Promoting literacy and reading is an important job for teachers of all subjects, not just English. Throughout their entire educational experience, students need to be encouraged to understand what they read and become proficient in new media and technology systems, in addition to having good reading and writing skills. Teachers can find a number of helpful resources for promoting reading and literacy online in open courseware classes. Classes reveal the importance of family literacy and parental involvement in child education, and offer up tips for parents and teachers to work together in an effort to help the student. Courses also cover topics in literary theory, giving teachers a solid foundation in the history of, significance, and roles that works of literature play in society and education. The nature of language is also explored as a method of teaching, and instructors can learn to maximize the power of language in their classrooms.

This specific collection of classes serves as an example of the kind of reading and literacy resources available online through open courseware. The classes below are offered by The Open University and MIT, and range from Involving the Family in Supporting Pupils’ Literacy Learning to New Media Literacies to Encouraging Book Talk in the School Library. Teachers at all levels can benefit from these courses, and students preparing to be teachers will also find useful resources in this collection.

• Involving the Family in Supporting Pupils’ Literacy Learning [The Open University] – Lessons in this class include “The family and literacy,” “Collaboration between teachers and parents,” and others.
• Language as a Medium for Teaching and Learning [The Open University] – English teachers can benefit from this course, which stresses classroom teaching techniques inspired by an understanding of socio-cultural psychology.
• Introduction to Literary Theory [MIT] – English and literature teachers gain a solid foundation in literary theory with this course.
• Encouraging Book Talk in the School Library [The Open University] – Help students get excited about and express their feelings about books and reading.
• New Media Literacies [MIT] – Understand the new theories, applications and techniques involved in promoting new media literacy.