Aderhold Professor in Education Emeritus. Formerly a classroom teacher in Texas and New York, her research focuses on young people’s digital literacies and use of popular media. Author of numerous articles, she has several books to her credit: Adolescents and Literacies in a Digital World; Reconceptualizing the Literacies in Adolescents’ Lives (3rd ed.); Adolescents’ Online Literacies: Connecting Classrooms, Digital Media, and Popular Culture; and Bring It to Class: Unpacking Pop Culture in Literacy Learning. Most recently, she helped in designing an interactive website to learn how a community of researchers and researched objects can push boundaries associated with creating and disseminating “original” work and remixes online using a Creative Commons license. Come join her at http://www.becoming3lectric.com

Areas of Expertise

  • adolescent literacy
  • popular culture
  • digital literacies
  • multimodal literacies
  • written argumentation
  • media education

Interests

  • adolescents' literacies
  • written communication
  • critical media literacy
  • social media sites
  • youth media literacies
  • democratization of online text production
  • actor-network theory
  • new materialisms
  • Foucault's genealogical approach to analyzing historical literacy events

Concentrations

Education

  •  PhD in Reading and Language Arts, 1980
    Syracuse University
  •  MLS in Information Studies, 1980
    Syracuse University
  •  MA in Education/History, 1968
    University of Texas at Austin
  •  BS in Education/History, 1965
    University of Texas at Austin

Contact

 706-308-7195 (mobile)

Research Summary

My primary research interests lie in adolescents’ digital literacies. I study middle-grades through high school students’ approaches to multimodal comprehension and production in digital environments (including social media). A particular interest is in understanding how online learning tools mediate young people’s motivation and engagement in both informational and literary texts. Most recently, I have begun a study of blog posts and remixes uploaded to an interactive website that I helped to design (http://www.becoming3lectric.com). Come join me there.

Publications

Digital remixing online: Entangled feelings.

Awards and Accolades

(renewed) Distinguished Research Professor

University of Georgia, 2018

The Omer Clyde and Elizabeth Parr Aderhold Professor in Education

University of Georgia, 2013

Computers in Reading Research Award

International Reading Association, 2012

Elected to AERA Fellow Status

American Educational Research Association, 2012

Named Mentor of the Year (nominated by a doctoral student)

Compact for Faculty Diversity, Southern Regional Education Board, 2010

William S. Gray Citation of Merit

International Reading Association, 2006

Honorary Doctorate of Pedagogy

Long Island University, 2005

Elected to the Reading Hall of Fame

Reading Hall of Fame, 1999

Co-Director and Principal Investigator, National Reading Research Center

U.S. Department of Education (housed in COE/UGA), 1992

Causey Award for Outstanding Contributions to Reading Research

Literacy Research Association (formerly NRC), 1997