The Affordances of Blogs and Digital Video

In this article, the author presents examples of two ninth‐grade students’ literacy processes as they used blogs and digital video (amongst other media) to inquire into the subject matter of fast food. The author discusses the students’ uses of these focal media through the concept of affordances, a concept that refers to the distinct possibilities and limitations of a particular mode or medium. Blogs afforded a means of responsive, written social interaction with other students about their learning, and the possibility of composing texts with embedded links to other webpages that had been explored on the topic. Digital video afforded distinctly visual means of representing their subject matter and the presentation of complex ideas through visual montage and juxtaposition of text and image. Teachers can use knowledge about these media affordances as they consider how these two media might be useful in their own classrooms and inquiry projects.