Malleability supports instruction by allowing students to act on text and observe the effects.

The plasticity of digital media is very significant for many instructional settings and for students of all levels. For example, digital text is far more flexible than text committed to paper. This flexibility enables students to learn about language and ideas by acting on text - changing and experimenting with it - and observing the effects. Suppose a first-grade class is reading and working with rhyme through traditional nursery rhymes. Although students can read and enjoy the poems in printed form, the fixed text does not invite active engagement. Consider the opportunity afforded by presenting a text electronically, projected on a large screen in front of the group (Text 1). The group finds the rhyming words, and the teacher or a student at the keyboard highlights them and changes the text color (Text 2). Next the teacher deletes the words and replaces them with a new rhyme suggested by the group (Text 3).

Text 1

There was an old woman
Lived under a hill
And if she's not gone
She's living there still.

Text 2

There was an old woman
Lived under a hill
And if she's not gone
She's living there still.

Text 3

There was an old woman
Lived under a bough
And if she's not gone
She's living there now.

The teacher can then make multiple copies of the original and elicit further variations on the poem, supporting students as they change many other words. Through this collaborative activity children can experiment with the rhythm, rhyme, and meaning of language within a carefully structured poetic framework:

There was an old woman
Lived under the ground
When visitors came
She could never be found.

There was an old woman
Lived in an airplane
When she'd seen the world
She settled in Spain.

Working with electronic text and either a large monitor or a projection plate, generating variations is a highly interactive, collaborative process. As students call out their ideas, the teacher records them "live," enabling students to observe the process of writing, editing, and revising and to read the new versions as they evolve. Individual students can read variations aloud, and the group can continue to revise them or create new variations.

Students who have difficulty with handwriting or spelling can participate in the process orally and feel proud of their contributions. The variations can be printed, each on a page, illustrated by individual students, and published in a class book. The malleability of electronic text enables teachers to model processes and to engage students in the active manipulation of language.

This same malleability supports learning of more sophisticated concepts for older students. Consider a fifth-grade class working on the concept of author's point of view. The class is working with a report on a basketball game, written by a student for the school newspaper:

The key point in the game came in the fourth quarter. The Astros had battled back valiantly to tie the game at 55-55 with three minutes to play. Bill Bailey, the Bullets' most bruising player, lumbered in from the bench, looking for a way to steal the game. The hostile home-court fans screamed ferociously. On the in-bounds play, he got his chance. A high lob pass from Robbins to Bailey was too short. Astros forward Chuck was perfectly placed to intercept when Bailey crashed through him, grabbing the ball and knocking him flat to the ground. No call from the referee! Bailey turned and, with no defender left in sight, slammed the ball through the net. Bullets lead. The ball game's over.

Beginning with the original text, the teacher elicits hypotheses about which words and phrases convey the author's viewpoint - in this case, a bias toward the Astros. Were the article in print form, students could highlight or underline relevant passages; but with the text projected onto a large screen, the group can work dynamically.

As students suggest words or phrases that seem to reflect the author's point of view, a student or the teacher at the keyboard can change the color of the text in those words and phrases. The group can evaluate the selections as they happen, discussing which ones seem critical to the creation of the viewpoint:

The key point in the game came in the fourth quarter. The Astros had battled back valiantly to tie the game at 55-55 with three minutes to play. Bill Bailey, the Bullets' most bruising player, lumbered in from the bench, looking for a way to steal the game. The hostile home-court fans screamed ferociously. On the in-bounds play, he got his chance. A high lob pass from Robbins to Bailey was too short. Astros forward Chuck was perfectly placed to intercept when Bailey crashed through him, grabbing the ball and knocking him flat to the ground. No call from the referee! Bailey turned and, with no defender left in sight, slammed the ball through the net. Bullets lead. The ball game's over.

Finally, the group can change the viewpoint of the piece by substituting new words and phrases:

The key point in the game came in the fourth quarter. The Astros had gotten away with some sneaky moves to tie the game at 55-55 with three minutes to play. Bill Bailey, the Bullets' most courageous player, rose from the bench, looking for a way to save the game. The hopeful home-court fans cheered mightily, urging him on. On the in-bounds play, he got his chance. A high lob pass from Robbins to Bailey was too short. Astros bruising forward Chuck muscled in to steal the ball when Bailey jumped high over him, grasped the ball, and landed gracefully as Chuck crashed into him and then to the floor. No call from the referee! Bailey turned and, with no defender left in sight, dunked the ball through the net. Bullets lead. The ball game's over.

These examples illustrate curricular applications of flexible electronic text. With the new media, other representations of ideas, including sound, image, animation, and video, can support engagement and varied learning needs.