To understand how information technology can be applied in the classroom to improve literacy teaching, it is necessary to take a broader look at the influence of information technology in our culture and the changing paradigms of educational theory. When viewed through the complementary lenses of New Literacies/Multiple Literacies and Educational Constructivism, information technology as an educational tool becomes essential to the future of literacy instruction. These theoretical frameworks can help us understand how to address changing literacy needs through new classroom teaching models. The paradigm shift from behaviorism as an educational model towards a more Dewy-based constructivist pedagogy works in conjunction with the need for students to engage in our new media culture in order to inform their own learning and be discerning about the information presented to them ( Kellner, 2004). In the following sections I will describe the framework of New Literacies/Multiple Literacies and Cognitive/Social Constructivist theories and explain why these theories provide a much-needed perspective for viewing technology in literacy teaching. Multiple Literacies and New LiteraciesMultiple literacies encompass the different areas of our lives in which we must be literate in order to function successfully in society. Kellner (1998) describes multiple literacies as those that incorporate social, cultural, and ecological literacy, as well as media and multimedia literacy. New literacies theory is an emerging framework that grew out of the multiple literacies framework. According to Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, and Commack (2004), new literacies include skills and strategies needed to successfully incorporate the Internet and other information. ), 103. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Kellner, D. (2004). Technological transformation, multiple literacy and the overhaul of education. E–Learning, 1(1), http://www.wwwords.co.uk/pdf/validate.asp?j=elea&vol=1&issue=1&year=2004&article=2_Kellner_ELEA_1_1_webLeu, J.J., Kinzer, C.K., Coiro, J.L., & Cammack, D. W. (2004). Towards a theory of new literacies emerging from the Internet and other information and communication technologies. Online Reading, 43-79. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Powell, K.C., & Kalina, C.J. (2009). Cognitive and social constructivism: Developing tools for an iEffective classroom. Education, 130(2), 241-250. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.Sutinen, A. (2008). Constructivism and education: education as an interpretative-transformative process. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 27(1), 1-14. doi:10.1007/s11217-007-9043-5